Just some musings...as of late...

I've been studying about alot of photographers lately...perhaps one of the more influential photographers I've studied is james Nachtwey.

One thing that he said, has stuck with me...

"I have been a witness, and these pictures are
my testimony. The events I have recorded should
not be forgotten and must not be repeated."

As photojournal- no wait...visual journalists...we all bear witness to the events and happenings of the world, and life around us. it's actually kind of amazing to see the images, both incredible and scary, that great photographers like Nachtwey and Salgado and even young 'whipper-snappers' like myself make. Due to our individual consciousnesses, we are all gifted with our own unique perspective. Each and every person sees something differently, yet we all see the same thing. Five different photographers can shoot the same scene with the same lighting, but the way they shoot it, and the emotion and part of themself that they pour into the image makes it inherently their own.

of course i'm preaching to the choir.

but its something i feel none the less.

back to the original reason for this post.


In a recent discussion that i had with a colleague and friend, I began to analyze why people make pictures...what drives them. People say they're tired of images that people perceive as beautiful, and that they want to create images that stir up emotions. I humbly believe that all images...if done correctly...stir emotions.

I come from the school of thought that any 'effects' that are done to an image are done 'in-camera' Photoshop is not something that should be used to alter or 'bastardize' and image by manipulating the intended reality to create a new one. Of course, there are those who argue this point and say that it is art. It may just be. But that's their cup of tea, and not mines.

Photographers like Nachtwey, Salgaldo, Smith, Lange, Laforet, McNally, Lum, Miho, Aquino, Burley, Walker, Lee, Tomita, and more have had such a profound impact upon the way i think critically, or approach an image or an assignment. It's just not enough to document it.

The viewer of the image needs to live the moment.

a 2008 retrospective

January - My first semester at Manoa. After semesters of dilly-dallying around at KCC and LCC, i finally took the plunge towards my final academic goal. Graduation. I was set on going to graduating and going to medical school. Little did i know that after i joined a certain organization my life would take a totally different path. I was hired as a staff photographer at Ka Leo O Hawaii.


My first published image in Ka Leo.

February - wasnt too exciting for me. another lonely valentine's day came and gone. i wasn't shooting that many assignments for Ka Leo. I found photography to be fun...just things had stagnated. Time would continue to march on.


Fishing with the YMCA Teens. Andre caught something with his hockey stick.

March - Whistler, BC, Canada. Perhaps one of the funnest trips i had been on in a long while.my last out of country trip since Japan in 2002. Mahalo to Troy, Geena, Andre, Allison, Tammy, Corey, Andrew and the others for making it a memorable one.


Fresh powder every single day. woo-hoo!

April - Finally started shooting sports for Ka Leo. Baseball, probably one of the harder sports to shoot is my first sports assignment. bleh. haha! Befriended Richard Walker and Jamm Aquino, star-bulletin photographers. Great guys. good friends.



May - First semester at UHM wrapped up. I did well. Passed ART206 decently. Really made me want to take 207. Applied to be the photography editor at Ka Leo. Got the job. decided photojournalism is something i wanted to pursue.


Lantern Floating 2008.

June - Bryan was fired. I was almost fired too. Decided i had enough with the hypocrisy of the YMCA. It would be only a matter of time before i left the Metropolitan Office.

July - Geena and I started dating. who could've predicted this. Started JOUR307, taught by Fred Larson. Wicked awesome photographer. Really lit a fire under my ass.


Geena and Me, 6 months later. New Year's Eve 2008.

August - continued working on a picture story about my grandmother, Lily Yuen, entitled "Bound by Love' Still a work in progress. Traveled to Portland.



September - 23rd Birthday. Also befriended a guy who i call a photo mentor. Cory Lum. A real inspiration, a good friend, and all-around great guy.



October - ART207 stressing me out. Ka Leo work picking up speed. became close friends with Kelli Miura and Abigail Trenhaile.

November - Elections. Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. Very Cool.



December - what a way to end the year. Member of the White House Traveling Press Pool for PEBO's stay in Hawaii. Geena and I made 6 months.

