VISIONS INSIDE MY HEAD...

For sunrise, I've had to deal with getting up early, rainy weather, cloud conditions, tides & getting wet. My personal projects require a human element, I'm not a people person, I need to find the right model, the right location, lighting setup & a small crew to assist with multiple light setups. It's hard work, for me finding a model is the hardest part & communicating my vision of the shoot.

I have these visions of pictures with the perfect lights, model & locations. It's not only 1 vision but many of these images floating through my head.  I’d say shooting boudoir has been carrying my vision for the past 6 months. I’ll continue to shoot my style of boudoir but I've also had a spark of interest in dance. No, I’m definitely not dancing, way too uncoordinated for that, but photographing dance, ballet dancing in particular. I've been following a photographer Omar Z. Robles & would love to shoot his stylized ballet street photography. The only problem is finding a ballet dancer to complete my vision! If any dancer sees this, please, please, please drop me a line, I’d love to collaborate, I have so many ideas in my head & I need to get them out, to create some beautiful art!!!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2019 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

LACKLUSTER...02.09.19

Been feeling a bit uninspired as of late, for my seascapes. I feel like I'm just going through the motions trying to force my compositions! I know that like anytime I’m feeling like this, I'll have to work my way through it. I shot at Sandy's on Saturday & the waves were looking really nice but I wanted to work my way through this funk to see what I could find. Unfortunately, I came up with 2 shots that I wasn't too particularly fond of. I think their OK images but nothing to write home about. Fist couple of things I noticed right off the bat was, there’s no light & no mood to the image.

For the past couple of weeks, I've been shooting with my wide 16-35mm, more so on the long end at 35mm. I think next week I'll definitely lock on my 100-400mm to look for the details of my scene and hopefully, the surf will be up!  

There’s more to this, perhaps moving on to the next best thing in my photographic journey! Please see my next blog post for more insight.

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2019 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

SHOOTING CREATIVELY...01.07.19 (Japan time)

I’ve always been a loner, definitely not a social butterfly by any means. I thought that this image above symbolizes myself as a loner but yet still fighting & flourishing new leaves as the ice melts, as it moves into Spring. Through my journey, I've met a lot of people, many of whom I admire & find inspiration from. It has taken many, many, many hours of hard work to learn the craft of photography to make it my own. When I 1st started shooting back in 2004, strictly sports photography I had no idea of where it would take me 15 years later. I truly didn't realize that my journey had started so long ago! Wow, 15 years!!!

2009 was a milestone when I decided to start shooting more "creatively" outside of sports. It took me several years of shooting every genre of photography until it pointed me to specifically shooting sunrise & now both sunrise & portraiture. 

At this point in my life, I'm very happy about where I am, photographically speaking & have taken what I've learned to start teaching others through workshops. By no means am I saying that I know it all, that is so very far from the truth! I continue to learn, watching, listening, questioning & then experimenting on my own to try & grasp that new technique or stylized look from someone that I am inspired by. First & foremost, I teach for the love of my craft & to pass on that knowledge for the benefit of others, never for the money.

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2019 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

EVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE...02.02.2019

Once again Sandy Beach surprised me with its ever-changing landscape. Normally you'd see that rock exposed another 3 feet, but this time around it was covered in sand. the tide was receding but the surf was pounding. I needed to get close to make the rock look larger than what I was seeing in my 16-35 wide angle lens, even maxed out at 35mm it was too small. Knowing that I'd get wet up to my knees I fully extended my RRS TVC 33S legs to protect my gear & got this long exposure shot.

I did post this same shot on IG but didn’t like how it compressed the image & devastated the sky! So I re-edited it, lightened the sky & tinted it blue, I think it a more appealing image after the edit.

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2019 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

INTRO TO BOUDOIR PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP

On February 2, I taught my 1st workshop for 2019 at Hawaii Camera, Intro into low key Boudoir Photography. It was so different this time around from my other photography workshops that I’ve taught before. I wanted to structure this class as a hands-on, where the students take part in shooting a model. We had a total of 7 students. I brought my own equipment a Flashpoint 400 Pro monolight & a Godox AD200 & various versions of the Godox X1T to the latest Flashpoint R2 Pro MII triggers for Canon, Nikon, Fuji & Sony.  For our light modifiers a 27” Molight Beauty Dish, I love this beauty dish, & a Cheetah Stand 9”x35” Strip box. I want to show the class that you don't need to buy expensive Profoto or Elinchrom lighting systems & light modifiers to start shooting with flash/strobes.

