San Diego Zoo Getaway
Every so often, Mikey and I have an urge to get out of LA. Don’t get me wrong, we both love living here, but we feel that we can appreciate the city even more when we spend some time away from it. We planned for a short, weekend getaway to our neighboring city, San Diego! I’ve decided to take my 70-200mm lens so that I can get up and personal with the animals at the San Diego zoo. I’ve been to the zoo one other time before, and remember loving it because it didn’t quite feel like the other zoos
Joshua Path Concert
I love it when I find out that my coworkers have hobbies outside of the office. Well, I’m sure most do, but I feel that it’s quite rare that we’re invited to be part of it. Josh is one of the guys in the Creative department, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise to learn that he plays and sings in his own band, Joshua Path. Along with other coworkers, I was invited to attend the show and I also offered to take some photos of them performing. I think they came out pretty good! Josh was happy with
Venice at Night
One random Thursday, a little while ago, I got a little tipsy. And when I get tipsy, I tend to become very inspired and creative… I was browsing through photos on Flickr and was amazed at how different a location I knew so well, such as the main intersection in Venice, looked in these pictures. I found myself becoming frustrated at myself for not taking the initiative to go out on a night-time shoot around Venice, despite having lived in the West Side for nearly 2 years! I began having an inner dialogue, contemplating whether I should do this tonight…
Experimenting with a Beauty Dish
Outgoing, energetic, and beautiful… that’s Denise! Denise and I started our shoot in the corner of a brick wall in downtown LA just before sundown. I wanted to create an edgy look for her, almost like a “bad girl” look. I used dramatic lighting to emphasize the details of the bricks and asked her to give me dramatic positions to convey the look. After dark, we did a photo session in my friend Andy’s studio where we experimented with various forms of lighting. Andy had lighting equipment called the Beauty Dish, that creates a doughnut-shaped light ring in the center
WELCOME
I call myself a ‘people’ photographer, specializing in capturing the personalities of people through family, newborn and event photography. I’m originally German-Japanese and was raised embracing both cultures. I was raised in Japan and in many parts of Europe, until I finally settled in Los Angeles to call it my permanent home. My love for photography started at an early age. A fun hobby eventually turned in to a passion when I found joy in taking candid photos of my friends. Naturally, my love for photography turned in to a lifestyle and I was asked to photograph people’s milestones and celebrations. And so, my photography business was born in 2010.