Suwanee Photography

A Taste of Hong Kong

"If Hong Kong was a person, she'd be a difficult woman to understand. She'd be high maintenance and high reward." Qoute from Hong Kong Cityscape, Lonely Planet

That's where I've been in the past few days! It was a last minute trip that we were suppose to make around Christmas time. We booked our trip 2 days before departure! I am still not so sure what I think of Hong Kong but the quote sums it up perfectly for me! Regardless, I was able to get a few shots I really liked and had a great time walking everywhere with Mark...Here are some favorites.             

The shopping there was crazyyyyy......malls upon malls in every single building! But my favorites were the ones on the streets, you can find all sorts of photo ops from every angle. 

       And the urban corners tucked way in small alleys were fantastic!

My favorite part though was Tai-O, a small fishing village where the original descentdants of Hong Kong settled. The village was tugged away in a far corner of the island accessible by buses on narrow roads. We spent the entire day there! My favorite shot from the trip. (I was hiding in a bush with my sniper lens so I wouldn't startle her!!)

 

Announcements & Misc.

My main computer is down this week and it kinda ruined my blogging schedule...if there is such a thing....
Anyhow, I have a few announcements and notes to make for my clients and for my self with this one, so bare with me
until I get my workhorse computer back.

1. A reminder to potential clients-I am done taking sessions in Februry, so email or call now if you would like me to capture you before I say goodbye to Okinawa.

2. My very last exhibit is in February at the Foster Library. The theme is the Best of Suwanee Lennon, featuring my favorite TRAVEL PHOTOS of places I've visited while in Okinawa .
It's going to be HUGE this month because it's my last one, and I am giving away prints to lucky winners. My reception is on the 9th from 12-4 p.m. I would love to meet you or say goodbye to you, esp. photographers.  I would love to make contact and keep in touch with some of you.
From my experience, networking is so important, so come out and say hello!

3. I am selling prints of my travel photos now-please come to the Schilling community center to check out my work on January 26th from 9-3 p.m.
4. Workshop participants-I am opening a few more spots, so please give me a nod if you are interested.  And for local photographers, there's an additional charge to the fee.

5. I have decided to offer end-of-year digital files to all my past clients-a one time offer only. You can buy all of your digital files from your gallery at a very good price.I am clearing out and know that some of you would love to have some images on cd as reminders of your time here on Okinawa . Please email or call about this!!
6. I still have a few projects in mind, so models-email me.

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Trips...I get so excited thinking and talking about trips that I start shaking because there's nothing I love more. I have a few trips I want to make before I leave Okinawa . Of course with the military schedule everything could change, but some of these trips I am going to make with my hubby, some with friends, and some by myself.

Here are the places I must visit before I leave Okinawa .

1.Borneo-Feb. (A plesant surprise to be revealed later!)
2.India-March
3.Nepal ,Tibet, Bhutan-April
4.Philippines-April
5.Thailand -whenever time permit

Places I want to see in the next 4 years or so
1.India-again-It's soo HUGE
2. Mongolia
3.China-Southern part this next time & the 2008 summer Olympics!
4.Any or all of the South Pacific islands
5.S.Africa
6. Burma
7.Laos-again
8.Vietnam-again
10.Cambodia-again
11. Mexico
12. Bolivia-mission trip
13. 3-5 of the S. American countries I have never been to before.

I have seen some photographers with a 101 in 1001 list and thought it was the most brilliant idea ever! Not only is it a wish list, but also goals of things I wish to accomplish and see myself check off as I get through each one. So I will get my list together soon and have it posted somewhere where I can see it and check it off as I go.
I recently read on Jasmine Star's blog-one of my fav photogs! about revealing who you are in photos, so I am going to slowly start posting more photos of myself, my life, my travels, and my experiences as I move along in this journey of photography and life. After all, the military takes us to so many places all around the world that I have to share these amazing experience somehow. So bare with me as I will start revealing who I am more through my blog. It's a big risk I am taking, but again, this is a year of changes,new places, new friends, new opportunities and I am going to enjoy every moment of my new experience!

So for now, I leave with the biggest and happiest smile ever and see you again soon!

(Photo by Annya- don't ask please what I was photographing. It was during our Kerama Island Trip!) 

