Travel Photo: 37 Piercings at 22 Years of Age

It Was Labor Day

Usually, I forget about American holiday weekends until, someone reminds me.

Well, someone did and, Sunday night, I went out for a few beers.

Things seemed pretty slow around town and, I hung out in this quiet bar until midnight.

Along came this gal, who made me wish, I'd have brought along a real camera.

In my humble Japanese we got a conversation going and, she was a sweetie.

She gave me permission, to shoot this photo with my cellphone and, posed for it.

Honestly, I've never seen anybody like this except, in movies.

At age 22, she's old enough to sign a model release and, she did.

Of course, I promised her a print.  And, bought her next drink, too.

Not wanting to be nosy, I didn't ask her why she got all that metal in her body.

But, I asked her if all that stuff hurt and, she said, it didn't.

That must set off some alarms going through screening a airports.  She laughed.

As soon as, I get the print ready, I think I'll go back downtown to see if, I can find her.

It would be a good idea, to take along the Pentax and a flash, too.

How to Get Rid of a Bad Fortune in Japan (Photo)

The week of the New Year almost everybody visits a shrine or, temple.

And part of the ritual involves getting a slip of paper with your fortune written on it.

You should have seen the look on this gal's face, after she read hers.

I asked her if it was a bad one and, my suspicions were confirmed.

So, I told her "Get rid of it."

She went over there and tied it with the rest of them.

She's a smart girl and, even signed a model release for me when I asked her.

Lots of People Ain't That Smart You Know

 

Traditionally, only bad fortunes were left behind like that.

But, nowadays it seems like everybody ties their fortune up and leaves it behind.

As a stranger, in that town, I got wondering.

Did everybody get bad luck, predicted for the New Year ?

It seems to me, the people who had good fortunes just started copying from those with bad ones.

Now, everybody is leaving their fortunes behind.

Maybe, that's what's wrong with the world today. Just take a look around.

Young people are drinking water out of plastic bottles.

They walk around talking and texting on little handheld telephones.

And, they see someone tie their fortune to a fence or a tree so, they do the same thing.

Think for Yourself

 

If you get a good fortune, take it home with you.

If a bad fortune comes your way, Get Rid of It !

Shortly after she got rid of the bad fortune, it started to rain and we got the heck out of there.

Didn't I tell you she was a smart girl ?

 



Peace Photo: It Could Brighten Up the Holidaze !

Careful, I don't just go around randomly shooting people, these days.

It's a rare occasion, that I post someone's photo without a signed model release, too.

But, this happy go lucky dude, kept insisting, I take his picture.

In the interest of trying to maintain world peace I did it.

He gave me his name but, I didn't bother getting a release from him.

If anyone knows his email address, I could send him a printable photo file.

Or, I could print one for him and, deliver it, in person.

Don't you suppose, that would brighten up his holidaze ?



Sports Photo: The Gal with the Baton

 

This just happens to be one of my favorite photos from the past week.

It was taken at an Undokai (Sports Day) in Okinawa, Japan.

The baton was just passed in a family relay race.

Normally, I wouldn't post a gal's picture here without her consent.

But, I'll stick my neck out, hoping I can get her to sign a model release.

That way she can get a free print from me, probably framed, too.

If she squawks, I'll  just take this photo down and replace it with another gal's.

Like, that girl who gets away with murder.

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Thursday Travel Photo: Post Them on Flickr ?

 

Things Like This Just Happen in Everyday Travel

Yesterday was no exception.

The location, this photo was taken at, is in Nakijin, Okinawa, Japan.

We went there looking for Shokitan Motoo, the fisherman.

He was promised a print, because he signed a model release for me in September.

His photo was taken at almost the exact same spot.

Only, I had his face in the picture.

Maybe, I'll post some photos of these gals on Flickr.

The Fisherman was Nowhere to be Found

 

Shokitan told me he'd be easy to find, when I came to deliver his picture.

He said, "Don't worry.  Everybody around here knows me. They'll show you where I live".

Now Look at the Third Gal from the Right

 

She was standing on the coral, watching the other five youngsters on the beach below.