Our model for the night was Kelsy, she's a pro at this & even contributed to the class discussion on a models point of view on a photo shoot. Darcy & Brandon was also there to help with the setup & assist. My only regret was that we didn't have enough time to run through a couple more lighting setups.   

HOKKAIDO WINTER LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY ADVENTURE 2019

Spent an amazing 12 days in Hokkaido photographing the winter snowy landscape with Martin Bailey's on his workshop. Our group consisted of 14 photographers from around the globe! Australia, UK, New Zeland, Portugal, Washington, Seattle & of course da 2 local boys from Hawai'i! Everyone got along so well, no drama & lots of Aloha!

We started out in Haneda & flew to Hokkaido as a group. From the time we arrived in Hokkaido we started shooting as we made our way to Biei. My most favorite place to shoot on this whole trip was in Biei!!!  The trees & snow-covered slopes were, in my opinion, the highlight of the tour with the Torii Gates in Haboro a very, very close 2nd!!! 

I was able to capture 1 sunrise & 2 sunsets. However in this climate, setting up for the capture, something that would normally take me 5 minutes, here at home, to set up my camera, tripod, ND filters & shutter release, took me 15 minutes as I was encumbered with my thick gloves & heavy jacket. I ended up taking off my gloves & enduring the pain from the cold until I was finally set up & ready to shoot.  

We had a fairly tight schedule but there were some down times to relax & catch up on my editing. After dinner, I learned a few tips & tricks from Martin & Eric's mini-workshops. 12 days & 6 hotels later it had to come to an end sadly. Made friends with some wonderful like-minded people & came away from this experience a better photographer & person! Aloha to all my new friends & goodbye to the cold, cold snow, which isn't that bad for this local boy!!!

A big Mahalo to my bruddah Dave, for showing me around Tsukiji Marketplace & keeping me company throughout the tour! 

If anyone is interested in Martin's 2020 Hokkaido Winter Landscape Adventure, please follow this link to his website. Unfortunately, I just checked his website & the 2020 workshop is SOLD OUT, but you can signup to be put on the wait list, if there are any cancellations. I would highly recommend indulging yourself to take this tour, I promise you won't regret it!
https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com/hokkaido-winter-landscape-photography-adventure-2020/?aelia_cs_currency=JPY 

One last thing, I finally finished my edits on the images I took while in Hokkaido & the gallery can be viewed under “BUCKET LIST” on the main navigation bar or follow this link,
https://www.ryansakamoto.com/bucket-list/ A few of my images are posted below…enjoy & Aloha.

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2019 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved
 

52 SANDY’S MAGIC NUMBER...12.31.18

Ventured out to Sandy Beach for my last sunrise shoot for 2018, but not alone. Met up with 2 good friends Nicholas Kau & Darcy Fiero. Just being with friends made it a great day! The magic number, 52? That’s how many days I’ve shot sunrise at Sandy Beach in 2018!

The ending of another year, My family & I have been through a lot, that's a definite understatement, this past year. The passing of my father in law, my mom being in & out of the hospital sooo many times with health issues. I really thought I was going to loose her 4 months ago, but Fate has dealt her cards & through some miracle, my mom is healthier than ever, for that I thank God! My daughter Kim with her bipolar depression has proven that she is STRONGER than ever! Granted that this is a battle that she has to fight with every single day of her life with. I know that if I die tomorrow, I am positive that she & her sister Sam, will be fine to face the world, they are fighters & I am so proud of both of my girls!!! 

The beginning of 2018 was tough, really tough! But in the last 4 months, things have started to look up! I pray 2019 will bring brighter days to my family as well as yours! I am not a person to dwel on things of the past, tomorrow will be a better day! So with that, I wish you a safe, happy & prosperous New Year! Bring it on 2019, I'm ready as I'll ever be!!! Don't forget that the glass is always half full...not half empty!!!

In 2019 I’m planning to shoot more towards my burning passion of “The art of boudoir photography”, my new tagline, hope you like it! It calls to me more so than the sea!!!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

THE ART OF BOUDOIR...12.16.18

Last blog entry for 2018, on December 16, I got together with one of my favorite models & friend Marie, a great tattoo artist in her own right from TORA TATTOO. I've been playing around with 2 lights & I think I finally nailed it with this combo of light modifiers, I still need to learn how to tweak the intensity of the lights to match the ambient. A 30" beauty dish with a white interior, combined with the deflector plate & the outer diffusion, I realized that this will give me that "perfect" light I've been searching for!  The kicker light, a 9”x35” strip light, to camera right just behind Marie illuminated her beautiful curves in her back & bum! The falloff of light from the beauty dish is perfect in every sense, at least to my eyes. 

