What a great con this was. First thing, the organizers did an excellent job. Registration was smooth, programs were interesting and the hospitality was wonderful. Thanks to everyone who put something in the bookbag and the people who donated books to the bag. Mine was filled with wonderful things.
Hades Press had a wonderful pre-party with a band called the Plaid Tongued Devils. I've never heard celtic style ska music before. I loved it and bought a CD.
One of the things that really excited me was to learn about some wonderful Canadian small presses. I bought a beautiful anthology published by Ash-Tree Press called At Ease With the Dead. It's a beautifully made book. I haven't started to read it yet. Super busy processing images from Canada, getting ready for the show in December, NanoWriMo and that book is just too nice to crack the cover on. I know that sounds weird and is something an author doesn't want to hear. It's on the reading pile for December. I'll review it later.
Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy is also making wonderful books and as I'm a Calgary girl, I'm really excited that it is based in Calgary. I had a chance to talk to Brian Hades, the publisher, and he was a very nice and gracious person. It was also nice to make the connection that one of my favorite books, Sojurn, by Janna Oliver, was published by this company. I bought the sequel, Virtual Evil, in the dealers' room.
Speaking of Janna Oliver, I was lucky enough to hear her speak at a panel and later during the conference share nachos with her! She and Jeanne Marie were gracious enough to let me join them for a drink. I had a great time listening to these women. I really mark this as a conference highlight for me. I also appreciate them allowing to to have their pictures taken with Fletcher Wriggley.
I went to a writers' chat hosted by Jo Beverly. It was nice of her to host this in her room and it was great to meet other romance writers doing fantasy writing.
I was also able to talk to my favorite cover artist, John Picacio. I met him at the Yokohama World Con 2007 while doing some translating and general gofer jobs. The artists's panel discussions were really interesting. It's really interesting to hear about creative processes for image work. Surprisingly, I find it really helpful for photography.
Through this panel, I learned about the work of Shaun Tan. I'm so amazed by Tales from Outer Suburbia. I was going to bring home a copy from Canada but my luggage was already at max for both suitcases and I was carrying lots of camera gear. I gave my copy to my friend's daughter and am ordering my own copy from Amazon.com. I have been recommending this book to everyone. I know I really freaked out one of the employees at the Chinook Mall branch of Chapters when I dragged him over to the books and told him that this is the book he should be recommending people buy for Christmas.
Tales from Outer Suburbia is a wonderful collection of images and short stories. I liked the tone of the images, wonderful color and detail and somehow feeling lonely. Almost all the images have an element of humor that I really enjoyed. Then again, I photograph Estello and a clay pig called Fletcher. So, if you aren't willing to take my word about the images (even though you should) then take my word about the poignancy of the stories. The first story is a half page long but it's a really wonderful piece of short fiction.
There was a picture of one of the characters, Eric, for sale in the art dealers' room and now I really, really regret not buying it. At any rate, I really love the book and stories and find it really inspiring to have that kind of fiction and art available as a book.
I met lots of wonderful people at the con and had a lovely time. I found it really easy to talk to people and the atmosphere was really friendly and supportive. I will probably write more about the con later, but I am doing the NaNoWriMo and finally feeling jittery about not doing any writing on it today.
More con later and some pics to come. I actually have a funny story to tell about people from Ducks Unlimited party.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Naked Tokyo 2008
I am entering images in the Naked Tokyo show again. The 2008 show will be held in Shibuya at a gallery called Le Deco.
Images from last year's show can be seen at The theme for last year was to have shocking portraits. "Shocking" is such a tough word. How does one interpret it? Offensive? Surprising? It was really hard. Last year had a lot of nice images but I think it was hard to really come up with something shocking. A few of the images were pretty shocking in terms of the sexuality shown, but they were in a slide show rather than images on the wall.
I ended up going the route of trying to push myself beyond my comfort level. I didn't want to do nudes. I also didn't want to do something really out there and in-your-face. I decided to work on an intimacy theme. My husband was nice enough to model for me. He ends up modeling a lot for me. It was especially nice of him to be okay with me exhibiting the images.I hoped my images were exploring intimacy and just the edge of sensuality.