Remembering the Fallen

Stephanie Blevins Borabora, sister of 2nd Lieutenant Thomas A.K. Blevins speaks about her brother, who was killed in action during the Vietnam War in 1966, at the Army ROTC Fallen Warriors Wall Dedication Ceremony on October 9, 2008. Blevins was a 1965 graduate of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa's ROTC Program. (Ka Leo O Hawai‘i photo by Kent Nishimura)

Wild Art: Silhouettes

A lone fisherman made a picturesque scene as he is silhouetted by the setting sun on a quite Saturday afternoon at Kakaako Waterfront Park. (Kent Nishimura/The Photo Bistro)

Silhouettes are always fun to make. The dictionary defines “silhouette” as an “image in which only the outline shape of a dark subject appears against a lighter background.” This word came from Etienne de Silhouette, the Minister of Finance in France way back in 1759. He cut out portraits of people from black paper and pasted them on light-colored backgrounds. Here, at Kakaako Waterfront Park, this fisherman was silouetted by the setting sun. You can see the light slightly washing over him.

Usually, the bright sky serves as the background for silhouette shots. You can also use water backgrounds, shaded subjects against atmospheric backgrounds like haze, fog and smoke, and sunlit backgrounds (as in the picture above demonstrates.)

Over the next couple of day's i'll be posting silouhette shots and stuff from my advernture at Kaka‘ako.

So, lately...

We're closing in on another semester of school for me. Yet another year of still being a student. Only slightly closer to graduating. Slowly trekking to the "finish line" that is the real world.

I attended Frederic Larson's "Shoot the Moon" Class sponsored by UH Manoa Outreach College's Pacific New Media sessions.

lingering moment by sunset and moonrise

A beach going musician plays some tunes while in the background, an almost full moon rises in the distance out of diamond head crater.

 

Kent Nishimura | The Photo Bistro

My Daily Gear

The Arsenal, L to R: LowePro Photo Runner, Lens Case 3, DMC-Z (Not Pictured), Ka Leo O Hawai‘i Presspass, Ka Leo O Hawai‘i business cards, Canon Speedlite 580EXII, Maglite Mini, Eneloop AA batteries and wall-charger. Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM, Canon EOS-1D + EF 70-200mm f/4L, Canon EOS 1D Mark II N + EF 17-40 f/2L, 2x NP-E3, Sandisk Extreme III 2GB CF Cards, Apple iPhone, Apple Macbook Pro 15.4". (NOTE: NP-E3 Batteries also in camera for 4 total batteries, 4GB CF + 4GB SDHC in 1Dmk2N, 2GB CF in EOS-1D)

The other day, I was out on assignment, and someone asked me if i was a photographer. I replied "sure. I think so...although I've always though of myself as just a guy who makes photos...nothing more, nothing less..."

That got me thinking. For some strange reason that question is always posed to me even as I walk down the street, cameras dangling from my shoulders.

So, yeah, I guess I am. I must say, I think I look pretty ridiculous with all my gear. With that said, I try my best to keep my equipment to a minimum, and the photo above shows what I carry with me on a daily basis when working for the Ka Leo. Less is more in my book.

The Flash Setup:
Once my buddy John Nakatsu comes back to the islands i'll have my 420EX and ST-E2 back in my hands, so that'll be cool. I want to actually get some lightstands and unbrellas so i can set stuff up. I can trigger the remotely with the ST-E2 transmitter. Nice light, cheap, and quick and dirty. I'll use the Omni-Bounces (Not pictured) when I need to go on-camera with the flashes. They soften the light a little, and disperse the light for a somewhat softer look than straight, naked, on-camera flash.

The Bag:
As a PJ in the field I’m not much of a bag man. I prefer to keep my cameras out so they’re always ready. And since I don’t carry much else, I just use a waist pack to hold my strobes and transmitter, the EF 24-70mm, and some extra batteries. While the bag itself doesn't hold much, I find it light, quick to access and very convenient; when i'm in the field.

