Early yesterday morning I found myself flying to Honolulu to capture portraits for the December '08 issue of Modern Luxury Hawaii Magazine. After settling into seat on the plane, as usual, I reached into the pocket in front of me and pulled out the current issue Hawaiian Airlines in-flight magazine Hana Hou. I was surprised to find the image below running full page in the magazine's "Native Intelligence" section. I had almost forgotten all about this assignment to photograph Japan's master traditional kite maker, "Nobu" Yoshizumi. Yoshizumi-san was visiting the island for several days as he conducted workshops in kite-making & decorative painting in the traditional way.
Meeting him late one afternoon, Yoshizumi-san was a diminutive, gentle, kindly and most accommodating gentleman who agreed to every one of my requests, no matter how strange they may have sounded. The image below, for example, involved careful rigging of one of his delicate creations from a fully extended C-stand while I balanced high above him on a ladder in an attempt to simulate the appearance that he was actually flying the kite. I know he thought I was crazy at first, not really understanding what I was trying to explain I wanted him to do... he acquiesced nonetheless. Afterwards, I quickly showed him a few of the image previews on the tiny LCD monitor on the back of my camera and his eyes lit up in delight.
It's that time of year again, at least in the publishing world, when thoughts turn to the winter holiday season. Maui No Ka Oi magazine just put out the new Nov.-Dec. 2008 issue and inside is a holiday home feature I shot the day after New Year's last year. The home belongs to a close friend and member of the Art Hash Harriers Travelling Critique Clique. For publication purposes, she requested anonymity, a courtesy I will extend to this entry. Here's the tear sheets from the spread...
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