A BIG THANK YOU to Marie for indulging my vision as she held that pose!!! To my good buddy Tien Enga for always being there as a great assistant with his very helpful views & input!!!

In 2019 I’m planning to shoot more towards my burning passion of “The art of boudoir photography”, my new tagline, hope you like it!

To all my family & friends I wish you a safe, happy & prosperous 2019 NEW YEAR!!! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

A PERFECT DAY TO FLY...11.25.18

Last Sunday the winds were down & it was a perfect day to fly!!! I arrived early at the location that I've been wanting to shoot with my drone for a while now. Can't seem to break the habit of getting up at 4 am, even though the sunrise is at 6:44 am. I was tempted to launch the drone during twilight but, I figured why, it's too dark & even thou the Hassy camera is much better with dynamic range, that 1" sensor is nothing compared to what my A7R III can pull detail out of the shadows. So I waited, sipping my 32oz Hydroflask filled with my favorite coffee! 

Sunrise from Makapuu, Hawaii
DJI Mavic Pro 2 | PolarPro Exposure Collecton ND256 8 stop ND Filter
Edited in Lightroom Classic & Photoshop CC 2018
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

While I waited, I popped on an 8 stop PolarPro ND filter in anticipation for the sunrise with hardly any clouds in the sky, I knew the sun was going to come up hot & heavy. There was another person flying their drone in the same area so I had to be careful to keep my distance from theirs. As soon as the sun peaked over the horizon I launched & this is what I got...

Sunrise from Makapuu, Hawaii
DJI Mavic Pro 2 | PolarPro Exposure Collecton ND256 8 stop ND Filter
Edited in Lightroom Classic & Photoshop CC 2018
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

I truly found out on that Sunday what the full potential of the Mavic Pro 2 & the Hasselblad camera combo can do! I'm hooked, I just need more windless days!   

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

IS THAT SANTA UP THERE?!...11.24.18

This past Saturday, I had the privilege to shoot my daughter's boyfriend's, family Christmas portrait. I hate to admit this but due to a mix up in packing my gear, I grabbed the wrong softbox, auwe!!! How would I light a family of 7, actually 6 plus my daughter Kim, with a strip box?! It was too late to go home & grab my 48" Octa, so I went with my Flashpoint AD200 with the round head, bare bulb with a diffuser dome. Not as soft & focused as I would have wanted but it did the job. 

I shot 4 different looks at different angels & locations in the park. Just as they were getting ready to leave, I remembered another shot I wanted to get. I gathered the family in a circle & launched my Mavic Pro 2 drone into the air. I had them look up & throw da shaka!

I love incorporating the drone into my portraiture it has this different vibe to the image! I have another idea that's been stuck in my head for a drone shot, but I need a beautiful model who'll brave an early morning sunrise on the beach in a bikini. Anybody interested?

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

HAPPY THANKGIVING...11.22.18

Sunrise from this morning on Thanksgiving Day, sooooo beautiful!!! I have so much to be thankful for this year. My mom is in her best health ever, moving her into a smaller residential care home was the best thing I could have done for her! The caregivers have stabilized her blood sugar and taken her off of insulin & her respiratory system is clear! I know she misses her friends but in my opinion, this was the best thing for her. 

Same time last year, my daughter Kim was admitted into Castle psychiatric wing having thoughts of suicide. She has been in & out 4 times, maybe more I’ve lost track, to Castle. She has tried different methods of treatments to help with the depression but in my opinion, she personally has persevered through the dark times with the help of her boyfriend & our families support. Her older sister Sam has also played a huge part in stepping up to help take care of her little sister as well. I myself have spent many mornings along with the intent to shoot sunrise but ended up just sitting on the beach & letting the tears flow. It's so hard to see someone you love so much go through so much pain & being there but feeling so helpless! 

Enough with the sad moments! Maile Girl Kim's furry baby has brought so much happiness to her the moment she came into her life! Maile is the sweetest thing on 4 legs, we all love her so much & happy for her to be part of our family.  

Chowder Boy, Sam's furry son has also been a joy to have in our lives! He's such a rascal & is Mailes best friend!!! I just wish they stop chewing up the furniture, walls & carpet!!! 

So this Thanksgiving the waters have settled in our home, at least for now. With all the thing we've been through this past year, it has made our family stronger & our bond unbreakable! 