The Cameras:
I carry two bodies. The EOS 1D Mark II N and the EOS-1D. I actually just picked up the Mk2N. It was a friggin steal. $2,000, 8k auctations and practically brand spanking new. SWEET! Anyway, the 70-200mm is always on either the Mk2N or the Classic. Either way, both shoot at a blazing fast 8fps. Most of what I shoot here is done with those pieces of equipment. The Mk2N is great for sports and fast moving subjects, and does exceptionally well in low light. I also really like the 1D Classic, sure it's almost 8 years old, but who cares. The color is good, and like the other 1D cameras it has a APS-H sized sensor with a 1.3x crop factor. Which is why I always have a UWA like the 17-40L on there. I like the pincoushin distortion a lot and that’s why I use the Camera+Lens combo. Gotta be careful with it though — beware the “cone head effect.” If you shoot at 17mm and put people in the corner of the frame they tend to end up looking like cone heads. Not as bad as if I was shooting FF. But I do like the look of really wide photos where there’s so much context jammed into one frame.

The Laptop:
Since the Ka Leo O Hawai‘i is totally digital, the photographers use laptops to process and edit our daily work. Since the advent of digital communication, we can send pictures to the office from the field. So after a football game we can whip out the computer, edit our shots, and send the photos to the photo editor...oh wait thats me! It definitely makes things a lot easier.

Memorial Day

A memorial day in Hawai‘i nei.
We honor those who gave their lives for peace.
who gave their lives for love.
who gave their lives for liberty.
who gave their lives for family.
who gave their lives for freedom.

Thank you brave soldiers of life and liberty. thank you.

Photos are from the Mayor's Memorial Day Service at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, and the Lantern Floating Hawai‘i festival at Ala Moana Beach Park. Photos were taken while on assignment for the Ka Leo O Hawai‘i.

as of late...

Been kinda busy busy lately. Haven't really had a chance to update this thing. This semester has been a whirlwind of events. I can't wait for the next semester to start...weird huh? LOL.

Here are some photos i recently shot for the Ka Leo O Hawai‘i and the Western Athletic Confernece among other clients.

my goal

So I was on the POTN forum, perusing through the posts in the Honolulu Hale thread, and i came across a post by PocketNinja.

Here's something interesting for everyone to talk about. What are your goals for photography?

So it got me thinking. What is my ultimate goal? What do i want to do? Every time i think about it, i guess my ultimate goal in photography is to capture and create a visualization of my interpertation the human condition...to continually photography each moment as it comes and document it like writing a history photo-book. Of course along the way there are little steps here and there...i want to shoot concerts, weddings, big events, the state of the state address, the state of the union address, super bowl, the olympics, when the bows go to another college bowl again. I want to be able to go and take photos for some humanitarian organization like Thirst Relief International or the Peace Corps and take photos of places like the Brazilian Amazon. I want to go to iraq and photograph things happening there. I want to travel the world capturing the spirit of the people, the essence of their culture, the depth of their environment. To document things, happenings and occurrences as they happen, so that i may share the here and now with those that come later.

It all stems back to what i said about capturing what i see, and creating a image of that moment frozen in time...back to what i said about capturing the human condition. To be honest its not just the technical stuff of photography that interest me.

While I believe that taking photos of people smiling and posing for the camera is fine. I believe that capturing them in the moment doing something, and making a photo of that is so much more powerful. It captures who they are, and it makes the viewer of the image think about the drama/emotion created from the photo. Who is this person, why is he/she doing what he/she is doing at the time the image was created? What made them do what they did. and so forth. I believe myself to be analytical and someone who is a deep thinker. I like to analyze things, and I believe that my photography reflects that. Like i said in one of my earlier posts, through my photography i seek to change the way you see the world.

Camera Talk

So I decided to check on the shutter life of my cameras. Much to my dismay, i discovered that according to the amount of times that I've logged how often i;ve reset my memory card on my 20D, the 20D's shutter life should be somehwere around the ball park of 50,000 clicks. the life is around 50-60k.

whereas my EOS-1D is rated for around 100k worth of clicks. I have 131,789 clicks on it.



holy crap its time for a shutter replacement? maybe a sensor cleaning...how aobut just new gear.



i'm accecpting donations. :)