I had nice comment from the curator of the show via the show producer. He felt my images conveyed a lot of intimacy because most Japanese men wouldn't let themselves be photographed like that. Without knowing me or the model, he felt that the model and photographer must have a relationship. I was really pleased with the comment. Another photographer commented that I did beefcake really well. Hmmm...
This year absolutely no hint of beefcake. There was no theme this year. That made it both easier and harder. I get to shoot whatever I like but it makes it harder to think of what kind of stuff the curator is looking for. Portraits in Tokyo is a pretty broad topic. I decided to go for lone figure in the city for my topic. Even though Tokyo is a pretty crowded place, I am always surprised at how often one can just be alone in the city.
I submitted eight images. I will hear on November 15th if any images will be selected.
I will put up a link to the show after the stuff comes online whether I get selected or not.
Images from last year's show can be seen at The theme for last year was to have shocking portraits. "Shocking" is such a tough word. How does one interpret it? Offensive? Surprising? It was really hard. Last year had a lot of nice images but I think it was hard to really come up with something shocking. A few of the images were pretty shocking in terms of the sexuality shown, but they were in a slide show rather than images on the wall.
I ended up going the route of trying to push myself beyond my comfort level. I didn't want to do nudes. I also didn't want to do something really out there and in-your-face. I decided to work on an intimacy theme. My husband was nice enough to model for me. He ends up modeling a lot for me. It was especially nice of him to be okay with me exhibiting the images.I hoped my images were exploring intimacy and just the edge of sensuality.
I had nice comment from the curator of the show via the show producer. He felt my images conveyed a lot of intimacy because most Japanese men wouldn't let themselves be photographed like that. Without knowing me or the model, he felt that the model and photographer must have a relationship. I was really pleased with the comment. Another photographer commented that I did beefcake really well. Hmmm...
This year absolutely no hint of beefcake. There was no theme this year. That made it both easier and harder. I get to shoot whatever I like but it makes it harder to think of what kind of stuff the curator is looking for. Portraits in Tokyo is a pretty broad topic. I decided to go for lone figure in the city for my topic. Even though Tokyo is a pretty crowded place, I am always surprised at how often one can just be alone in the city.
I submitted eight images. I will hear on November 15th if any images will be selected.
I will put up a link to the show after the stuff comes online whether I get selected or not.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
The Pen Tool
I love my Wacom Intuos tablet. I have a lot of fun with Adobe Illustrator and I really enjoy the finer control I can get with the pen. What I'm not loving so much is the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator. Almost everything else seems to be coming along except for the pen tool. Intellectually, I can understand the advantages of the pen function, but I haven't been able to get it to work for me. It is so frustrating.
I do lots of tutorials and research but I'm not fluent with this tool and I want to be.
I do lots of tutorials and research but I'm not fluent with this tool and I want to be.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Light Tent
I've been interested in doing isolation shots and still life for a while. I was really interested in using a light tent to do some of the work. Way too much money, though. I wanted to shoot fairly large objects, say a vase instead of a watch, but the light tents I was interested in ran to 350-500 dollars.
I've been reading a lot of photography web sites. Favorites are studiolighting.net and strobist.com. If you haven't checked them out, you should.
One of the valuable lessons gained from these sites is that you don't have to have the expensive equipment to make a good photo. You just need to get a good photo. Strobist.com even has an entry about making your own mini-macro studio tent. I checked it out, googled a bit more and decided that I, too, could make it myself.
I tried using the cardboard box, but ultimately was unhappy with the results. They were okay, but still hard to get a good photo. Ironically, the hardest part was getting a box of the right size. Any boxes were either too big or too small. They also didn't wear too well. Not a problem if I had endless access to boxes. Another thing about the box-- a coworker of mine who used to be an exterminator told me that cockroaches love cardboard boxes. They make the perfect happy nest for the roaches when they are in their nymph stage. I hate having cardboard boxes in my house. I don't want them in my house--not even for a photograph. I decided I would make my own light tent from PVC pipe.
