Recently, I had the absolute pleasure of working with Laetitia, a devoted taiko player with an incredible passion for the art form.

Laetitia’s journey into the world of taiko is nothing short of inspiring. Having moved to Japan to pursue her dream of becoming a professional taiko player, she shows dedication and determination in every beat of her drum. Her upcoming audition for a prestigious taiko troupe called for a series of fresh headshots and athletic portraits, capturing both her professionalism and her spirited energy.

From the moment we met, her enthusiasm was infectious. She has a vibrant personality and a genuine love for taiko that made every frame I captured a delight.

One of my favourite parts of this shoot was working with her to capture her athleticism. Taiko demands physicality, and Laetitia’s was wonderfully highlighted in the athletic portraits. Whether poised in a stance ready to strike the drum or captured mid-motion, her commitment to her craft was clearly evident.

Working with Laetitia was an absolute joy. Her collaborative spirit and openness made the entire process not just smooth but immensely enjoyable. It’s not every day that you get to work with someone so passionate and dedicated to their art, and Laetitia’s commitment to her craft was inspiring!

As a photographer, being able to capture the essence of someone’s journey is an honour. Laetitia’s story and commitment to her dream of becoming a professional taiko player truly fuelled our energy in the portraits we created together. I have no doubt that her talent and passion, coupled with these images, will make a compelling case for her inclusion in the taiko troupe she hopes to join.

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Laetitia, and I wish her nothing but the best on her incredible journey in the world of taiko.

I’m thrilled to announce that I’ve joined forces with Wonderful Machine, a leading art production agency in the world of media! This collaboration marks a milestone in my career as a photographer.

Wonderful Machine is well known for its extensive directory of over 500 talented photographers from across the globe. They’ve established themselves as a trusted and reliable resource for clients in need of top-notch visual content. Being accepted into their roster of photographers is something I’ve had my eye on for quite some time, and I’m happy to have achieved it.

With this new collaboration, I’m ready to expand my horizons and delve deeper into editorial, corporate, and brand narrative photography, and I’m eager to continue bringing my unique style and perspective to these areas of the industry. Whether it’s capturing a compelling story, showcasing the essence of a brand, or crafting stunning corporate imagery, I’m fully prepared to take on new challenges and create visuals that leave a lasting impact.

To my wonderful clients and followers, thank you for your continuous support throughout my journey. Your encouragement and belief in my work have been instrumental, and I’m certain this collaboration with Wonderful Machine will only enhance my ability to deliver exceptional photography services to you.

Above: One of my images for WestJet Magazine on the Wonderful Machine home page. Thanks to Lara del Torre, one of their Associate Photo Editors for sending it to me!

If you have any upcoming projects or collaborations in mind, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Let’s work together to create compelling stories. Stay tuned for more updates and exciting projects on the horizon! 

A few weeks ago, Stephen Lyman of Honkaku Spirits and Japan Distilled contacted me to photograph their first Koji Spirits Cocktail Competition. If his name sounds familiar, he wrote the excellent Best in Travel 2023 article about Fukuoka! You can read about my experience taking photos for that feature here. 

As a man who knows his drinks (and has written a book about it!), Stephen was uniquely qualified to judge the submissions alongside author Matt Alt, graphic designer Pablo Pineda, and Fukuoka native Yuko Nonaka, who all have deep knowledge of Japanese liquor. Bar Ugle in Fukuoka City was the staging ground for the competition, with the recipes made by Takuma Tsutsumi, Bar Ugle’s immensely skilled head bartender who did an excellent job with each recipe. 

Bar Ugle, Yakuin, Fukuoka

Working alongside everyone was incredibly fun and an experience I’ll remember for quite some time. To learn more about the Japan Distilled Koji Spirits Cocktail Competition, click this link to read their blog post (and listen to their podcast!). 

From left; Pablo Pineda, Yuko Nonaka, Takuma Tsutsumi, Matt Alt and Stephen Hyman

Last month while in Tokyo, I had the absolute pleasure of photographing Minori!

During the promotion of my most recent mini-portrait sessions, we had a lovely conversation and decided to do a simple environmental shoot on the streets of Shibuya. In less than an hour, we created gorgeous images using the environment as a backdrop.