When I showed her the fisherman's photo, she said she knew him, and where he lived.

It was looking like the start of a great day.

There are an unbelievable amount of photos, I owe to people.

Sometimes, it can take up to six months to find them.

This was going to be easy.  Just wait for her friends to get done frolicking on the beach.

Then, she would lead us to Shokitan's house.

While we're waiting, I made small talk. Like, "Nice weather, huh"?

And she make small talk back.  Just like with my wife, I pretend I'm listening.

At some point, she asked if I'd take a picture of her friends.  Why not ?

Map It Okinawa Dude Shows Up

After filling him in on what's going on,  I take Shokitan's picture and put it in the car.

Map It Okinawa has a chance to get the girls posed while I grab a camera and tripod.

He decided to have them pose, looking out towards Izena Island.

At that point I was little bit confused.

But, when you get my age that happens, sometimes.  I'm getting used to it.  Hah !

Moving around, making a few different compositions, I finally had enough.

"Everybody, git up and look this way," I said.

They did, and I snapped a photo with people's faces in it.

Then,  had each of them pose quick, for an individual photo. Real quick, one shot apiece. 

Model Releases are Required

 

The line of business I'm in requires signed model releases so, I grabbed a stack of them.

The girls were all excited.  I would email them photos for free.

They might see their photo in a magazine, on my blog, or, even in a contest.

Pretty girls, on a sunny day, at the beach, got their pictures taken.

They were all excited,  writing down names and email addresses, to give the cameraman.

The emails go to their cell-phones.

16 Mega-pixel photos will be shrunk-down to 300 pixels wide to fit in their phones.

Here's the Snag

Groan.

The kids are minors.  In Japan you aren't an adult until the age of twenty.

A parent, or guardian, has to sign the model release.  Double groan.

These were some high school kids, young enough to be my granddaughters.

They were on a four day visit from mainland Japan.

Maybe, I could have gotten model releases signed by the woman they were staying with.

But, I don't take chances like that, anymore.

These travelers can get their miniature photos from me via cell-phone.

But, I got thinking.  If they wanted a printable file, that wouldn't work.

In exchange for Mom and Pop's model release via email, I could send them a huge

PRINTABLE PHOTO FILE FOR FREE.

Low resolution, online photos don't really make good prints but, are good enough for viewing.

If I create a bunch of 600 pixel files and load them up online I could email links to the gals.

That way the parents could decide if they want to send me a model release.

Should I take their travel photos and post them on Flickr ?

A Work Portrait: Getting the Job Done

This photo is what I call a work portrait.

The Map It Okinawa guy is getting directions to some off the beaten path site.

The pretty gal consented to having her picture taken.

There's a model release, signed, somewhere, in one of my camera bags.

What I do is click, click, click on the shutter while the subject knows I'm shooting.

Then, walk away and delete, delete, delete the posed photos.

That's because I'm not that kind of photographer.

When everybody starts acting natural again, and they think I'm gone, I  zoom in, compose and

CLICK, CLICK, CLICK A WHOLE BUNCH MORE.

That's what I call getting the job done.


More tricks of the trade in my PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS


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Friday Photo: The Gal on the Beach with the Hat

Waiting for boarding time, people get bored and start taking pictures of anything.  Me, too.  This scene was shot on the island of Minna Jima Okinawa, Japan about 3PM June 11, 2011 with my Pentax K5, an 18-250mm lens, tripod and cable release. I was standing in the shade on the balcony of the terminal.

This gal started off snapping photos of the beach, almost directly in front of me.  I liked the contrast her dress made with the glaring sun lighting the baby-powdered sand and I liked her hat.  I especially liked the fact that she was facing away from me.  That meant I didn't have to be bothered with getting a model release signed by her.  So, as she slowly moved from one spot on the beach to another, I took my time and composed some great shots.  I got bunches of them, hah!

When she stopped shooting her pictures and turned to walk back into the terminal, I stopped clicking away, too.  As she approached, being the gentleman that I am, I looked away, avoiding eye contact.  That's when I noticed her husband had been sitting right behind me watching the whole affair.  Ouchie !


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