I love DIY but because there is no HomeHardware store in Tokyo, DIY isn't so cheap. Tokyu Hands is a fun store, but things are really pricey. I guess because most things come in little plastic bags rather than tossed in a bin. it turns out that PVC isn't so cheap and it's more bulky than I guessed. But mostly, it isn't so cheap. Also I couldn't find any handy connecting pieces.
Enter the store called UNIDY in Lazona Mall in Kawasaki. I had been there a few times and it has a fairly decent DIY section. It is nowhere near the paradise of the big orange store but it's cheaper than Tokyu Hands. I had the burning desire to take another crack at building a light tent and went in search of PVC poles hoping the price would be more reasonable. Didn't find such an amazing section of PVC pipes, but I did find some nice aluminum pipes. The most useful size measured 60cm long and cost about 150 yen. The store also had an amazing amount of little plastic connecting pieces in a huge variety of shapes and purposes. Yeah, baby. THIS is what I'm talking about.
I was able to make the light tent structure for 4200 yen. The diffusing material would be made from garbage bags or drycleaning bags. Perfectly cheap or free. I also have the option of making the tent in different sizes later on by buying different sized poles.
Then I got ambitious. I also wanted to have a light stand. Light stands tend to run about 10 000 yen. I have been trying to improvise various way of putting up the lights I use and it all looked like an accident waiting to happen. I bought a longer pole for 900 yen and the big expense, a little holder for 1500 yen. It needed to be attached to a piece of wood to make it stable. I looked around the store for a suitable piece but didn't find anything in my size range (about 35 cm square) or in my price range (less than 500 yen). Still, I had ideas, so I purchased the stuff. I happily went home and put my bag down and left it for a few days. And then the final piece came into my possession.
Near my house is a local hardware/wood/building store. It is owned by a woman and I always wonder how they stay open. I found out that they make their living by opening early and catering their business to carpenters and builders. This store is a no frills shop. I've enjoyed walking past that shop because they sell a lot of lumber and often one can smell cut pine. Lovely!
I've been in that shop for various things-- a plunger, a screen, a knife/saw to cut a pumpkin, wood and screws to make a drying rack for my futon.
They were selling small pieces of wood in various sizes most of which were the size I was looking for. Best of all was the price--starting from 50 yen and up. I went home, grabbed the pole holder and went back to the store. I found a good size and the shop keepers helped me get the appropriate sized screws.
The last stage was to buy some velvet for photos with a black backdrop. I tried the black paper. I don't like the color I get. There's not really enough space to get the background to be a lot blacker than the subject. Yuzawaya was the place to get the velvet. I got a nice piece, that almost seems to absorb light. It wasn't cheap. The velvet costs 4750yen/meter. I was able to save a little since I only needed a length of 60 cm because the width was 110 cm.
Today, I put it all together. So far, so good. I'm still testing and working out the lighting thing.
Photos to come!
I've been reading a lot of photography web sites. Favorites are studiolighting.net and strobist.com. If you haven't checked them out, you should.
One of the valuable lessons gained from these sites is that you don't have to have the expensive equipment to make a good photo. You just need to get a good photo. Strobist.com even has an entry about making your own mini-macro studio tent. I checked it out, googled a bit more and decided that I, too, could make it myself.
I tried using the cardboard box, but ultimately was unhappy with the results. They were okay, but still hard to get a good photo. Ironically, the hardest part was getting a box of the right size. Any boxes were either too big or too small. They also didn't wear too well. Not a problem if I had endless access to boxes. Another thing about the box-- a coworker of mine who used to be an exterminator told me that cockroaches love cardboard boxes. They make the perfect happy nest for the roaches when they are in their nymph stage. I hate having cardboard boxes in my house. I don't want them in my house--not even for a photograph. I decided I would make my own light tent from PVC pipe.
I love DIY but because there is no HomeHardware store in Tokyo, DIY isn't so cheap. Tokyu Hands is a fun store, but things are really pricey. I guess because most things come in little plastic bags rather than tossed in a bin. it turns out that PVC isn't so cheap and it's more bulky than I guessed. But mostly, it isn't so cheap. Also I couldn't find any handy connecting pieces.
