Monday 30 May 2011

Okinawa Living Art Photographer- maternity body painting- the sea


Ke Ao Nani

I luna la i luna
Na Manu oka lewa
I lao lua i lalo
Na pua o ka honua
I uka la i uka
Na pua o ka honua
I kai la i kai
Na i'a o ka moana
Ha'ina mai Ka puana
A he nani ka ao nei

He inoa no na kamalii

Hawaiian Children's Song


collaborative project
Body Painting Artist : art by RoMa
Photographer : Denise Burridge

Sunday 29 May 2011

Okinawa Photographer - the fun after Typhoon Songda



Typhoon

The window and doors are boarded.
Outside, the typhoon was banging it's fury 
like my drunken father locked out of the house. 
Inside, my brother and sisters joined me 
around a camp fire of candles.
The typhoon toppled an electrical post.
It howled; it hurled matter into matter.
We heard the thrashing flight of sheet iron,
the crack of branches splitting from the trees.
The house shook, and we huddled
in the near-darkness, as if cowering back into the primitive.
We told stories while bending near the candles,
collecting the stalactites of wax
we later fed to the flames.
We talked about the neighborhood children,
earlier covering the ground with chalk-drawings of suns,
birds caught between two skies. 
And yet the rain fell anyway, the suns vanished in the downpour.
My sister told us about orphans in nunneries,
so underfed they ate worms, 
bathed so infrequently that truffles grew between their toes
and pigs followed them where ever they went.
And there was a lake in the province, we collected, hidden
by woodland in the east, opposite high rocks
from where we dove into the ethereal silence of the water.
Then sudden crash reverberated from the house's swollen blackness,
distinct from the storm. It continued fro some time,
not without trying to stifle itself like a whisper.
I called for my parents,
though unknown to me, in that dark chamber of the house,
while the world outside was seemingly coming to an end.
by Joseph O. Legaspi



Daily Snaps-

Hello Everyone,

It's the day after Typhoon Songda visited our beautiful home of Okinawa, Japan. We were very lucky that Typhoon Songda had weakened from a Super Typhoon to a Catagory 1. We prepared to hunkering down incase we lost power. Approx 22 hours ago the first band of the storm arrived. An hour after that the wind started to pick up and the sky opened up. At that time the base declared a TCCOR 1E where everyone is on lock down. OMgosh the wind was wicked. The trees in our back yard were dancing and bending in half. Debris kept hitting the front door and it kept shaking like it wanted to open. To my relief KB called to see how we were weathering the storm. It would have been great to have him home but It was comforting to hear his voice and for him to say it was going to be alright. After being reassure by his call I stayed up for a bit and watched the trees dance. Once we lost power I decided I needed to go to bed since I figured there would be some cleaning up in the morning. Needless to say I did not expect this with a CAT1 storm. 

Below are my SOOC photographs.
These are snapshot of my front yard and of Typhoon Trio. 

We are very blessed that this storm did not hit us as a CAT 5. Even though the homes here on Okinawa are made out of concrete to with stand strong storms. I would not want to experience nature's fury...

Have a wonderful day!


UPDATE at 8:30 pm 
The strongest winds observed on Okinawa were sustained at 109 knots with 136 knots gust via Kadena Weather. That makes it a strong CAT2 to a CAT3 Typhoon.  http://weather.kadenaforcesupport.com/update/tcir.ht
ml



Saturday 28 May 2011

Okinawa Photographer - Okinawa, the other Japan


Mensore-re: Welcome to Okinawa





"Shurei no Kokoro"
are Okinawa's spiritual words
"Embrace all visitors who come to Okinawa and 
treat them with the utmost of courtesy"

COME VISIT Okinawa!!!

While we wait for Typhoon Songda to arrive.
Please enjoy this beautiful video of Okinawa by Dennis Tortona 

Wednesday 25 May 2011

Okinawa Photographer - me =)



Hello Everyone,

Since arriving to Okinawa the only thing I have done with my hair is get the Japanese Hair straightening off base with just a trim. Today for the first time in over 3 yrs I made an appt to get my hair cut, styled and highlighted. I absolutely LOVE it!!! I loved it so much I even did a self portrait. Those of you who know me I'd rather be caught in a dentist chair than get my photograph taken. I wanted to give Missy, the owner of Missy's Chair, some blog and FB love for doing such a wonderful job. Missy is a creative styler offering outstanding hairdressing in a friendly environment. The salon is within her home but it is very professional. During the consultation Missy made sure that I felt like I was being treated as an individual which provided me with the confidence to trust her to give me the perfect look. Watch for a feature article here on the blog about Missy Chair's commitment to quality and service. To arrange an appointment visit her website or befriend her on Facebook.

Thank you Missy!!! You rocked my day!!!