With that I wish you all to have a safe & wonderful Thanksgiving!!! With that, I leave you with a drone pano shot of this mornings sunrise, Aloha my friends!

SHOOTING WITH AN ANGEL...11.18.18

This past Saturday we were rained out, no sunrise images but we had a good breakfast at our fav Koa Pancake House! 

Earlier in the week, a model friend of mine, Angel, wanted to do a photoshoot so we set it up for Sunday sunrise at one of my favorite spots to shoot, Sandy Beach. When we got there the wind was blowing pretty hard. I had a spot in mind where I wanted to shoot, but I did keep an eye open for a nice shallow tidepool. We ended up all the way inside by the last cove before the Blow Hole.

I would have liked to have done more with my lights but I was flying solo with no assistant. I did decide to use my Stella Pro 8000 as a constant light without any softbox. I think I would have had problems if I did attach a softbox on, especially with how the wind was blowing that morning. All in all, the LED worked out fine, but I must say it had a very different feel & look to the images. I'm so used to that soft glow from my AD200 & a 30" beauty Dish. The Stella Pro 8000 gave the image more of a hard light, I'm just not used to shooting that way.

At the very end of the shoot I asked Angel to lie down on the rocks & launched my drone to get an arial looking straight down on her from above. The wind was blowing so hard that it was so hard to keep the drone hovering in the same spot for very long. I only got off 3 shots, 2 of them were blurry & unusable but the 3rd on was sharp!!!

My 2 favrite shot below…

Inked Swimsuit Shoot
Model: Angel Payne
Sony A7R III | 1/500 sec. | f/1.4 | ISO 160 | Sony FE 85mm F1.4 GM
Edited in Lightroom Classic & Photoshop CC 2018
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

INKED BEAUTY SERIES...11.11.18

I had the pleasure to shoot with Kehau, @kemeow on IG, a beautiful young lady with some amazing inked body art!!! She was great to work with, even though the trail was muddy & the stream's water was brown & raging, due to the recent heavy rains we've had in the past couple of days prior, no complaints.

I kept my lighting to a minimal to help accentuate her beautiful lines & curves. Playing with the highlights & shadows, the MoLight 30" Beauty Dish with the single outer defusion panel & the Godox AD200 did its job to sculpt Kehau's lines & curves.

Kehau was a trooper, I knew she was cold but didn't complain. My assistant Reid who was in thigh deep of raging water as well as myself. Dave was closer to the shoreline with the 2nd AD200 as a backlight & ready with the smoke in a can. Unfortunately, the winds were blowing a little bit too hard & the smoke didn't work out as I planned. 

As we packed up, Kehau & myself were talking about coming back when the water is calmer. I have this shot stuck in my head, & she has everything I need to get that image! Did I mention that I loved her tattoos!!!

Inked Swimsuit Shoot
Model: Kehau, @kemeow
Sony A7R III | 1/250 sec. | f/1.8 | ISO 50 | Sony FE 55mm F1.8 ZA
Assistant 1: Dave @dkfphotoworks
Assistant 2: Reid @_reid_f_
Edited in Lightroom Classic & Photoshop CC 2018
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

BACK IN BKACK and WHITE...11.03.18

It’s ALOHA FRIDAY! Have a safe & relaxing weekend everyone!!! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

ORDER IN CHAOS...11.04.18

Up until around 6:15 I was the only soul at Sandy’s where I normally perch & set up my tripod, oh & of course I had my 32oz Hydroflask filled with my poison of choice, Hawaiian Isle Vanella Macadamia Nut Coffee. I guess I was so focused on watching the waves & shooting, that when I turned around to grab my ND filters pouch, there was 1 photographer behind me to my right about 5 feet from me & another guy to the left with his iPhone. Looking farther back there were another 4-5 other people behind them. 

I really need to start paying more attention to what's happening around me, but it's all cool! I always worry that since I'm sitting on that 1st rock that I'll be in everyone's shot behind me. That's why I normally try to get to my spot as early as I can before anyone else shows up, that way they can't complain since I was there before them. At least that's my theory. 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

LONG EXPOSURE DRONING...11.03.18

Slowly getting the hang of this long exposure photography with the Mavic Pro 2 & using PolarPro Exposure ND Collection. This whole weekend the winds were blowing pretty hard. The problem with that is trying to keep the MP2 stationery without the wind blowing it & shaking the drone while doing a 1-second exposure. So for this shot, I hovered & took 6 shots, maybe more. The rocks are slightly out of focus, just a hair! I did get the effect that I was looking for of slowing down the water movements to get that silky, misty look & feel to it. My friend was also flying his drone & there was another one in that small airspace so we had to keep an eye out for each other.