Enter the store called UNIDY in Lazona Mall in Kawasaki. I had been there a few times and it has a fairly decent DIY section. It is nowhere near the paradise of the big orange store but it's cheaper than Tokyu Hands. I had the burning desire to take another crack at building a light tent and went in search of PVC poles hoping the price would be more reasonable. Didn't find such an amazing section of PVC pipes, but I did find some nice aluminum pipes. The most useful size measured 60cm long and cost about 150 yen. The store also had an amazing amount of little plastic connecting pieces in a huge variety of shapes and purposes. Yeah, baby. THIS is what I'm talking about.
I was able to make the light tent structure for 4200 yen. The diffusing material would be made from garbage bags or drycleaning bags. Perfectly cheap or free. I also have the option of making the tent in different sizes later on by buying different sized poles.
Then I got ambitious. I also wanted to have a light stand. Light stands tend to run about 10 000 yen. I have been trying to improvise various way of putting up the lights I use and it all looked like an accident waiting to happen. I bought a longer pole for 900 yen and the big expense, a little holder for 1500 yen. It needed to be attached to a piece of wood to make it stable. I looked around the store for a suitable piece but didn't find anything in my size range (about 35 cm square) or in my price range (less than 500 yen). Still, I had ideas, so I purchased the stuff. I happily went home and put my bag down and left it for a few days. And then the final piece came into my possession.
Near my house is a local hardware/wood/building store. It is owned by a woman and I always wonder how they stay open. I found out that they make their living by opening early and catering their business to carpenters and builders. This store is a no frills shop. I've enjoyed walking past that shop because they sell a lot of lumber and often one can smell cut pine. Lovely!
I've been in that shop for various things-- a plunger, a screen, a knife/saw to cut a pumpkin, wood and screws to make a drying rack for my futon.
They were selling small pieces of wood in various sizes most of which were the size I was looking for. Best of all was the price--starting from 50 yen and up. I went home, grabbed the pole holder and went back to the store. I found a good size and the shop keepers helped me get the appropriate sized screws.
The last stage was to buy some velvet for photos with a black backdrop. I tried the black paper. I don't like the color I get. There's not really enough space to get the background to be a lot blacker than the subject. Yuzawaya was the place to get the velvet. I got a nice piece, that almost seems to absorb light. It wasn't cheap. The velvet costs 4750yen/meter. I was able to save a little since I only needed a length of 60 cm because the width was 110 cm.
Today, I put it all together. So far, so good. I'm still testing and working out the lighting thing.
Photos to come!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I feel like I should do an update. I don't have a lot of info to update, though.
Lots of travelling so that was nice. Prague in April, Hong Kong in May for three days and another three day trip, to Nagano, in June. I picked up a teaching gig in June and that was a lot of fun but it wasn't photography or writing.
I finally went through the Prague pictures this month. I also have had a chance to go through my Hong Kong photos, and a few of the Nagano photos. I submitted some of the Nagano shots to Getty. It seems I have a pretty positive response. Did some portraits for two people and I think they came out nicely as well.
The website stuff has been going slowly. I learn a lot but I keep changing my design ideas. This is not helpful. I'm trying to decide if it should be just right or just up there. I am going for just right. I decided to do a flash gallery, because in the end it seemed like the easiest thing to make and for viewers to navigate.
I've tried a lot of the free online flash stuff like Coppermine. While I liked it, it seemed that is was going to be harder to get things to look the way I like them then to get a Slideshow-Pro flash plug in to embed in my website.
My power center in my mac went last week so I have been computer free for almost a week. It felt good at first, but then I just wanted to finish the site and when I went outside to shoot, didn't get anything I like.
I don't like that I haven't been writing. I need to be more BICHOK. I have my hands full but need to make more time for it. The only things I have to show for creative writing is a short story challenge with JoeUser and another story about the life of a cantaloupe.
Lots of travelling so that was nice. Prague in April, Hong Kong in May for three days and another three day trip, to Nagano, in June. I picked up a teaching gig in June and that was a lot of fun but it wasn't photography or writing.
I finally went through the Prague pictures this month. I also have had a chance to go through my Hong Kong photos, and a few of the Nagano photos. I submitted some of the Nagano shots to Getty. It seems I have a pretty positive response. Did some portraits for two people and I think they came out nicely as well.
