The Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo held a memorial service today for the victims of the recent earthquake and tsunami that devastated north-eastern Japan. Photographing the ceremony was incredibly hard. There was next to no light, and even on ISO 2,500 I was still struggling to get anything at all. I did not want to use a flash because I didn’t want to disrupt the service – and paid my dues. I don’t have a single usable picture that shows the congregation coming in front of the altair and offering candles.
Anyways, here’s what I got. If you have any ideas what I could have done differently, I’d be eager to hear them!
Rev. Shumyo Kojima talks in Japanese to the congregation during a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.
Worshippers and temple workers light candles during a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.
A worshipper puts down a candle in front of the altair during a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.
Rev. Wako Kato participates in a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.
Bishop Daigaku Rummé performs a memorial service for the victims of the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan at Zenshuji Soto Mission in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, Calif., Sunday, March 20, 2011.
March 20, 2011
I’ve been wanting to post these for a while now, but never got around doing it. Here are a couple of frames from a camping trip to Joshua Tree National Park back in February. It was my first time in the desert, and it was amazing. I can only recommend going there – but bring some extra blankets, because it gets awfully cold at night…
Panoramic of the Eagle Mountains, taken from the Lost Palms Oasis nature trail in the Sonoran (Colorado) Desert at Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., Wednesday, February 23, 2011. The four-mile trail leads from Cottonwood Springs to a secluded canyon filled with California fan palms.
A Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia) grows in the Mojave Desert near Jumbo Rocks Campground at Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., Thursday, February 24, 2011. The name Joshua tree was given by a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century. The tree's unique shape reminded them of a Biblical story in which Joshua reaches his hands up to the sky in prayer.
Cholla cacti (Opuntia bigelovii) grow in the Cholla Cactus Garden in the Pinto Basin in the Sonoran (Colorado) Desert at Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., Wednesday, February 23, 2011. The plant is infamous for its spines covered with tiny, barbed hooks. The spines easily penetrate skin and flesh and are extremely hard and painful to remove. The information plaque at the head of the nature trail leading into the garden features a quote by J. Smeaton Chase who writes in his California Desert Trails (1919): ''If the (cholla cactus) bears any helpful or even innocent part in the scheme of things on this planet I should be glad to hear of it.''
California fan palms (Washingtonia filifera) grow at Lost Palms Oasis, a secluded canyon in the Eagle Mountains in the Sonoran (Colorado) Desert at Joshua Tree National Park, Calif., Wednesday, February 23, 2011. The oasis is the largest collection of California fan palms at Joshua Tree National Park.
March 18, 2011
I was at Terry’s surf shop again today to follow up on some of the pictures I took earlier. I still have one or two pictures that I want to work on, especially the wide angle shot of the two workshops (second shot) and the last shot. I wish Terry was in the frame somewhere. I’m going to camp out there and see if I can get him closing up shop.
Terry Senate in his surf shop in San Clemente, Calif., Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Terry Senate, center left, and Chuck Johnson, right, work in Senate's surf shop in San Clemente, Calif., Tuesday, March 15, 2011.
Terry Senate planes a custom-ordered surf board in his workshop in San Clemente, Calif., Tuesday, March 15, 2011.
Terry Senate works on a custom-ordered surf board in his workshop in San Clemente, Calif., Tuesday, March 15, 2011.
Terry Senate's surf shop in San Clemente, Calif., Tuesday, March 15, 2011.
March 15, 2011
I was at Terry’s surf shop again yesterday. Apart from Vic, an acquaintance of Terry’s, glassing two boards, there was not much going on. However, Terry and I got a chance to sit and chat for a while and get to know each other a little more. I did shoot a little, though – here are a few of the frames I came back with. Let me know what you think about them!
Vic takes a break from working on one of the boards to talk to Terry.
Terry pulls masking tape off a freshly glassed board. I hope I’ll get a chance to work this shot again, because I like what is going on with the background and the colors. This one doesn’t really work as you can hardly see the tape and what’s happening with it.
Here’s another idea that I’ll need to follow-up on with a wider angle. Terry has four workshops, with two being each door-to-door. With the right boards, light, colors and focal length, I think it could be an interesting shot.
This is where you really get to feel the downsides of a rangefinder. I had to reframe that shot at least three, four times, until I finally had Terry’s head in the frame.
Terry hand-signs and numbers each board that he shapes. This one is number 35,152.
This guy saw Terry in his truck and ran to get his board from his house. He wants Terry to shape him a new board, and needed to show him something on his old one.
March 14, 2011