Ceren

I'm starting with a side thought, because this is my space. 

In this commercialized world, we are often pushed to think about what attire to wear on our bodies. Clothes can help accentuate who we are and also serve as an outward expression of us. Oftentimes it does. What I love about dance is that our souls with our bodies are at that podium. When it comes to dance and attire, in my opinion less is more. When shooting with somebody I want to have the dancer's core speak. I want their soul, working in unison with their body to whisper, shout, cry, mumble, rejoice. The clothes should not constrict the dancer unless it is particularly supposed to.

Moving onto movement. 

Make it Subtle.

When it comes to dance and modeling, I often see big, grand movements. Those are lovely in and of itself, but I prefer to ask the audience to notice the smaller, more subtle motions that are being displayed to have them really focus on the person, to listen to what they are saying.

When a viewer sees a photo, my goal is to have them ask, "why is that girl's hand flopping downward?" "Why is she looking at the hand?" "Why is she looking away?" This of course, all in attempt to have somebody be in the present moment, which is something I personally strive to do more often. As a person who has anxiety, my mind is always in the future, so I love moments where I get to be in the present. 

Cheers,
Masumi

Kayla

Many times I go into a shoot with several sketches of what I want, but some of my favorite images that the dancers and I create are the ones where we simply try a concept that I have in mind and let the dancer's body speak. This image above and below are possibly some of my favorite dance photos.

How did we make it? 

For the images above, I shared with Kayla that I have this vision of catching her mid-flight.

What kind of position to do, I left up to her. Once we tried a few poses we went with the ones that spoke to me. I laid down on the ground, pointing the camera upward toward her. She stood on a cushion & up she went, and snapped I did. We used my digital camera for this shot to allow for necessary retakes. If your dancer does not have too much experience with jumps I would recommend a much larger cushion. The tiny cushion is what we had, and my dancer was comfortable jumping off and onto it. As a natural light shooter, we used the light that was coming in from the left, as you can see. 

One more thing that really contributed to being able to shoot such personally satisfying photos is our match in energy. Many times you get people you can shoot well with, but on luckier days you have energies that work so harmoniously together. Our match in energy definitely helped to create those shots. 

The following below: Film shots, on the Pentax 645, Portra 400. 

There is a magnificence behind the body.

One body can do so much. It can cause pain, it can bring joy. It can express so many various emotions without the mouth opening once. For me, the movements of a body communicates far more strongly than the words that come out of a mouth. Being raised in a culture where you are to read behind people's words, I've come to listen and watch for things beyond the words that people say. Today things have changed but I still value that aspect of communication. Personally, I would rather express visually to communicate something rather than try to find the words. 

Love shooting dancers.

Cheers,
Masumi

Toronto: Birds Eye View

Out of all of the places that I got to visit around the world, Toronto gave the most serene views. It was beautiful, I wanted to remember it. What I wanted to remember was not so much the exact details of what my eyes saw, but rather how it made me feel. This time, instead of capturing the image as sharply as possible, I tried photographing what I saw through how I felt looking out at the land down below. Doing this reminded me of the importance of expression through photography. 

Photographing Toronto up high in the skyscraper reminded me that what matters is not what is there, but what it is to you.

Masumi

Driving

A few sceneries that stopped my journey from Virginia to New York.

I have a habit where if I find a song that I like, I will play it for hours on end, sometimes even a day or two straight. So during my drive up I discovered a new song that I liked. So... "I Tried" was on repeat for the entire drive up a little north. Thankfully nobody else was in the car to get annoyed by it.

The main reason which I am posting this photo is because I nearly got run over for this shot.

Up next: Toronto, Canada

Masumi

Assateague & Chincoteague Island: Minimally

Moments from visiting the two islands. Enjoy.

Masumi

Assateague Island: Wild Horses

Last month I headed out to the east coast for a zouk congress. Since I was heading out all the way to the other side of the continent, I decided to make a trip to go just a bit further east: to Assateague Island, the land of wild horses. Wild. Beach. Horses.

One week prior to heading out to the island, the weather forecasted that the days I would stay there would be thunder storming. I had no idea how I would get photographs of these horses with film, especially in dark, gloomy, rainy weather. I wondered whether I would be spending my time and finance to get zero pictures of the horses. 

The days approaching my visit to the island came near, and on the night driving out to Virginia near Chincoteague Island, I indeed drove amongst many beautiful streaks of lightning. It was definitely thunder storming. Super dark. 

I was doomed.

The next day arrived, the day that I would spend seeking out the horses. Somehow, the thunderstorm was gone. The sky showed a beautiful blue with sunshine. In fact, too much sunshine. It was so hot haha. So hot that I was worried it would affect my film. Yes it was hot, sticky weather but at the very least, my chances of getting photos taken significantly increased. In regards to the weather I told myself, "I'll take it."

I first visited Chincoteague Island, hearing that the horses are there as well. No horses, but beautiful scenery. After inquiring I found out that the horses come out during the sunrise and sunset (can you tell I don't plan trips very well?), so I headed up north to Assateague Island to catch them for sunset.