The website stuff has been going slowly. I learn a lot but I keep changing my design ideas. This is not helpful. I'm trying to decide if it should be just right or just up there. I am going for just right. I decided to do a flash gallery, because in the end it seemed like the easiest thing to make and for viewers to navigate.
I've tried a lot of the free online flash stuff like Coppermine. While I liked it, it seemed that is was going to be harder to get things to look the way I like them then to get a Slideshow-Pro flash plug in to embed in my website.
My power center in my mac went last week so I have been computer free for almost a week. It felt good at first, but then I just wanted to finish the site and when I went outside to shoot, didn't get anything I like.
I don't like that I haven't been writing. I need to be more BICHOK. I have my hands full but need to make more time for it. The only things I have to show for creative writing is a short story challenge with JoeUser and another story about the life of a cantaloupe.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
New Blog: NoriNori Studio Blog
I'm working on a new business. I'm going to start doing portraits! I am specializing in families. I found that I really enjoy trying to capture family dynamics. I'm going to shy away from studio shoots in favor of local or home settings so I can get a more realistic sense. I want to capture a moment in the life rather than create an artificial moment.
I've seen some great studio portraits but I like the extra element that the location and home setting will add. My favorite portraits are always done in situ and the location or props always give an extra hint about the identity of the sitter. Maybe this is some remnant from all those renaissance portraits I studied in Art History way back when.
The learning curve has been really steep in terms of putting the website together. It's been really hard to decide on things like palette, and phrasing. And as tough as it's been, it's been amazingly fun! I really look forward to waking up in the morning so that I can get more work done on the photos and the website.
As a result, the novel writing has suffered quite a lot. I'm trying to cut myself some slack on this. Not only have I been trying to get the photography business up and running, the last two weeks have been crazy busy! My mom and dad came to visit in the last week of March. It is their first time back to Japan in over ten years. It was an easier trip this time because I live in Tokyo instead of Niigata (about three hours outside of Tokyo by Shinkansen) and now my husband and I have a house instead of my apartment (which I was moving out of at the time of their last visit). Two days after my parents left, my husband and I took a week's vacation in Prague for our tenth anniversary trip. At least the story plots still fill my brain during an idle moment so I don't feel too bereft.
Prague was amazing. We stayed only in Prague and did a lot of photography. The only problem with shooting in RAW or film is that it takes just that much longer to get things ready to go on the internet. I would love to go back to Prague and do some more photography. It was a beautiful city and now I think I could do more interesting stuff than the usual touristy type stuff I did.
Here is a link to the NoriNori Studio Blog http://www.norinoristudioblog.blogspot.com
I've seen some great studio portraits but I like the extra element that the location and home setting will add. My favorite portraits are always done in situ and the location or props always give an extra hint about the identity of the sitter. Maybe this is some remnant from all those renaissance portraits I studied in Art History way back when.
The learning curve has been really steep in terms of putting the website together. It's been really hard to decide on things like palette, and phrasing. And as tough as it's been, it's been amazingly fun! I really look forward to waking up in the morning so that I can get more work done on the photos and the website.
As a result, the novel writing has suffered quite a lot. I'm trying to cut myself some slack on this. Not only have I been trying to get the photography business up and running, the last two weeks have been crazy busy! My mom and dad came to visit in the last week of March. It is their first time back to Japan in over ten years. It was an easier trip this time because I live in Tokyo instead of Niigata (about three hours outside of Tokyo by Shinkansen) and now my husband and I have a house instead of my apartment (which I was moving out of at the time of their last visit). Two days after my parents left, my husband and I took a week's vacation in Prague for our tenth anniversary trip. At least the story plots still fill my brain during an idle moment so I don't feel too bereft.
Prague was amazing. We stayed only in Prague and did a lot of photography. The only problem with shooting in RAW or film is that it takes just that much longer to get things ready to go on the internet. I would love to go back to Prague and do some more photography. It was a beautiful city and now I think I could do more interesting stuff than the usual touristy type stuff I did.
Here is a link to the NoriNori Studio Blog http://www.norinoristudioblog.blogspot.com
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