In my blog post about my portrait session with Sally, I mentioned that it’s paramount for my subjects to feel as comfortable as possible in front of the camera. I firmly believe you don’t have to be a model to strike a pose and enjoy doing it, so Minori and I had a lot of fun trying different kinds. 

What I found was that she was a natural at it! She’s very bubbly and dynamic but also can pull out steely and focused expressions. I wanted to photograph her in a way that captured this essence as we wandered around the streets. I love the variety we got in the end, and I’m happy to share these images with everyone!

In December of 2022, the lovely people at the BrandsOnSpeed agency contacted me and tasked me with creating images for issue 17 of TRUe, the customer magazine of the TRUMPF Group. My last assignment with them when incredibly well, so I was happy to work with them again. 

I travelled to Utsunomiya in the prefecture of Tochigi to photograph Yoko Ueki, the CEO of UEKI Steel Material (植木鋼材), and Hideo Nakamura, director of business development.

TRUe was writing a story about the strength of heritage and using the past to forge a new future. UEKI Steel embarked on a new venture of using Kumiko woodcraft techniques with precise laser-cutting technology to create beautiful works of industrial art. Spearheaded by Ms Ueki, who had this epiphany in 2019, the company spun off a new line called ’maasa’ that creates a range of products from lampshades to wall bars and jewellery. The key to this being possible is a TRUMPF laser-cutting machine. 

When I arrived at UEKI Steel, I had the chance to meet Ms Ueki and Mr Nakamura. They gave me a quick tour of the facility to see the laser-cutting machine and then the maasa showroom with beautiful, precision-cut products on display. I immediately started mapping out the best ways to photograph not only Ms Ueki and Mr Nakamura but the products and the TRUMPF laser-cutter. I had already made a shot list; the only thing left was the method. 

In the end, I decided to photograph things from a journalistic perspective. I asked them to talk about their favourite pieces from maasa and had them move around the room. During all of this, I made sure to capture various products in the photos as well. We also got some great images with the TRUMPF laser-cutter, and while in front of it, a joke was uttered that got some laughs from both Ms Ueki and Mr Nakamura. Sadly the joke was in Japanese and a bit too quick to make out, but because I was focused, I captured one of my favourite images of the entire shoot! 

Overall the assignment was fun, and it was a pleasure to work with both BrandsOnSpeed and the TRUMPF Group again! You can see the full gallery of images here.

Hi everyone! It’s been a while, but I’m back and happy to share more of my recent work with you! 

While promoting my most recent mini-portrait sessions, I spoke with my friend Sally Davies from the firm recruitment Robert Half. She’s a talented Recruiting Manager with their Digital Marketing and Brand Communication team, who covers roles such as brand communication and management, digital marking and media planning. Being a high-level professional, she felt it was time she updated her headshots and portraits for her online presence, and we discussed how best to get it done. 

Like so many people, Sally isn’t always fond of having her photo taken, so I made it my goal to make her feel as comfortable as possible during our session. As a photographer, I find it’s important to connect with my clients to make them feel at ease in front of the camera; not everyone is a model, even if they look like one! We spent a little time talking through the looks and poses to go for (with me demonstrating each pose, it makes it easier!) and then started a casual conversation while I warmed up with a few photos. When she began smiling at the beginning, I knew we were in for a good session, and the results show exactly that!

Thank you, Sally, for trusting me to take these wonderful photos of you!

My first blog post for the new year; welcome! I hope you’ve all had a wonderful time bringing it in, and if not, I hope the year gets better for you.

I don’t have much to say this time, but I would like to share some of the last images I took in 2022. 

Towards the end of the year, I began taking short walks with my camera around my town. I’ve never considered myself a landscape, architecture or street photographer, but I love looking for interesting compositions and light and shadow wherever I can find them. It can be during a studio shoot or a photo walk in a rural town in southern Japan; it doesn’t matter. What matters is making an image that makes me and my viewers feel something.

These are just a smattering of shots. Sometimes I would go on multiple walks during an entire week but only take one photo. Sometimes I’ll take multiple in a single night. But it felt good to take them either way.

To that end, here are some photos I took on the streets that made me feel something. And I hope you like them too.