 

Shige Yoshimoto

Sunrise on the 365th Day-
I got a call at 10 p.m. from a photographer friend asking if I wanted to catch a sunrise shoot on New Year's Eve Morning-tomorrow she said. Though I have not finished unpacking my suitcase from my Alaska trip, it took her less than 10 minutes to convince me and then I asked, what time are we meeting in the morning? 5:15 a.m. I cringed, but then again it's for a fun shoot and part of the fun is being spontaneous, even if you have to sacrifice sleep and getting up at 4 a.m! Not too surprised, we all met up after 5 hours of sleep, cameras and tripods at hand and drove to the best possible location for our sunrise. We got there at 6 a.m., no signs of light or humans around, we patiently waited. (Then I remember my husband mentioned something about sunrise at 7:15.) At 7 a.m. we finally saw some hope and some streaks of light through the thick clouds and found our locations to catch the sunrise. There was no sun to be seen that morning, the winter clouds thick and windy, we kept photographing and hoping for a break. The sun never showed it's face, only the light of day greeted us, but our spirits were high knowing we were one of the few people awake at the early hour of the last day of the year. Each of us were lost in our own little worlds  in exploring the light, landscapes, textures, lines, and anything that fascinated our sleepy minds in the early morning. After a while we took a break, had breakfast, strong shots of espresso and continued on to our next island destination where an extremely small village island sits. We stumbled upon a traditional Okinawan home, all made of wood and a tile roof.  Hoping someone would be home and let us photograph this house,  we saw a small, bent-over silhouette in the back moving slowly in and out of the shadows. We hesitantly moved towards the figure and suddenly an alarm sounded, we were taken aback and backed up from the house abit to wait for a scorn or some type of warning. Instead we were we greeted by a small elderly voice from inside the shadow. "Please come in, have a seat, ocha is in the pot and it will be ready in a moment."  We looked at each other in amazement and quickly came to find places to sit and waited for the figure to come join us. A small, aged, but happy Okinawan lady came out of her kitchen, greeted us with a smile and sat down to pour us tea and offered us cookies as if she had been expecting us this early morning. She never once appeared surprise or perplexed that we are 4 complete strangers who intruded on her home just for a photo opportunity. We quickly felt at ease with her and asked if we could take photos of her traditional home. She eagerly waved us on to do so and happily chatted away with Tomoko in a language we couldn't understand. When we finally sat down with her, she had brought out photos, books, magazines of herself along with her amazing stories she shared about her life, the people she met, the people she loved, the hobbies she enjoyed, the food she cooked, and the people she had entertained. She sang, she laughed, made jokes, and talked away and completely filled our morning with her happy chatter.  She was full of life and energy. Then she excitedly told us, tomorrow she will be 96!  In awe and admiration of this information, somehow it didn't really surprise us all too much. After all, Okinawan Centurions are world famous, and what a blessing to be among one, and  one so full of life! If her happiness could be captured by touch, the world will be a much simpler place for those of us who could touch and feel her joyous spirit.  Long after the tea was cold and many shutter clicks later, we said goodbye. As she waved us goodbye, she said, "Please return soon!"  We all knew, very soon, we will find ourselves sharing ocha with her again.

Though the sun never came out that day, we all knew we found the brightest sunshine in the early morning of the 365th Day of the year 2007 through Shige Yoshimoto.

 

The sunrise we initially looked for.
The crew. John & Tomoko and Annya.

Happy New Year!!

Happy 2008!
What a year it's been! There have been so many ups and downs in my photography, a lot of opportunities, memories, surprises, great and not so great, but through it all, I am still here and I still passionately love photography.
I have now been in the world of photography two years and have had Suwanee Photography for one. What a whirlwind of a  journey, what a road it has been and I am so thankful to my wonderful clients, friends, and family who have supported, encouraged, and mentored me through the good and bad times. I am most grateful that God has been and will continue to be my main source of strength and I look forward to what 2008 will bring. Okinawa had become home the past 4 years, and this beloved island will always have a place in our hearts. With our move set in place, in 5 months, Spokane Washington will be our new home and slowly I am embracing the idea of going back to America. I am hopeful and nervous at the same time, but it will be a new season, and a new chapter for both Mark and I. I am more clear in what direction I am seeking with my photography, 2008 will be a year of exploration and more challenges.  I  eagerly await what doors and opportunities the move will bring! Cheers to a good new year.

