PARTING SHOT...07.29.18

The last series of shots from Sunday's wave shoot at Sandy Beach. I shoot until the sun is about 15-20% above the horizon or when the light gets just way too harsh. It's always hard to leave my little spot & I always tell myself one last set, this is going to be the shot! It never is as I chuckle to myself, but on that Sunday morning this set rolled in & I locked my lens on it & took a short burst of shots as the lens followed the wave as it curled...ahhhhh, I think I got it?!

Taking these long exposure shots of the waves at anywhere from 1/6th to 1/10 of a second, I'm craving a little sharper images but knowing that at 1/6 of a second & panning with the waves, I know very well that it would be tack sharp, acceptable sharp? Hmmmmm, I'll have to take acceptable sharp. I'm still experimenting with my shutter speed, maybe boosting it up a tad bit may get me where I want to be?! With that said I know I'll have to sacrifice something in the textures of the wave at a higher shutter speed.    

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

CONTEMPORARY PHOTOGRAPHY IN HAWAII 2018

Aloha everyone, one of my images has been picked to show in this year's Contemporary Photography In Hawaii 2018 gallery. The artists' reception will be held on Friday, August 3, from 6-8pm. If your free please come down & join me to see some amazing artwork from the Aloha State.

Congratulations to some of my friends who also had their imagery accepted into the gallery.
Lance Agena, Leslie Gleim, Stephen Sakamoto (no relationship), & Shane Sakata. Aaron Feinberg will also have one of his prints on display in the gallery, I'm such a big fan of his work! I hope he's the same Aaron Feinberg from Kauai, I'm thinking about?!?

Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

A NEW JOURNEY??? ...07.22.18

I also have a few shots that are on the artistic moodier side, more of my style of shooting & interpretation on a single composition, fine art. I've been asking myself why do I enjoy creating this type of moody images, & I can't come up with an answer. This shoot with Lei was the 1st time I've incorporated this type of feeling into a portrait shoot. I may never figure out why I like this style but it does speak to me in ways I cannot explain. Perhaps a new photographic journey awaits me???

Model: Lei Mancini
Lead Assistant: Tien Enga | Special Effects: Dave Furumizo | Back Lighting: Reid Fujita
Sony A7R III | 1/200 sec. | f/1.8 | ISO 125 | Sony FE 55mm F/1.8 ZA
Edited in Lightroom Classic & Photoshop CC 2018
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

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

THE PINK LEI...07.22.18

Did another model shoot this past Sunday with the beautiful & talented Lei Mancini, a local girl from the west side of Oahu. Was a little antsy about this shoot, I wanted to incorporate smoke into the background, which sounds easy enough, right?! With the help of some friends, I found a company that will ship smoke grenades to Hawaii, which will release colored, red, pink & white, smoke for 90 seconds, again simple enough, right?! All these questions, with one thought in my head, releasing that much smoke on a popular hiking trail will attract some attention as it rises over the tall looming trees. The last thing I need is the HFD & HPD slipping & sliding down the muddy trail trying to figure out if it's a fire or not! 

Model Shoot with Lei Mancini
Lead Assistant: Tien Enga | Special Effects: Dave Furumizo | Back Lighting: Reid Fujita
Sony A7R III | 1/200 sec. | f/1.8 | ISO 125 | Sony FE 55mm F/1.8 ZA
Edited in Lightroom Classic & Photoshop CC 2018
Copyright 2018 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved here…

Switched to Plan B, & used the 4 cans of Atmosphere Aerosol & backlight the white smoke with a pink gel, worked like a charm!

Being a seascape photographer, there's always something about the water that attracts & feeds my creative soul. It's so calming but exciting, all at the same time, being in my element. Working with Lei & getting her to lay down into the water & capturing that perfect comp, was exhilarating!!! The reflections coming off the still water was definitely an added bonus. 

This is the 1st time I've had a 3 man crew plus the model. The crew consisted of Tien Enga, lead assistant, Dave "The Smoking Man" Furumizo & Reid "The backlight" Fujita, couldn't have done it without you guys, thank you so much!!! Lei was a pro, never complained even after submerging herself into the cold waters of the stream & freezing her butt off, you're amazing, thank you so much! 

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

EMERALD CREST...07.15.18

Too much freakin' work STRESS this week!!! Just want to get out & shoot tomorrow with friends, no drama, I had enough. 

SOOOO glad it's Friday, 2nd of my double post today, hope you all like it :) 

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

INKED BEAUTY SERIES...KELSY

Had the privilege to work with the beautiful & talented Kelsy a few weeks ago, she's a natural in front of the camera. Kelsy is in the art of body piercing & can be found at Rising Tide Tattoo, @rising_tide_tattoo. 

