Oyaide HDMI arrives

I got my Oyaide HDMI cable in the mail yesterday!  Wow, very cool looking cable, and ultra high end tech in this product.  Looking forward to the improved performance with this cable.  I was introduced to Oyaide cable through a friend and was offered the chance to test out some of their products in return for writing some reviews and giving feedback.  Looking forward to joining an elite group of artists and producers.  Check out all the cool people who are already using the Oyaide products.

Regardless of the performance improvments, I know I am just going to feel good using this cable!

The highest grade HD footage should be played through the highest grade cable you can buy.

River light up

Last week the Kappa festival here in Jozankei wrapped up with the yearly lighting of the Toyohira river.  I have time to snap off a couple of pictures.

Masa Blog

Long time friend and featured Pro Rider in the Car Danchi series Masa Takeuchi hooked me up with a mention on his blog. I check his blog daily for info on snowboarding, surfing, golf, cars and more! Thanks Masa, look forward to seeing you on the mountains again this winter! Check out his blog here!

1620?

What?  How many rotations is that?  1620?  The style is certainly ballerina, but amazing to see someone spin that much.  From the new Diggin’ mag blog.

Car Danchi advertisement

Thanks to a little luck and some help from Blueblood, Car Danchi 4 was able to get a full page ad in this months edition of the Japanese Snowboarder magazine.  We stuck with the package image and just added some info about the sale date and of course the Blueblood riders names who are featured in the movie.  The first ad is Burton the second is Vans the third is Death Label, then a girls brand called Laboratory Works and Ashram gloves.  Then bingo Car Danchi in your face!  Fantastic, check it out next time you are at a book store or newstand.

Maybe you can even snag the Vans sticker fron the mag when the clerk is not looking….

Script Magazine is out

My official debut into fashion photography is now in print.  There are 30,000 free copies of Sapporo’s Script magazine being given away this Autumn, try to grab a copy!

They used one of the photos from my shoot for the cover!  Always very happy to see one of my photos on the cover of a magazine, no better place to be!

The index page also features one of my shots cropped and turned to B&W.  Nice design!

Here is the cover shot as a two page spread.  This was shot very near my house where I go kayaking and the local canoe tours depart from this place. There is a rocky peninsula that was made to slow the water flow at that point in the river.  I had the models walk out and pose there, while I was shooting down from a bridge over the water. In Aperture, I darkened the blacks so the water and background wouldn’t stand out so much.

The shot on the left is posed in front of a water fall, also near my house.  The model is standing on top of a ladder and I am using two flashes.  One to the left in front and one hard light behind and to the left.  I under exposed this one as well to make her stand out more.

The shot on the right is in the Onsen village at a place called Yu no taki.  There is Hot Spring water running over fake rocks and at night the steam rises up making for a moody setting.  Seems to work well with the rocker look.  I had one of the models hold a flash directly behind her to light up the hair and steam.  I have another flash hidden near her feet covered with white cloth to soften the light.

This was a simple sunset shot taken right behind my office.  Great natural light with a soft-box on the flash off to the left.  A highlight on the chin coming from a hard light behind and also to the left.  Shot a bunch of this setting trying to get the earrings in just the right position.

The four shots on the right below were taken last at a park near my house.  One flash off to the right, we took about 50 shots to get these four.

This was shot at a rock factory about 20 minutes from my office.  Nice pile of rocks, simple flash from directly overhead.  Her shirt looks overexposed, but it is actually not like that when you see the magazine.  I think I added a vignette to this photo to accentuate the two of them and the light.

Totally desaturated this next picture.  When we did the shoot the trees were still super green and during the editing Ken asked me to try and take the green out.  It is a fall fashion special, after all.

Art Festival open for visitors

After working nearly everyday for a month solid, we were able to complete the renovation of the old “Snack Lora” now officially renamed “Onsen Village Gallery” on the 17th. The local festival began with the holidays on the 19th so we were just in time. The last few days were tough as we put in some over time to finish the construction. The stairway and counter top were our last projects that we wanted to finish in time for the art showing. Everything came together and the place looks pretty good right now.

We are planning to continue the renovation again from the end of this month and hopefully by the end of October we will be able to open for business as a Cafe/Bar. There is still a lot to do, kitchen, ceiling, bar, funiture, menu, sign, lighting etc., but it should be fun work from here on out.

If you are in the Sapporo area please stop by and check out the Kappa Week festival and the art exhibitions going on. I will be in the venue for a few hours on the 22nd Tuesday for a reception party hope to see you there.

I stopped by today to shoot a couple of pictures and check out the art work on display.

I was actually expecting more art work to be displayed, it was a little disappointing to see only a few pottery pieces and one carved wood piece, both by local artists.

The largest piece is the drift wood sculpture made by one of the students at Sapporo’s art college.

There is a poster size piece that shows the transformation from the old Snack to the new Gallery.

The counter, we raised the height and added a new top and front.  You can’t see it in the picture but we recycled some strobe light from the original shop and built them into the counter behind the wood with teh holes.  At night if you put on the lights the whole counter starts flashing!

Local pottery on display.  Would have been good to have more pieces on display…

The evening of the 22nd will see a special “lighting” of the Toyohira river that runs through the village, good chance to take a few pictures.  The the reception at the Gallery from 6pm.   The Gallery is located directly across the street from the hotel “Furukawa”.

Camping interview online

My Long time friend Tak at www.snowboardernet.jp was kind enough to visit our house during his trip to Hokkaido this year.  I posted about his visit on the blog after he was here.  Well wwe sat down for an interview about camping and the camp lifestyle.  You can check out the interview in Japanese here!  Thanks Tak for including me in the project, look forward to going camping with you soon.  Also thanks for making me look cool in my Yellow Kayak!

Almost finished!

The work has been non-stop for the last week as we try to wrap up construction in time for the upcoming festival starting on the 18th.  I have been tired and sore for as long as I can remember now, but getting really excited to see our hard work starting to pay off.

Takamasa puts the finishing touches on the ceiling.

The work on the stairway begins.

More painting, we are using a lot of paint.

Putting together the counter.

A few more bolts to cut off, Mino taking care of it!

Wall and ceiling painted white.

Mana painting a little story on the wall.

A few friends come over on Monday night to check out the progress and have a few drinks.  It is satisfying to see people sitting there  drinking and eating!

A surfing Car Danchi

Would love to get my hands on this book/DVD project by Chris Burkard.  Kind of a Car Danchi surfing style from the sounds of it.  Traveling the California coast looking for waves, a photographer and a surfer in a VW bus.   Keeping the dream alive!  Check out the web site for more info and congradulations to Chris on a good project!