Fashion Forward

For years, I told myself that I never wanted to become a fashion photographer.  I hated the idea of competing in an industry which elevated materialism, objectified women, and set an unrealistic standard for beauty. Over the years, however,  I became increasingly intrigued with the fashions of local artists in San Francisco, preferring to wear unique off-beat and funky designs over cheap, mass produced crap from stores like Forever 21. When I met Kayo Mitsuyama, I jumped at the opportunity to work with her, not only because I absolutely love her versatile designs, but because I felt the need to support emerging female Asian artists like myself, who were competing in areas that were under-represented by Asian woman. Photographing for Kayo and her clothesline, Kayo Anime, represented an opportunity to dabble in fashion and create images based on my own aesthetic of female beauty - one that diverts dramatically from the hyper-sexualized portrayals of woman found so commonly in fashion magazines.

In creating these images,  I feel it is important to acknowledge Kayo for her fashion sense, Candace Simmons for her incredible modeling skills and Sandra Moreno for her talent with hair and make-up.  It was an incredible collaborative process!

Kayo's clothes can be perused and purchased online at Kayo Anime Clothing <http://www.etsy.com/listing/110557408/frill-strap-romper?utm_source=OpenGraph&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share>.

  

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People Watching

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I love to shoot portraits of people.   It amazes me that there are billions of people on this planet and that every single person looks different (unless they are a twin or triplet, of course).  Now that’s a lot of genetic diversity!  And it makes for some very interesting-looking people. 

I stare at strangers often.  In a quick two second glance, I see everything: the brightness or dullness of their eyes, their energy, their confidence, their skin texture, how light falls on them, their outstanding features, and their uniqueness.  And in my head, I’ve already created a mental snapshot of them.

It’s exhausting seeing the world that way and I get information overload all the time.  As a result,  I’ve developed selective seeing.  There are people who dominate my visual frame as I walk down the street, or go anywhere in general.  Then there are many others I don’t see at all.  (Friends tease me all the time because they claim I should know this or that person because s/he has been going to the same gym I’ve been to for years.  But I don’t recall them.) Colors, textures, clothes and unique features draw my attention.  But then again, I am no different from anyone else who likes to sit in a crowded place and people watch.

Lately, I’ve been sitting on the steps in front of my house and watching the world go by.  These are some of the folks who capture my attention as they saunter past my house.

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Movement Play

I know, I'm guilty of ditching my blogging duties for quite some time now. I’m sure many photographers and bloggers reading this can understand how easy it is to slack off on social media updates, especially in an age where we get inundated with way too much information and need long breaks from the internet.

Well, I’m back.  And feeling quite refreshed thanks to recent adventures that have replenished my creative soul.

One event stands out above all others, therefore I must gush about the Movement Play MicroFestival, founded by Rosie Lila. Ms. Rosie and her inexhaustible team of volunteers recently organized a 4-day festival in Willits, California allowing participants to nourish their body and spirit through dance and play. Hula hooping, acro-yoga, poi, massage, slacklining, dance and improv workshops are a sample of the many offerings at this intimate 200-person event.

What I loved most about Movement Play was the abundant flow of creative exchange. Almost every single attendee had something unique to offer as performers, artists, musicians or instructors. When you see so many dedicated folks donating  much of their time and resources to creating this short-term utopia, it inspires you to make your own artistic contribution. Hence, I choose to do portraits of the unique folks I met during my weekend of play.

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Lessons from Baja

I learned lots of important lessons as a photographer on my recent trip to Baja California.  I figure I’d share some of these mistakes with you because I didn’t think I was capable of such incompetence. 

While packing for my holiday vacation in Baja, I was paranoid by the numerous carjacking stories I heard in the media, so I decided to keep my photography equipment simple in case I had the misfortune of encountering trouble on my drive to Mexico.  I packed one old camera, one lens, one portable flash, and the radios to trigger the flash. 

My first big mistake?  I packed the wrong spare batteries for my old Canon 5D which I normally use only as a back-up camera.  I was upset with Canon for not developing batteries that were interchangeable with the Mark I and Mark II.   But of course I had no one to blame but myself. I had the foresight to bring the battery charger....just not the right one.  And, I didn’t put a fresh battery in the camera in the first place, so I only had 5% battery life to play with for my entire two week vacation.

With limited camera power,  I made a decision to skip photographing the gorgeous desert and ocean landscapes in Baja because landscapes are not my primary interest as a photographer. I invested whatever battery life I had left to shoot a portrait of each person I spent my vacation with in Punta San Carlos, a remote stretch of beach on the Pacific side of Baja.

My favorite method to shoot environmental portraits is to balance strobe light with ambient light. I generally never shoot with the Canon 580EX flash because it's not my favorite light source, but it’s small, portable and doesn't weigh as much as my regular strobe equipment. Once I turned on the flash, however, I knew I was in trouble.  The rechargeable batteries, which I’ve had for over a year, were no longer holding their charge so well.  And the cable connecting my radio to my flash was loose and unreliable. Sometimes the flash worked, but over half the time it failed me.

With the limited resources I had to work with,  I had to think like a film photographer and not waste any clicks of the camera.  I was forced to frame my images and set my camera and flash exposures more carefully without wasting precious battery.  Since I didn’t want to haul extra gear to Baja, I also had to think about the direction of the sun and the distance of my flash in relation to my subjects, lighting them without use of an umbrella, soft box or any diffusion material.

I shot between two and ten frames of each person to get these shots.   I’m quite pleased with the images.  Although I would have liked to take more photos, I learned how to make up for my limits and mistakes with my resourcefulness.   Batteries are important, but knowing how to improvise is the best skill a photographer can have.  Or so I tell myself.

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Post-holiday Stuff

 January has come and gone and I’ve procrastinated on posting recent work.  I can’t blame the holiday frenzy anymore because that’s now far behind me.  My task this morning was to clean off my desk, file away bills and put away holiday cards.  As I was handling one card in particular, I thought, “Why not show off some work?”  I took these images for a wonderful client for their holiday card.  I almost feel like I’m cheating when I'm hired to photograph super cute kids.

Here are also personal favorites from the same shoot:

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Happy Holidays!

Talk about holiday stress!  My husband and dogs are sitting in the packed van right now waiting for me to start our vacation while I remain at my desk tying up all the loose ends this year.

So I better make this quick.

For the first time ever, I decided to shoot my own Holiday card. 

Happy holidays to all, and may peace be with you!

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