One of my favorite shots from our shoot! I remember telling her that there's something about her "looks" that's so mesmerizing...exotic! She also has some beautiful tattoos on her back that goes down the side of her thighs & ends just above the knee. 

1st of a double post today

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

FIRE & ICE...07.15.18

Ran into a few friends on Sunday morning at Sandy's, always great to see familiar faces in the dark hours of the morning! As usual, I trekked out to my "spot" on that first rock, but always weary as I stand & watch how the waves are breaking over & around my perch. The tide was on a downward swing & the swells were pretty large but not consistent, so that meant that I had time to sip my coffee in between sets! 

I tried something a little different that morning, the night before I attached my 1.4 Sony Teleconverter to my 100-400mm lens. So it becomes a 140-560mm lens. I was expecting it to hunt on my autofocusing & it did but not any worst than without it...maybe just a smidgen?! Definitely, need to shoot with it more & get to know it's pros & cons. I also realized that the waves were backlit, which meant that the front of the waves were dark & that's when the lens would struggle locking focus.

I'm still learning & experimenting with pretty much everything, aperture, ISO, Shutter speed, teleconverter, backlighting & focusing, but having so much fun learning what works & what doesn't!!!

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

SYNERGY...07.07.18

I felt something when I saw this raw image & wanted to do an edit on this. I tried so many things & little tricks that I knew in Lightroom but nothing seemed to work, to show what I was feeling from this image. A bit frustrated I desaturated it, just enough to keep some of the blues & remove a lot of the haze from the salt spray with a little bit of clarity. Much to my surprise, it worked & I felt that it was enough to show the raw power of how Mother Nature can be so beautiful yet wield the power for massive destruction with just simple water. Every year that passes countless numbers of locals & tourist underestimate this power & pay dearly with their lives. We need to educate our keiki to respect this power that Mother Nature holds.

Respect the power & beauty of our ocean!

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

THE BARK PARK...07.09.18

I've been going down to the Diamond Head Bark Park with my daughter & Maile, usually during the weekdays. It's so nice to see Maile run around & get a chance to play with the other dogs! I always forget to bring my camera, but on MondayI brought it with me & got this nice shot of Kim & Maile just after we entered the park.

I've started to notice that the same people & dogs coming down during the same time & I look forward to seeing this particular bulldog. Unfortunately I didn't get his name but he's so adorable!   

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

SURF'S UP...07.07.18

My shooting buddy texted me on Friday & said that the surf would be up at Sandy's, need I say more?! With that said several problems arose in my head, I wanted to get a lower vantage point as parallel to the water as I possibly could get without getting soaked! So I moved from my safe spot on top of the rocks & onto the sand below. So much for staying dry! 

I watched that spot in the sand for about 10 minutes before planting my tripod fully extended into the sand, I guess in my old age I'm a lot more cautious as to where I'm putting my butt & gear, always safety first!!! 

I'm still experimenting with my shutter speed to see the different effects it has on how my camera captures the movement of the water. I really need to pick up a 3 stop ND filter, but B&H & Breakthrough is out of that particular filter, so I have to wait a little while longer. I've noticed that as soon as we get that 1st light & as it gets brighter I need to drop in my 6 stop ND, especially when shooting further down the beach where the sun is rising. The camera, lens combo has a harder time to focus with the 6 stop on & I also need to bump up the ISO, which introduces more noise to the shadows. Hopefully, I can control my ISO more with the 3 stop ND during that time as I shoot into the rising sun, then switch to the 6 stop later as it gets brighter.

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

REFLECTIONS OF GOLD...06.23.18

I went back to Sandy's on Sunday on the opposite end with the intent to shot waves again. Now that I figured out that I need that golden light, I needed to look for a spot to get that right angle on the breaking waves, that's the tricky part!!! 

The found a spot where I was in the middle, as the incoming waves were breaking to the right towards me & also breaking to the left past me into the bay area. The 1 thing about shooting waves, is that, since I'm looking for the light & need that light, I don't necessarily need to be on location 1 hour before sunrise, I can take my time setting up & enjoy a little more coffee before I find a good spot to shoot from. With the help of my phone app I can get a pretty good feel as to where I need to be, so I'm inline with the waves being back or side lit from the sunrise.

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

JADE WASH...06.23.18

Saturday morning, I arrived at Sandy's around 5am, the tide had bottomed out at 5:50 & sunrise was at exactly the same time, 5:50, go figure! As I started to set up my gear I made a decision to mount my long lens 100-400mm & shoot wave, even with the low tide & so-so breaking waves. 

I swapped out my 16-35mm lens with my 100-400mm while I was protected behind the hatchback of my car. It was windy & I didn't want to chance any dirt or sand contaminating my camera sensor or any of the fragile electronics with my lens off. A friend of mine remedies this problem by carrying 2 bodies, 1 with her wide & the other with her long lens, which makes perfect sense, but for me, that's extra weight to carry. 

I always have my Sony A7R III with my wide, 16-35mm, mounted as a "standard" setup then when I arrive I make a decision, do I want to shoot long or wide? Even if I'm not shooting waves with my long lens & have it mounted I'll use this setup to challenge & push my creativity. I've been so used to shooting wide for years, I find it very difficult to compose a shot using a long focal length, that in itself is an art!

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I get really bored shooting the same locations with virtually the same composition! I'm always looking for inspiration on new things & styles to shoot, what I've shot before. I found a new passion in photographing waves! I'm following this photographer on IG @raycollins, it's his images that have inspired me to start shooting waves. I recently saw a post of his & I'm wanting to mimic his style with a twist of myself in the shots that I've been doing. It's the textures in the waves that I'm trying to mimic, granted he has an advantage over me because he's in the water shooting wave. "Me", I'm staying on land, I don't have a death wish to die while being pounded into the surf! Plus I'm to freakin' old!!! Haha! It's going to be a lot of trial & error to get that right shutter speed, being in the right place with the right light & of course a lot of luck! 

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

MAILE GIRL...06.21.18

Kim finally found a dog from the Humane Society, a Border Collie, Labrador Retriever, almost 2 weeks ago, 6/5/18. Her name is Maile & she is the sweetest thing!!! The Humane Society estimated that she’s about a year old, but we think she a little younger than that. She has some issues that need to be worked out but Kim has started the training process with a local dog trainer. It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Kim so happy!

Training Maile will definitely be a challenge but with Kim’s love & understanding, I don’t really see a problem with that, they will overcome any obstacles that arise. Kim has a lot of love to give & they make an amazing pair, I’m so HAPPY for them!!!

It’s been a tough 8 months for my daughter Kim with all of the ups & downs of depression, medication, therapy, ECT, the passing of her grandpa & grandma in the hospital for a month...All of the meds, therapy & ECT have helped her immensely, I guess it’s a “dad thing”, but even after all the help,  I could feel that there has always been a darkness that surrounded her heart. Then Maile came into her life & I can truly say that the darkness is no more!!! I see her heart smiling once again, it is an indescribable feeling to see & experience this love & joy!!! Like I said it’s a dad thing!

Majority of the monies raised from her past fundraiser will go to training Maile & I thank everyone for their generosity, none of this would have been possible with all of you! The experts say it may take up to 2 years to fully training a dog, but for now, Maile has doctor papers for an ESA (Emotional Support Dog) & yes Kim’s end goal is to train her to be a service dog.

I’d also like to thank my oldest daughter, Sam who has selflessly given up much of her love & time to help her sister. Again there are no words to describe the love & respect I have for both my daughters for not giving up on their hopes & dreams.  

So if you see Kim & Maile on their daily walks in Kaimuki please go up & say hi, I promise you that Kim doesn’t bite! Haha!

Sam, Kim, Maile & Mom love you all so much, my life would be empty without all of you!!! You too Angel, the Diva! Hehe!

Parting thoughts to Kim:
There’s a song I recently heard on the radio & every time I hear it it makes me think of you, “Sometimes I feel like giving up, but I can’t, it isn’t in my blood!” Shawn Mendes In “My Blood”. You’ve always been a fighter, never give up hope... I love you, sweetheart!!!

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

TIME TO HAVE SOME FUN...06.09.18

It’s been a very busy week at the “day” job & taking care of family stuff this week! I think I’m more stressed from the day job more so than anything else, everything been breaking down, 2 printers, 2 forklifts, slow computers...So glad the week is over & time to have some FUN!!!

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

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

IRIDESCENT BLUES...06.09.18

As my shooting buddy & I planned our weekly Saturday morning sunrise adventure, he mentioned that the waves were picking up on the eastside, which instantly perked my ears up! As you may have noticed in my IG feed, I started to post wave images again with the same technique of dragging the shutter. I deviated from my normal long exposure compositions to trying to capturing the waves in slow motion. I tend to get bored with just shooting my “normal” long exposures & to keep me from falling into a major burnout I shoot something completely different! It’s either shooting environmental portraits with models or long exposure abstract waves, which I discovered last year in July/August. It’s not the 1st time it’s been done but it was a 1st for me, undiscovered country & keeping the wheels turning upstairs!

I went back to shooting waves last weekend but there was something missing in the shots, it was flat! At 1st I couldn’t figure it out but as I scrolled through the thumbnails I realized that for the wave images to come to life I need color, that golden light of the sunrise & the iridescent blues of the ocean. So from my location at Sandy’s last week the sun had pushed back too far towards Makapuu & I had a hard time incorporating the colors into my images. So this week Saturday I moved farther up the coastline praying to be in the right spot as the sun broke the horizon...which I was! Planning can be a crucial part of a successful shoot! However with that said things can go wrong in a blink of an eye, especially when dealing with Mother Nature & the weather, so take everything with a grain of salt & be ready to make compromises!