Project

Why am I doing these projects you may ask? To keep me inspired and in turns producing better work because I shoot for fun and for the challenge of it! So this is one of the few projects I will be taking on, some by myself and some with other photographers and friends. This was only a short test shoot with my new talented model-Rafia. It was such a beautiful day for this shoot, short, but we ended up with a few keepers.
I am naming this one Fairy Tale for obvious reasons.







I will leave you with these images until the New Years. I am off to Alaska again until January, so emails and phone calls will be returned when I get back. Have a BLESSED CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEARS TO ALL!   
Blessings-Suwanee

Red Cloak

Just sharing one of my favorite images of Okinawa. An old image, taken 2 years ago on Sunabe Seawall. Unposed and unexpected, she was wrapped around a read blanket and was watching and possible waiting for the surfers out in water. For those who have been asking if I take pictures of Okinawa, the answer is Yes! In fact, I have alot, so much more than my portrait, but haven't had time to present those anyway, but coming up after the holidays I will be selling prints and photos of Okinawa and all of my travel photos. Stay tuned!

Alvarez Family

A SUPER family in every sense! Super fun, super nicesuper good dressers, , and just all around an amazing family! Loved working with them. Denise was so worried about her large family having photos taken, but we had soo much fun that we quickly forget all about the worries! (somebody told me the kids cried because they had so much fun and didn't want to go home!!) (O; Before I say anymore, let's take a look at this gorgeous family.

Bali-The Chase

A photo with an emotional attachment, a photo with memories.

A photographer friend, John Goodman took this image of me while in Bali. It is an all-time favorite image of myself to date.Though faceless, it is perfect. Faceless portraits are often times the most powerful ones because they allow the viewers' imagination room to run free. For some reason, I remember this moment very well. And this image summarizes all my experiences and feelings about the Bali trip. Let me just tell you what I was doing before, during, and after this image was captured.

It was my last, full day in Bali before I came back home to Okinawa. After half the group left, a few of us rented a car and driver to go outside of town. We found many possible subjects, but nothing struck us as strong potential photo ops until we came upon a small village temple where the people gathered for their late afternoon's prayers.

We put on the sarongs before entering the temple, to show respect for their tradition and culture. We photographed the temple, the people & the event but soon wandered off behind the temple where the farmers were working in the rice fields.

The rice paddies were on the elevated field with narrow walking paths. The warm gentle sun was softly setting and getting ready to depart for the day. Farmers were getting ready to go home and us photographers frantically ran towards them to get a few last photos before we lost the light.

Then I saw him. A lone farmer walking my way. I could hardly believe it. Then an even more unbelievable thing happened. He went after the flock of ducks and was chasing them to go back to their pen. After I realized what he was doing, I took off running with the camera over my neck and backpack over my shoulders. I was so excited I forgot how narrow the paths were and how high the paddies sat or how afraid I was of snakes. The sun was on my face, the wind was gently blowing, and my models naturally fell into place. I chased after the ducks and the owner for the one photograph I wanted to go home with. I turned
around and saw John low on the ground with his camera, he giggled and I waved for him to come, chase the ducks! And thus the photo.
Here is the image I was going after:
As the farmer first appeared.
As I was chasing him for the photo.
A few minutes before this moment,  my feet sank into the mud, but it didn't matter. I held a camera, sarong still wrapped around my waist, running in the rice fields, chasing after the ducks and the farmer on a late afternoon in Bali....

Cason Family

I have lots of catching up to do and so I am going to try to blog, almost everyday, if I can.....And for today, meet the Cason family, a vibrant, hip, fun, and gorgeous looking family! Their happiness was contagious during the shoot and I have some photos to prove it! Here are a few of their pictures!

More tomorrow, so please come back and comments are ALWAYS appreciated! Don't be shy, I would love to hear from you!

Goines Family

Remember the Goines family? If not, read about them here. We had their session a day before Dad-Jeffrey leaves for several months. It was such a beautiful day for a family photo, and the family of course was just lovely and pleasant to work with! See for yourself how cute they are.
The most playful ones in the family!


Check out baby Jasmine's smile on that one!

Two month old cutie!
And the entire family!