As I've said before we learn from our failures, that's how we become better & more experienced in our craft. I have not only learned to respect the ocean & it's powerful waves that crash on the shoreline but now have learned to respect the air above me! 

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

TORN...11.04.18

Ever since I picked up my Mavic Pro 2 drone, I ‘ve been torn between splitting my time to shoot waves or flying! I still need more experience flying & learning how to control the drone. I seemed to be less afraid to crash or losing the drone as I was when I 1st got it, Im assuming that it’s because of getting more airtime, but it's always in the back of my mind that maybe one day the inevitable will happen! 

On Sunday I packed my MP2 (Mavic Pro 2) with my Sony a7R III & the 100-400 lens in my backpack with the plan to shoot waves at pre-sunrise & continue shooting until that amazing golden glow was about to disappear. I haven't shot waves in a few weeks & have missed it so much!!! Even though the tides were about to bottom out at 6:23am & the sun rising at 6:36am, the swells were small but I did enjoy shooting waves again!!! 

I did the same game plan on Saturday shooting with a few friends, shoot & fly, I'll post those images later on in the week.

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE...10.27.18

On her maiden voyage Stardate 10.27.2018 my Mavic Pro 2, which I have dubbed, NCC-1701, Sorry Star Trek Nerd, made its 1st flight from Eternity Beach. Not sure what I wanted to do when I arrived, I did bring my full camera bag, my drone, controller & 2 extra batteries. Twilight, I did take a few shots with my A7R III camera & as the early morning sun rose above the horizon I packed it up & brought out my MP2. Just prior to launching my mind went blank & I forgot how to set the drone “return to home” settings! Just like a little kid I said screw it & launched the drone. 

I knew what I wanted to shoot & immediately headed to the opening of the cove as the crashing waves hit the rocky mountainside & grabbed this shot! I was so excited & couldn’t wait to get home to edit my drone shots. Far from being a good shot, I did want to use my ND filters so I could slow down the movements of the waves, but another rookie mistake…I forgot to pack it into my backpack!?!? 

Since then, I’ve flown my MP2 two more time & slowly getting used to the controls. I have to say that when I do lose sight of the drone it is very unnerving not knowing where it is in the sky!!! I do need to experiment & find my vision for this new perspective in the sky, an exciting journey awaits me!!!

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

ONE MORE STEP FORWARD, REBRANDING...10.20.18

Hi there my friends, I’ve begun to reorganize the way I’ve been branding my name based on the genre of photography on Instagram, seascapes (@rsakamoto808), portraiture/boudoir (@lightandlace.ink) &  doggie pix (@friendsofmaileandchowder) 

I’ve created 3 separate IG accounts, my thoughts are,  that I can hopefully refocus my viewers experience to what they want to see. As it was, everything was being dumped onto my main IG page rsakamoto808 page. I’ve noticed an increase & decrease of followers based on what genre of picture I am posting. So the seascape followers may not want to see my imagery of tattoo picture & visa versa.

So I now have 3 IG feeds, the main IG account will be…
@rsakamoto808 
which will be all my seascape & wave imagery & Special Projects. 

@lightandllace.ink
Which will be my portraiture, swimsuit, lingerie, & boudoir imagery
I’ve also created a new website just for this genre of work, lightandlace.ink

@friendsofmaileandchowder
Which will be of Sam & Kim’s new furry kids & friends. 



Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

CUE THE MUSIC...10.06.18

Cue mood music...Do you think it makes a difference on how you edit an image to what kind of music you're listening to at the time of editing? Do you edit in a quiet peaceful environment or are you watching TV & editing at the same time? 

For myself, my zen zone is, at my workstation in my room, sitting on the floor  Japanese style listening to contemporary instrumental soft jazz music. Yes, it has to be instrumental no singing, way too distracting!!! 

I used to listen to & still do every once in a while, alternative & heavy metal music. I started to notice that my moods were very "on edge" & somewhat irritable. I really didn't like feeling that way & started to listen to soft jazz & I believe it helped out mellow my moods & I wasn't always in a rush, especially while I was shooting, running around "looking" for every single composition, instead of slowing down & "seeing" my composition. There is a difference between "looking for" & "seeing" a composition. Nowadays I try to let the composition come to me, it's hard to explain but it's more of a combination of feeling & knowing when & where the composition is or will be. 

So what do you listen to while your editing your masterpiece?

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved