Portrait Katrina

Portrait of Katrina

Portrait of Katrina

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Katrina for Fielding’s Focus Magazine

It’s for fielding FOCUS magazine cover.  The Fielding Graduate University is located in Santa Barbara, California.  Fielding’s FOCUS MAGAZINE is a periodic university publication.

katrina (02:58)

photography: kenji fukudome
videography: shannon, kenji
makeup: shannon loar-cotè
art direction: susan stensland boetttner
client: fielding university
coordinator: sylvia williams
model: katrina rogers
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my pick

These are my favorites.

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Japan Update XIII 四月二十五日の様子

A friend of mine Kozue from Tokyo visited me here Kagoshima.  I picked her up at a seaport and  we went for a little walk on Sakurajima Volcanic Park.

It was a cloudy dull day and needed a punch.  A watercolor treatment in Photoshop to give more saturated color.

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People were out and about for a picnic and also collecting Abalone or something…I wasn’t sure what, but they were digging around and seemed like having a fun day.

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While we were at the park I noticed many birds were flying above us.  What kind of birds were they? I couldn’t tell, but they were just gliding on the wind from the ocean.  Some of them were very close to us about 20 feet above us, and some were way up there like… few hundreds feet up?  (check out the fella in red circle)  As much as I wanted to be a bird and fly around the world, I couldn’t help myself thinking if there were any birds out there that were Aeroacrophobia?  That would be a real bomber.  Ahhhhhh!  What about this, let’s say you are a bird and you are way way up there and then suddenly you got tired of flapping around your wings, then what?  Ahhhhhhh x2.

I like high places.  Tall buildings are my favorite places.  If and when I’m in high rise buildings and I’d  always try go up to the highest floor I could possibly go (preferably the rooftop).  I like looking down from up above and the idea of jumping off sort of gives me butterflies in my stomach.  Not only I know I like “the idea of jumping”, but also I definitely know that I’m not doing that.  If you were a bird and flying way up there and you got tired of flying thing or suddenly you (as a bird),  let’s say lost your balance and fall uncontrollably?  I was just wondering about that…   Hey, but that’s not aeroacrophobia, is it?  That’s more like, “I don’t like flying”.   But I love flying on  airplanes!!

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When we were done walking around volcanic scenic walk, we stopped by Ougaku pottery studio/factory (OUGAKU TOUGEI).  Kozue wanted to try ceramics workshop to create her own art cup.  Here I met a wonderful artist, Hiromi Yokomichi who owns and runs this place with her two other sisters.  They have very unique way of producing their work which use their own SAKURAJIMA VOLCANIC HOT RED WATER and VOLCANIC ASH from SAKURAJIMA and mix them with standard clay.  Evidently you’ll get one of a kind texture and color on your work.  This “EXPERIENCE” workshop is offered to people in the U.S. too, so If you are interested in trying this out, please let me know.  I will put a group of people together and make a Ougaku Experience Workshop Trip to Kagoshima, Japan.  Hiromi definitely has people personality and great to hang out with.  I had so much fun talking with her about art and businesses.  I bet you will too.  (see more on videolog)  http://www.ougaku.com/ more info: info@kenjiphotography.com

http://www.ougaku.com/

Hiromi Yokomichi

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Real work place

Little piglets and little calves.

Ougaku Yaki    http://www.ougaku.com/

Kozue and Hiromi

I don’t know what this was for, but I bet something to do with making funky patterns on clay or something…

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Japan Update XII 四月二十四日の様子

This sunrise was photographed from the highest place in my village called SHIROYAMA, (城山) which means “Castle Mountain”.  The sunrise was not exactly what I envisioned, so I had to go back there two days later for a reshoot.

Sunrise #1

Sunrise #2

Sunrise #2.  Thick cloud covered almost entire morning sky except very close to the horizon, there was a strip of opening where I can see the sky.   As the Sun first came up I could see powerful and bright sunlight shine through this opening, and soon without showing entire body of himself (the sun) it moved up into the thick cloud above it and disappeared completely.  It was interesting to watch the whole show.   The thick cloud seemed more powerful than the Sun, from down here anyway.  (see the entire sunrise show on videolog)

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Mobiki, Kagoshima, JAPAN

This is the view of about the half of my town, I guess you could call it “downtown”.  The other half is scattered around the area, deeper into the mountain and down the valley.

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Japan Update XI 四月二十三日の様子

My father and I went to UCHINOKUBO MOUNTAIN in DOUHIRA area.  (see videolog for more)  On the way there we saw quite a few Bamboo Shoots side of a mountain road as well as right in the middle of it.  After we did some work in UCHINOKUBO, we dug it up and took it home with us to make our mother (his wife) happy.  (Well, my father did most of…okay, all the digging, I was filming….)

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Publicity Headshot: Mia Lundin

Publicity headshot for Mia’s upcoming book.  She has written a book titled “Female Brain Gone Insane” to address the emotional issues of hormonal and brain chemistry imbalances.  I guess I’ll have to wait until someone writes a book “Male Brain Gone Insane”.  You can to go her blog and find out more about it.

Business Publicity Headshot Session (01:47)

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Japan Update X 四月二十一日の様子

I visited my High School.  I don’t know why I keep coming back here every time I visit Japan.  Although I had good times here and there, I don’t really have good memories with this place.  Looking at these kids reminded me how amazingly and annoyingly innocent I was once.

Cool Kid

He Knows He’s Cool

Angels

Still Angels

Before The Fight

No Fight

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Photographic Art

I am now a proud owner of an art piece by AnnaLee Keefer.  She is an artist from Seaview, Wasington and sharing her creation through her artist weblog site: www.annaleekeefer.wordpress.com Although she uses her photographs as key elements in her work, I think most of her work are one of a kind.  I am going to display my piece on my studio wall.

http://www.annaleekeefer.wordpress.com

http://www.annaleekeefer.wordpress.com

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i Madonnari, 2009

A perfect day for photographing iMadonnari, Italian Street Painting Festival in Santa Barbara by o-my Santa Barbara Mission.  Nice and shady but not dark nor wet.  A poifect day.  Many beautiful works and my best pick of this year is this 3/4 done close-up face of a girl.  I think the fact that her face was not completed, it gave her a look of concern or worrying about the situation of her face merging in or dissolved in to the pavement.  I liked it right away.  Good painting.  I didn’t think it was how the artist intended but photographic illustration kinda way that it was the shot as it was (for me), and I had to take it.  The artist is Catherine.  I think she is a up and coming artist and gonna be big.  She said she didn’t have her artist website yet (coming out soon), but an email address if anyone want to see her portfolio, or commission her work:  catherine.estrada@yahoo.com

catherine.estrada@yahoo.com

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… and here are rest of the incredible works. Wow, thank you all the artists!

80 years ….

My friend Wanda’s 80th birthday was on this weekend.  It’s easy to say 80 years but when I think about what 80 years really mean, it’s mind-boggling.  What has happened this past 80 years?  It’s got to be more than us visiting the moon and developed a weapon of mass destruction.  It really made me think of now, where I am, what I am doing.  I really hope to remember what I am thinking now when I get to be a 80 years old man. (04:31) 

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