  
After                                                                                  Before


After- taken by me and yes it was a pain in the arse to take my own picture.
Hair and makeup by Kimberly Clay of Glamour Eyes LLC

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Okinawa Newborn Photographs - freedom of the heart


If one feels the need of something grand,
 something infinite, 
something that makes one feel aware of God, 
one need not go far to find it. 
I think that I see something deeper, more infinite,
 more eternal than the ocean in the expression of the eyes of a little baby
 when it wakes in the morning and coos or laughs
 because it sees the sun shining on it's cradle.
- Vincent van Gogh



Pepsi Slogan - “Aazadi dil ki”
Hindi meaning "freedom of the heart"


Little J's EDD was for May 29th but he decided to start his journey into our world on May 5th. Little J was born at 4 lbs. Today at 19 days new or -5 days old he was weighing 5 lbs. Before long Little J will be a chunker because he definitely LOVES to eat. That's all he wanted to do during our session. Of course I didn't mind because that just meant I was able to snuggle with him longer. =) 

For me his session was really special because it brought back so many memories of  Typhoon Trio when they were preemies. It amazes me that at one time they were we wee little ones but with a blink of an eye they are so big now. Remember to take in every moment..each and every one of them are special because before you know it they are off to college like my oldest son. 

Thank you for stopping by and viewing Little J's photograph.
Make sure to leave him some blog or fb love!!!


Sunday 22 May 2011

Okinawa Vintage Newborn- tattered lace

Journey's, like artist, are born and not made.
A thousand differing circumstances contribute to them,
Few of them willed or determined by the will-whatever we may think.
- Lawrence Durrell










The Making Of A Vintage Newborn Session -


Ms. Jennifer, owner of The Fabric Girl, explained during her pre-session consultation that she desired a vintage styling for her newborn session. I was excited as I'm always open to new styling ideas. At the same time I did not have any vintage props. The biggest factor that made this a success was that Ms. Jennifer booked her newborn session months in advance from her EDD.  This enable me to be able to find the props to style her vintage session.


Hmmm.... planning????
Those of you who live on Okinawa know that it is very difficult to get items here. Especially if you are looking for something particular. That's why it was so important to make sure that Ms. Jennifer and I worked as a team. I find it that the clients really enjoy being a part of the creative side. This gives me the ability to share where I am going with my vision with always taking into account what the client also envisions. 


Props????
I had no vintage items. Nothing...I was starting with a clean canvas.
So as a photographer what do you do when a client request a certain style and you don't have any props?


You beg, borrow, and steal! Well not the last one really but you get what I'm saying.


That's when I sent out an email to all my friends that I was on the look out for vintage or antique items. I was open to anything. Doing this allowed me not to narrow my ideas. You just never know what someone might have if you only ask for certain items.


To my rescue came two friends.  
Mrs. Nikole, allowed me to go thru her entire house including the kitchen looking for items that would inspired me. I collected items from the living room, kitchen and the children's toy box. See inspiration can get you in the least likely place. 


Mrs. Danielle, a fellow photographer here on Okinawa, allowed me to borrow her pleated fabric that I used to cover the changing pad, the vinyl barn wood floor from Photo Prop Floors and Backdrops and a baby scale.


Thank you Ladies!!!!
With theses items and a few items I had here at the house I was able to style the vintage newborn session without spending a fortune. Yes, I did make the tattered lace outfit and headband which cost me approx $25.  One item I didn't get to use was a beautiful bed but it did not arrive in time. MPS is not always reliable with delivery times.


Things I learned.....
I had never used a vinyl photo prop before. I was really amazed at how well it photographed. Two things concerned me in ref to purchasing one. The fact I do not have the space to store one. I would prefer to store it hanging so that it lays flat instead of storing it in the rolls. Two it damages very easily. I am pretty rough. If I had the choice between a wood floor and a vinyl floor. I would take the wood one.


If you can't buy it make it!!!
During my research for vintage inspired props I came across this BEAUTIFUL lace outfit. The lace outfit was a bit out of my budget. After some thought I knew that I wouldn't be able to make the exact item but I could make my own version for a fraction of the cost to include my time. BTW I do NOT know how to sew. So this was a very interesting experience for me but in the end it was a lot of FUN! 


Things I would like the readers to walk away with...
Don't wait til the last minute to schedule your sessions. This allows the photographer time to deliver the product or vision you have for your session. Had I not had time, it would  have been very difficult to make the props or acquire the props for this session.


Thank you everyone for stopping by and sitting a spell!


Have a wonderful weekend!!!


Please make sure to leave Miss L some FB or blog LOVE!!!







   

Monday 16 May 2011

Okinawa Photograher - what to wear on Okinawa


Thursday 12 May 2011

Okinawa Photograher - photography ideas from decorpad and pinterest





above photos from DecorPad

DecorPad is similiar to Pinterest. Pinterest is a place to catalog the things you love. DecorPad is a source for decorating, renovating and home building. Both DecorPad and Pinterest offer a community sharing photos that create a virtual library of inspiration for photography ideas. Both sites are wonderful because it gives you examples of how to display your wall art, from your family's photography session, in your home. DecorPad and Pinerest can also be utilized in conveying to your photographer, during the pre-session consultation, how you envision your gallery being displayed. 




above photos from Pinterest

 
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