The event took place at Live House Motion in the Kabukicho district of Shinjuku.  Of the several bands that were featured that afternoon, White Ketchup was scheduled to perform last.  Ryuta and his high school mates capped off the event in style…performing a combination of both English and Japanese songs.

Below are some photos of White Ketchup’s performance from the event, including Ryuta and several other band members.

One of these places is Ueno Zoo, Japan’s oldest and most famous zoo.  The zoo, located in the Taito Ward of Tokyo, is home to over 2600 animals from 464 different species.  I spent the afternoon in both the western and eastern parts of the grounds photographing different animals including white rhinos, Asiatic elephants, Japanese macaques, giraffes, penguins, flamingos, and various kinds of birds.  Unfortunately, the last giant panda at Ueno Zoo, Ling Ling, died in April 2008.

First, some background on the shoe…This colorway of the Air Jordan I Retro KO Hi, along with the White/Varsity Red, closely resemble the original versions that were released 25 years ago.  And just like their original counterparts, these two colorways feature full canvas uppers and come pre-weathered, giving them a vintage look straight from 1985.  This release marks the first time in 25 years that the AJKO has been available for sale, albeit in limited quantities. 

Rather than photograph the AJKO in the usual tabletop manner, I wanted to give the image some added life…one that will compliment the AJKO’s vintage look and urban feel.  To achieve this, I photographed the AJKO in front of a blue brick wall using nothing more than available light. 

Prior to the shoot, I went out and purchased a tile of black granite as well as a sheet of clear plexi-glass.  The black granite tile adds more of a dramatic look and feel to the image, especially with the particular watch I used for the shoot.  The clear plexi-glass is an easy and effective way to add reflection to the shot.

One of the watches I used for this shoot is a Sottomarino Italia watch from the Otaria collection, model #SM-50095-A.  The case is made of solid stainless steel with black finish while the band is made of leather. 

Below are two images from the shoot, one with the black granite tile as the background and one with a white background with reflective surface. 

Although I photographed this shoe with both black and white backgrounds, I decided to post-process only the images with black background and post them here to share.  I think the dramatic look and feel of the dark background match the personality of the shoe very well. 

Recently, I added a pair of Nike Zoom Kobe V “Away” Edition to my sneaker collection.  As I do with every single Kobe signature shoe that I purchase, I take product shots of them for web site use and online sharing.  This also gave me an opportunity to shoot some of my brother-in-law’s Air Jordan sneakers as well. 

The sneaker shoot ended up consisting of 3 sneakers – a pair of Nike Zoom Kobe V, a pair of Air Jordan II Retro, and a pair of Air Jordan III Retro.  During the shoot, I experimented with different backgrounds and effects.  Of the combinations I experimented with, I liked the look of the black background best, especially with the reflective surface. 

Below are shots of the Air Jordan II Retro from the sneaker shoot.  Photos of the Nike Zoom Kobe V “Away” Edition will be posted in a separate post once they are completed.