The ancient temples of Japan offer a unique atmosphere that no modern studio can mimic. Under these hallowed eaves, history creates a quiet weight, making every motion feel monumental. This was the setting for my recent shoot featuring a practitioner of Iaido (居合道).

Iaido is the traditional Japanese martial art centered on the controlled, fluid movement of drawing and striking…

Your headshot, much like the words in your resume, says a great deal about who you are. So it should come as no surprise that people want to know what you look like when they are seeking to learn more about you and whatever it is you have to offer. But here's a little secret: unless you're an actor or model, these people are probably not as interested in your physical attributes as you may believe…

In this post we have headshots of twin brothers who followed diverging paths in life. On one side you have a man who kept to a course that allowed him to build one successful business after another. On the other, you have a man who frequently jumped between menial jobs and unemployment…

A significant part of Japan's appeal to me has always been its history and how much of it is still clearly visible in the modern era. In large part, this facet is what led me to begin a personal project photographing people involved in the traditional crafts of Japan...

Here we have another addition to a personal project. This time around I met with a woman who practices and teaches Japanese flower arrangement, or ikebana (生け花) as it is known in Japanese.

The location for this set of photos was an old house located on the quiet back streets of an older area of Tokyo. It was a fairly small home situated in the kind of area...

It was a random afternoon that I decided I would like to photograph some surfers out on the coast. I'm not sure what prompted it, but that's what I felt like doing and that's what I set out to do.

It didn't take very long to find a few surfers. As it turns out, some long time acquaintances of my wife are regulars to the waves of Chiba Prefecture's Pacific coast, and they were plenty eager to have some photos done.

Some time ago I began a project to photograph the traditional aspects of Japan. I kicked the whole thing off with Japanese tea ceremony and a few photographs of women who practice the craft.

Over time, I have come to be well acquainted with these women as well as a larger group of people who practice tea ceremony. In addition to referrals, more work…

A quintessential element of Japan, at least for me, is tatami. It's difficult for me to form in my mind a basic concept of Japan without also visualizing Japanese structures, new and old, that are filled with these simple woven straw mats…

A little while back I traveled into Tokyo to do a portrait shoot with a young aspiring actor named Shinji Yoshiyama. We were basically shooting for the purpose of creating a new set of photos that could be added to our respective portfolios.

We began our day and the shoot inside the architectural marvel that is the Tokyo International Forum…

In the late spring of a previous year, I spent the better part of a day out at a small Shinto shrine in rural Chiba Prefecture working on another addition to my personal project. Once again I was photographing people involved a certain cultural and traditional aspects of Japan. 

On this occasion I was photographing two women who had previously worked at Shinto shrines as miko. Miko, or shrine maidens, as they are called in English, fulfill a number of roles and responsibilities at the larger shrines that employ them…

Some time ago I was out with friends in the city of Katori in Chiba Prefecture entertaining a visitor to Japan. Our guest, Joshua Alexander, was in the country on layover as he made his way back to the States from Korea.

We spent an afternoon wandering around the historic areas of Sawara, a national preservation district in Katori that still retains a good portion of its traditional Japanese design and charm…

While not a cultural aspect native to Japan, Buddhism nevertheless has a long history and very deep roots in Japan's culture. So naturally, the purveyors of Buddhism, Buddhist monks, fit well with my current and ongoing project to photograph people who are involved in or connected to the traditions of Japan.

Earlier in the year, in continuing with an ongoing series of portraits focused on the traditions and crafts of Japan, I spent a day with a few women who practice the art of Japanese tea ceremony and worked with them to create various photographs.

The summers in Japan are always hot, humid, and near unbearable. If it weren't for the fact that Japanese summers are also filled with traditional festivals and celebrations, I would be hard pressed to find an excuse to leave the climate controlled comfort of the indoors.

In recent months, I have been putting a fair amount of my time and efforts into a personal project in which I'm photographing people involved in some of the traditional arts and cultural trades of Japan. With several of these shoots already completed, and several more in the planning stages, I'm well along my way into creating a new collection of work.

One of the more recent shoots that I've finished was for a practitioner of kendo. Long a traditional activity of Japan, kendo is a type of martial art/sport derived from an extensive history of Japanese swordsmanship…

Japanese tea ceremony, known as sadō (茶道), or the Way of Tea, is essentially the ritualized act of preparing and offering green tea. It may not sound like much at first blush, but it is actually something quite interesting to witness and take part in. Every movement and every action in sadō is carefully choreographed, everything from the entrance and exit of the tea master, to the selection of sweets and the mixing of the green tea powder (matcha) into carefully heated water.

I regularly make the time for outings where I may simply go out and casually shoot as I please. It's time that I use to practice and make deliberate attempts at refining my photographic sense and further expanding my abilities. These outings are one means for me to think on my feet, play with various situations and camera settings, as well as experiment with different ideas; all things that assist me in creating and delivering better quality work when it counts.