For a while I didn't see many horses. Definitely none on the beach like I saw pictures of on Google. I decided to lounge around, hang out for a bit and practice being patient. "Don't take too many pictures." "Wait until sunset." Switching to medium format, I really had to be careful with how many photos I took. A few hours after hanging out and getting sweatier, sunset finally arrived. The wait was worth it. I headed out to the beach, and bam. Horses on the beach. It was one of the most beautiful things I've witnessed. It was so serene. The horses sitting on the beach was such a majestic thing to see, so graceful, so powerful, so beautiful. At that moment life made sense. Moments like these are what I live for, what I travel for.

Except this one. Negative grace points for this one haha.

More photos soon, my traveling friends.

Masumi

Bunny Island: わがまま

A tad of a heavier topic today guys. 

When visiting Japan, the two islands that I wanted to visit was the following: Miyajima a.k.a. Deer Island, and Okunoshima, also called Bunny Island. Miyajima was beautiful.

Okunoshima was impactful.

When you first arrive on the island you see a bunch of fluffy dots on the ground, roaming bunnies in their innocence and purity. Within walking a few minutes you have bunnies just swarming you, coming to you for some food. The island itself was extremely cold. So cold that I told myself, "lf this doesn't get me sick nothing will." 

Nothing can make me sick now. 

It was a lovely, quiet, remote island. A large bed of blue surrounding the soft sands of the island. Bunnies quietly hopping around, coming around to see whether we would feed them. As we continued to walk around though I started to see the other side of the island: the side that showed the history of war.

Okunoshima, though a popular travel destination today was a place which at one point was an island kept secret due to their manufacturing poison gas to use during the war on Chinese soldiers & civilians back in the 1930s and 40s. It has been argued that the bunnies were used as test subjects to check the effectiveness of the poison. Once the war ended it is believed that all of the test bunnies were euthanized, but the validity of that remains in question due to the current evidence that there are countless bunnies that remain on the island.

During the last hour on the island I imagined what it was like for the bunnies to live their life as the Japanese soldiers would poison the Chinese soldiers. It was tragically ironic.

It felt like a symbol of peace sitting in the middle of death.

I left the island with one sad realization, and there is no better way to express it without speaking Japanese, "人間はわがままだね”. People are selfish. Not in a demeaning way, but just flatly, selfish.

This last photo is my favorite image from the trip to that island. It is a kanji character that means correctness, or just.

Okunishima history source: 
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/japan-rabbit-island-dark-history-180962631/

Masumi

Portland Riverfront: Minimally

Yes I'm late to blog.

As always. The following are my memories from visiting the cherry blossoms with my friend Lydia at the Portland riverfront. 

A question that I tend to hear people ask is, "How sharp is it (the image)?" when taking a picture. Lately I have been purposefully taking photos off-focus. Checking sharpness can be valid and important, but it reminds me of what I find more important. 

The questions I usually ask myself when taking a photograph is, "What feeling do you want to emit?" The interesting thing is that I have been more satisfied with images that I chose to not put in focus. 

I hope to see these blossoms again. On a side note, I just sent out the images from my visit to Assateague Island on Friday. Can't wait to receive the images back & show you the beauty of the land, of the horses.

XO
Masumi

White Mask Ninjas

When in Japan I saw countless people wearing white masks. The Japanese citizens generally wore the masks for health reasons: to protect either themselves or others around them from sickness. Coming from a land where nobody wears masks even when sick, it fascinated me to see so many people wearing masks as the norm. 

During my trip I got to travel around southern Japan and central Japan. Wherever I went, there were still so many people wearing white masks. About halfway into my trip an association between these Japanese individuals and their masks popped up in my mind. These Japanese people... some having ninjas as their ancestors, must be ninjas in hiding! 

From that point on in my trip these people were all white masks ninjas. Some were camouflaging themselves as students, businessmen, but when needed were ready to perform their ninja duty. For the rest of my trip I observed these ninjas with awe and wonder. At one point in my trip I purchased some masks myself and tried to train parkour in it. That was a terrible idea. 

M Kat

Rabbit Mask

Being artsy fartsy is in my blood.

A while back I made a stag mask, and now to join it here is a rabbit mask. Personally I like this one better, as not only is it easier to make but it fits my head quite snugly. Doing photoshoots with the animal masks I make seems to be an emerging tradition.

Masks are interesting to me. They give individuals permission to take on a new persona. They may allow an emotion that has been hiding to come out. 

M Kat

Miyajima: Red

Hi again ^^

If you read my last blog post, you know that Miyajima already got the stamp of "lovely island-ness" from having beautiful deer reside there. Putting the deer to the side for a moment, please let me show you how the island itself is a wonderland with beautiful bridges and architecture. You will notice how Japan has a specific shade of red that they like to use with their structures - particularly bridges. This red has actually become a favorite color of mine within these last few years, seeing so much of that color imbedded into this island's culture left me in awe.

I did take a creeper photo, which we will call street photography.

On several occasions we saw deer walking underneath this bridge, passing from one side of it to another. 