Another setback I experienced on Saturday was that knowing that I was going to use my 100-400mm lens, I forgot to swap out my ballhead with my gimbal. It was rough panning & shooting while looking for that perfect wave, but I did manage. Another plus when shooting with a long lens is that I don’t have to move into the water to get that foreground element closer to my lens, I can stay farther back on the shoreline & stay dry, except for the salt spray! The long lens also allows me to compress the background elements to bring them close to my foreground subject, an added bonus!

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

SOLEMNLY, A MOMENT...05.30.16

Floating Lantern Ceremony 2016

Lantern Floating Hawaii, Ala Moana Beach Park 2016

Lantern Floating Hawaii, Ala Moana Beach Park 2016

For me, Memorial Day is a time to remember our loved ones who have passed on to a better place, who are not judged by, the color of their skin, beliefs in religion or any mental or physical limitations they may have once had in this life. I've photographed the Floating Lantern Ceremony at Ala Moana beach park 5 times since 2011, each & every time I do, it is such a humbling experience. The air is thick with emotions & Aloha that my senses are picking up, it's overwhelming at times to see the joy, laughter & then the sadness & heartache. Many people come to say "hi" to their loved ones others are trying to come to terms & closure. It's very hard for myself, to hold back my tears as I try to document all of the emotions & beautiful candlelit floating lanterns as they gently drift pass me.   

These images have touched my heart...I always give these families my contact info so I can share this moment with them thru a few frames. 


Aloha a hui hou my friends! 
www.ryansakamoto.com
Copyright 2016 Ryan Sakamoto, All rights reserved

STAR CHASER (PART 3 of 3)...05.19.18

This last shot is from the same location from late Friday nigh/early Saturday moring as in "Part 2", I just moved further up so I could crop out the "Danger Keep Out" tape. I think this was the 2nd hardest comp I had that early morning trying to get close enough to the wall to get that distorted look to the fence as it came towards the front of the lens. I waited for the waves to hit so I could get that separation from the edge of the cliff & the water. I was a good 50 feet from the edge of that cliff & all of a sudden I hear loud clap as a very big swell hit the side of the cliff, a second of silence then hearing the water hit the rocks in front of me. I looked up & as I gazed upward, the water hit my face & camera! YIKES! Wasn't expecting that! Luckily I had my rain jacket on my camera so everything was relatively dry except my face & t-shirt. A small price to pay to get the shot!

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

STAR CHASER (PART 2 of 3)...05.19.18

Walking back to meet up with my buddy I passed this & after a few steps I stopped, turned around & saw something that needed to be explored! The open section where you can see the city lights had a fence there, but possibly the wind blew it over? As I looked around I did see the missing part of fence about 20 feet behind me. The dark lines were "Danger Keep Out" tape flapping in the wind. Yes, I was tempted to climb over, as I saw a shot below, but out of respect I kept out & lined up a shot along the outside wall.

I was happy that I could capture the whole Milky Way arch...well, almost the entire arch. In hindsight, I should have shot a pano on this one, although the city lights were too bright to be able to capture the front end of the Milky Way to the left sude.

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

STAR CHASER (PART 1 of 3)...05.19.18

I've been wanting to capture the Milky Way as it rises over the horizon for a long while now, but I never had the itch to shoot between 10pm-12am since I'm always wanting to be able to shoot the sunrise. Well, that itch got the best of me, as all week prior to 5/19, I did my homework planning where & when I need to be. I did have a shot stuck in my head at the location where I wanted to shoot, but unfortunately, the tide, surf & mainly the salt spray had other ideas! So with that, I did some exploring & walked around the rock cliffs & found this composition. My daughter asked me if I Photoshopped the fence in? The answer is no it's a single frame shot & tried my hardest to get it right in camera! I did however remove the "Danger" sign off the fence in post.

A different take from my "normal" vertical shot. It did take more than a few shots to gather my camera into that right position to capture what I wanted. The waves were coming in fast & pounding on the cliff below & to the side of me. I have to admit that I wasn't too comfortable at this spot. I normally can tell when I need to grab my gear, turn around & retreat but being blinded by the fence I couldn't see much of the water movement as each swell rolled in. I did manage to stay dry at this spot but eventually did get splashed on, but that's for another blog post.

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

TURBULENT FORCES...05.13.18

Just my thoughts...The turbulent of forces of the smooth silky water & the raging surf in the background is what's troubling my thoughts. Everything in my heart is telling me what I'm doing is the right thing or the best thing, but there's something in my head that's telling me I'm wrong. Just as the rocks are sharp & clear the wave in the background that pushes the sea inland is soft & blurry. 

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