For those of you waiting for our regular web site, we should have it up this weekend; I will be working with our art director, Akane’, to get up a working page.  For the moment, this blog on Xanga is the best source of information about what is going on here at Luminaire.

Most good photographers have a network of photographers they communicate, socialize and work with; I am no exception.  When I am in central Ohio, I often help out fellow photographers Eric Shinn and Bill Morgan.

This past fall I shot as a 2nd for Bill Morgan on a straight forward engagement shoot.  Bill and I also took the opportunity to take pictures of each other in action.  It seems that most photographers have very few pictures of themselves.  Perhaps that’s because we feel much more comfortable behind the lens rather than in front of it.  Bill has really progressed over the past two years.

One of our favorite activities together is going on photo safaris; this basically means we take our cameras and minimal equipment to a pre-determined location and just go from there with no rules and no goals other than to have a good time, socialize and take some great pictures.  It is amazing how people react when they see two photographers loaded down with pro gear; they assume that something big must be going on.  Ha!  It leads to some good conversations from interested parties though.

Above is a shot Bill took of me at the engagement shoot this fall.  This is at the former Japan pavilion when AmeriFlora was held in Columbus, OH, on the grounds of the wonderful Franklin Park Conservatory in 1992.  Bill added a little bit of his Photoshop skills to round this picture.

The preceding and following detail shots were taken at a fund raising event for BalletMet Columbus.

Finally, here is a group shot from Gary Fong’s Digital Intensive class that I attended back in October of 2003 just outside of Cincinnati, OH.  I am in the back row on the far left.  This is also the same day that Gary met his fiance’ Missy Carl.  I believe that this is the first picture taken of them together.  The picture was taken with Gary’s camera with a Lightsphere II attached by a hotel staff member; not bad, huh?

The class was a great experience and I met a lot of great photographers.  It was really more of an enriching experience than you might guess at first.  My next seminar/workshop will be with Scott Robert Lim up in Chicago.  Some time later this year or the beginning of next year I would like to drop down to Atlanta to attend Denis Reggie’s great four-day workshop. Denis is probably the most visible wedding photographers in the world.  I am really looking forward to it!

I have had a lot of requests to see some of my Japanese wedding pictures, so here are a few peaks.  Japanese weddings are getting more and more like weddings in the United States, but they are still different!  The actual ceremony is very short and usually not performed in a church, but the reception (“wedding party” in Japanese) is much more of an elaborate affair.  Since people generally don’t dance at receptions in Japan, there is much more of a push to have every second of the three hours totally accounted for.  They do introduce the bride and groom (sorry, no bridal party at Japanese weddings), cut the cake and have dinner; while they don’t have a prayer, have a garter toss or have a bouquet toss.  They fill the space with several costume changes, singing, speeches, elaborate candle lightings just to name a few things.  I don’t think any one in America would be shocked by the festivities, they would be would be always on alert for what is coming up next.

Here are some pictures from the first wedding I shot in Japan.  I am not going to include the picture of the twenty guys in their tighty-whities running around serenading the bride and groom.

Here are four young guests right before the reception.  If you notice there is a mix of kimono and dresses.  Everyone generally dresses very well.

Yes, I take lots of detail shots in Japan too!  This is the obi knot from the back of one of the guests kimono.  I think this material is gorgeous.

Here is the bride with her assistant finishing up all of the details after one of her costume changes.

And finally the bride out on the run way among the guests.  The groom is following right behind.  I guess I could say wife and husband at this point, but it just doesn’t seem as romantic for this young couple.

Another detail shot.  This time looking up at one of the light fixtures (chandeliers?) in the reception hall.

In case you were wondering, Japanese still love cameras; although they have gotten significantly smaller than in days past.  But I think almost as many Americans now carry cameras as Japanese do with the advent of the new, pocket-size digital cameras.  This is obviously a December wedding.  The fog was actually a nice touch, and not as nearly cheesy as it could have been fortunately.

Here are two more young guests enjoying dinner.  This was a very typical, nice Japanese meal.  Fortunately they saved a big plate for the photographer!

Finally, here is the groom with his two best friends.  If this was an American wedding, you would be looking at the best man and one the groomsmen.  This was a young couple (19 and 20), so there were a lot of young guests as well.

This was a great experience and I am really looking forward to shooting more international weddings in the future!

Things are going very well here at Luminaire Photography–even a little too well perhaps (Is that possible??).  People are contacting us faster than we can get everything geared back up, but we are doing everything in our power to provide our current and prospective clients the highest level service possible.

A bin of Tibetan prayer flags for sale.

A Tibetan prayer wheel.  You may have seen some of these if you have ever seen any of the great movies on the life of the Dalai Lama such as Kundun or Seven Years in Tibet.

This little statuette is really spectacular.  Unfortunately I have no idea what god this represents.  If you know, please post it in the comments.

OK!  I just got word from my mentor, Dr. Barbara Ito, in Japan that this is Kālī.  Kālī  exists in balance with Shiva in tantric Buddhism.  Both are opposing views of the exact same reality.

Welcome to Luminaire Photography’s Xanga blog site!  I have just returned from a one year assignment in Japan and am getting things geared back up; it is a exciting time for me!

Here are a couple of pictures taken on a small island (Ooshima) off the coast of Imabari in Shikoku.

This picture was taken at the highest point of the island.  Here sweethearts can seal their love with a lock.

This is just a simple picture of some machinery on board the ferry.

I am always amazed at how much beauty lies in some of the most mundane things in our lives.  And most of us are in too much of a hurry to stop and just look around and be thankful for all we have.

Cheers!
michael todd