Itsukushima Shrine <3. Majestically floating in the ocean.

Lucky to have had the company of my husband during this trip.

Next: Okunoshima, Bunny Island

M Kat

Block Play

Hello again.

It's already mid-February. Time has already flown by, and I thought the year had just started. This year commenced with many photo opportunities such as visiting Japan, client gigs and personal work. Thankfully I just recently I have finished up editing most of the images!

On my recent trip back to the white studio, I got to bring in a lovely wooden block (thank you Forge Parkour) and had my dancer get on top of it. The following was the result. I wanted to test out my semi-newly acquired medium format lens in the studio. 
 

Japan blog posts coming soon. 

M Kat

Paris

During my visit to Paris I had a friend who let me stay with her apartment complex. This place where she lived happened to be right next to the Notre Dame. So every morning when leaving the housing complex I was greeted with a magnificent view of the building. Boom, iconic Paris. Every morning. 

Paris introduced to me a lovely culture of relaxing. All throughout the day when I would walk around town there would be a countless number of friends, family, lovers, people alone sitting along the river and just relaxing. Eating, listening to music, contemplating, drawing, relaxing. Never have I seen so many people lounging like in Paris. It was a sight so wonderful to see that I had to take a few moments of sitting along the river myself. 

Oh, and fishing too. 

M Kat

Zaanse Schans

This is the main reason which I loved Amsterdam so much. This place. Zaanse Schans.

Zaanse Schans to me seemed like a small, precious gem. A small, quaint town that was silent and smelled deliciously of chocolate everywhere. The windmills, the far-reaching fields, the sheep, chicken. I hope my photos can give you a gist of what I felt being there. 

When a young teen, I enjoyed completing jigsaw puzzles. The pictures that were in my puzzles were akin to these homes that I saw here at Zaanse Schans. These little homes, colorful yet calming were what I remember looking at after completing those puzzles I would work days on at a time. Maybe the person who submitted their photos to be turned into puzzles are from this serene land. 

Next week: Paris

M Kat

Amsterdam

One of my favorite places to visit last year was Amsterdam.

I was only able to stay for a few days at the stunning land, but it was a great couple of days. The architecture and canals took my breath away. Never have I seen so many bikes in my life. The folk bike fast there. The only concern was that I feared was getting run over by bicyclists. Thankfully it didn't happen. The following photos are my interpretation of what I saw there. 

On one of the mornings, my friend and I got up early and decided to take morning photos of Amsterdam. To my surprise at one of the canals that I found while spot-searching there were many swans floating around on the water. It was a lovely sight. Lovely white swans contrasting with the blue-green water. It was a quiet morning. 

Amsterdam at night. 

M Kat

Lido de Paris Dancers

Just like that, my visit to Paris has come & gone. It's strange sitting here in Portland, thinking that just a few months ago I was roaming around the streets of Paris. While visiting Paris I got to shoot with two very talented burlesque dancers from Lido de Paris. Thanks to them I now know the delicious combination of cheese and apples. These two had beautiful lines, but even better, they had such warm, kind personalities. 

As a dance photographer I am used to helping dancers find the most flattering dance position in relation to the camera, but for these two I barely needed to do such a thing. Being so experienced with performing in front of an audience as burlesque dancers, Hillary and Chris knew what angles looked good. The morning they shot for photos, their "audience" was my camera. It was incredible to be around such skilled dancers. 

I wish these two much success in their dance careers!

M Kat

New York Dancer: Cierra

Reflecting on this shoot with New York Contemporary Dancer Cierra. She had come from New York all the way to Portland for an intensive dance audition. She found me via social media and booked me to shoot for two days during her two week stay. This lady had incredible power behind her movements. It was nothing short of inspiring to see her drive to dance. As you guys already know, I love being able to say that the dancer I worked with was not only skilled but were kind people :). Yes, she was one of those down to earth, nice dancers too :).

Question: Which of the next two images do you like better? The image with the black background, or the white? Same, pose, different backgrounds. I have a preference but would love to hear yours. :)

Wishing you much success in your dance career Cierra!

M Kat

Clouds around the World: Recent

The clouds that I got to photograph during my travels for the last few months. They may possibly be one of my favorite things to photograph. :) 

Hawaii this Tuesday. I am very excited to visit the lovely islands for the first time in my life.

Houston, Texas (airport).

In flight heading over to Australia

Sydney, Australia

Los Angeles, California

See you soon :) 

M Kat

LambaLena on 35mm

The Portland Zouk community is really grateful to have Lena join the land of evergreen, awesome food carts & weirdness. Lena specializes in Lambada, which is a lovely partner dance style that I hope to one day dance well. 

You can easily see from the photos that Lena has experience with ballet and contemporary dance, dance forms that amaze me always. What is best about having her as a new instructor here in Portland though is really, her silly personality. Anyone who knows her would most likely describe her as cute & silly. Quirky. Personable, & respectable. As a Japanese person, I'm happy to have happa Lena to speak Japanese with too!

Thanks for being here Lena ^^. 

Masumi