This post begins my transition from client-based blog posts to personal work that I plan to finish out my time in Japan with.  The initial reason I took up photography was to document beautiful places that I constantly found myself in.  I was once stuck in the snow in San Diego at a location where we had a crystal clear view of the ocean.  I was awestruck by the contrast between my surrounding winter wonderland and the sunny beach in the distance.  Alas, I had no camera and that had to change.  

If you want a beautiful hike not too far from Yokosuka, I recommend Jogasaki.  It is on Izu peninsula.  We were drawn there to climb rocks but also ended up hiking the scenic approximately 5km trail (twice).  The nearest train stations are Jogasakikaigan and Izukogen, however we enjoyed a scenic drive along the Shonan coast to reach our destination.  Our hotel (Ooruri Group Hotel) was very reasonable and also has a large public onsen to melt away the strains of the hiking and climbing.  

As a fun hobby I own a couple of film cameras and one of those was all I took with me to document this trip.  I loaded a roll of Kodak Ektar 100 color negative film for Jogasaki.  This particular film is known for its high saturation so I thought it would be the perfect thing to bring the vivid details of nature to life.  There is something liberating to photographing with a camera with no complicated menus, no zoom, no preview.  You slow down and spend more time with each image and also don’t spend all night in the hotel thumbing through the day’s work.  You spend it in the onsen.  

It’s been a while since I have posted but I’m still out there shooting. Usually I suggest a location but this couple found a real gem for their engagement style photo session. I was so inspired that I kept shooting after the session was over.

I find beauty in people and places most would not expect. This series was inspired by the art of M.C. Escher. I was captivated by his woodcut prints at and early age. My goal was to create stark black and white images in a surreal setting. Hard tones against hard shapes. It was great to work with Reila Heaven who shares a similar vision for the eccentric. Click for bigger pictures.