A few weeks ago I was in a bit of a rut and decided to do a small project to keep my skills intact. As a photographer, it’s vital that you keep working and practicing, even if it’s not a paid job. I hadn’t done studio portraits in a while, so I put together a mood board with the type of lighting I was looking for and started the planning process. I reached out to my friend Julia to see if she was interested in being a model for me, and thankfully she said yes! She had experience working as a model before, so I was grateful for her help. 

We found some excellent studio locations for rent, but sadly they were all booked out; that’s when I decided to improvise. I went to the nearest Yodobashi Camera and bought some sheets of grey paper, then took them back to the hotel I was staying at and stuck one to the wall. My general rule of thumb is that I’ll always try to work with a neutral grey backdrop; it’s easy to make it white, black or to colour it with a gelled light. 

As this was just a test shoot for me to get my groove back, so to speak, we kept things very simple. We started with a bare face, then added a bit of colour to the lips and then eyeliner to complete the look. Julia’s eyes are piercing blue; I wanted to highlight them, so I used a clamshell light setup with a reflector. This ensured sure the catchlights were right where I wanted them. Though minimal makeup was used, the images were shot and edited with the spirit of a beauty shoot with a very light touch. Julia did a wonderful job with me working as a one-man-band and on a limited timeframe.

In early autumn, while settling in and preparing for the leaves to start changing and for the weather to get nippy, I received an email from a Photo Editor at Lonely Planet. If you don’t know, Lonely Planet is one of the most well-known travel publications operating today, so I was very interested to find out what was coming. They had written an article about Fukuoka Prefecture in southern Japan for their Best in Travel 2023 roundup and needed a photographer to help put images to the excellent words on the page. 

The article was about the best places to eat, drink and sightsee in Fukuoka, taking me from Kyushu National Museum in Dazaifu, all the way to Nokonoshima (Noko Island), off the coast of Fukuoka. 

After discussing the logistics, I packed my bags, strapped up my boots (well, my Nikes) and set off on a journey that would eventually take five days and six nights to complete. I pulled on all my skill as a documentary photojournalist to capture scenes of both daytime and nightlife activities, people enjoying each other’s company and enjoying great food and drink. 

Photo credit: Third image from Shutterstock

Photo credit: Photos 4 - 6 Courtesy of Restaurant Sola

Photo credit: First image from Shutterstock

While I can’t list every individual location, they’re all in the article 4 days in Fukuoka, Japan: how to eat your way through the city. I have to give massive kudos to the writer, Stephen Lyman. He’s been in Fukuoka for many years, and I’ve experienced a number of excellent places thanks to his work! For anyone thinking of visiting Fukuoka, this list will be indispensable. Enjoy the photos here, then hit the link to read the article!

One of the best things that can happen on an assignment is when you work with wonderful people on multiple occasions. That’s exactly what happened when I worked with the fine folks of Chikusui Canycom Inc. once again!

I’d previously photographed sections of their factory for the TRUMPF Group’s Annual Report. This time, I photographed Hitoshi Kaneyuki, the company’s Chairman, for issue 16 of the TRUMPF Group’s customer magazine, TRUe. The wonderful people at the BrandsOnSpeed agency got in touch after seeing my images, and we discussed the best way to make the photos pop!

The article was about the company’s future and its ethos that its products should be functional and fun. This idea is seen in their ride-on brush cutter, the Masao. Different from most lawnmowers, this brightly coloured vehicle takes its design cues from racecars. Once I saw it, I knew I had to use it in the photos.

Even though we didn’t have much time with him, Chairman Kaneyuki was very energetic and willing to try out the ideas I had in mind.

This image was the very first one I visualized. Once I saw the vibrant red of the Masao, I immediately thought of the best way to emulate this iconic poster from the classic film Akira. I changed the direction of movement so we could see the Chairman’s face and placed a light in a softbox camera-left to add some fill light to the scene. Then I climbed a few meters up on a ladder to get the shot lined up. In the end, it’s my favourite photo from that day!

We took various photos of the Chairman riding and posing with the Masao and told him to do whatever felt comfortable. Thankfully he was very dynamic, and his personality shone through. 

We also walked along the factory floor and documented the process of building parts and assembling the vehicles. 

All in all, it was a successful shoot day, and I’m proud of the images we produced!