I still remember the day I officially left California to begin a new life of the uncertainty and unknown in Japan...this was back in July of 2005. Some people may think I'm nuts for leaving the U.S., especially Southern California where it's always warm nearly all year around, and have all my family and friends there in a tight close circle. Don't get me wrong though, California is a great place and it's where I'll eventually end up when the time comes.
Last Monday night a couple of the guys and girls over at the photo agency went out for a little farewell dinner for Tomoko who has been with the company for some time, playing a key roll for a staff of 100. She made her dream fly after what it seemed took a lot of hard work, persistence and patience. She'll be moving to New York. How awesome is that especially during these recent times the world is facing.
Congrats to Tomoko! We'll see you in New York.
You, the viewer: "Hi Hikari!"
Like a blizzard.
Passerby in Ginza.
Slushy Higashi-Ginza.
But either way, you have to remember these men/women (cops) are human, have feelings and got jobs to do just like us and sometimes both of our duties just doesn't fly right with each other all the time. For most photographer out there, you have to deal with many different kinds of people and it's not only convincing the person that you're work is the bomb so that "I have to be here to take this photograph," it's part psychology and part negotiation. In our particular case with the man in black he was just about ready to do some justice if we tried to get smart, but we flipped the job roles around and allowed him to take shots of the model then after, shots with him next to the model. In the end, the cop gave us his contact info if we ever wanted to shoot around this area again, to just give him a call and he'd come by to be our assistant and personal security guard free of charge.
"You don't take a photograph...you make it." - Ansel Adams