The Portrait

This is a shot made recently for one of my client in beauty and skin care clinic, we need a model with not just a beautiful face, but with a good inner spirit. Daniela, a mix of Brazilian and Japanese, became the face of the brand.
When choosing the lens to shoot, I was considering between either using the Zeiss Planar 80/2. or Apo-Makro-Planar 120/4 or the Planar 140/2.8, all excellent lenses to match the Phase One P45+ on Contax 645; and I settled with 140/2.8. The 140mm focal length will increase the sense of distance between the viewer and the model, adding a little more touch of beauty beyond touch, but also adds a little mystery. on the contrary, choosing a sorter focal length, for example 80mm, will make the model more friendly, more within reach. So why 140mm?
Reason one is I have already shot one Caucasian model, Jenna from Canada, last year that I was using the shorter length approach, and almost one year later, I want to introduce a different feels. Second, the beauty of Daniela looks to me to be naturally more reachable, so I can afford using a longer focal length. And I think I got what I want.

Dress in flowers

A recent work for a floral artist, more conceptual than practical, but no doubt beautiful. A Russian model, Yulia posed for this work, I made the capture using Canon 1Ds III with EF 85/1.2L.
A still capture will have trouble displaying the type of green and flowers for the dress so I ask the model to spin herself in order to create some blurring image while capture her face in reasonable sharpness, and may be out of luck, I got the shot I want.

Tibetan Girl

Taken in Tibet, this little village girl is the typical Tibetan girl, nature, a little shy but not afraid to stare into the lens. Shot with Leica M8, with Summilux-M 35/1.4 Asph.
I made this picture in a small village about 100km from Lhasa. It was a warm late summer afternoon.

White Balance

Taken with Canon 1Ds 3 and my favorite EF lens (one of many), the sharp 50/1.2L. Made with available light in a warehouse, I tune the white balance in Capture One Pro, for this final image. White balance is a powerful tool, not only that it gives natural look but also an alternative way to introduce the image in the photographer's own way.

The Move

Still image is a moment of non-stop motion, as how we see the world involves. And from our everyday experience, when we see the still image, in fact we all expect what the next move will be, and it is the fun of producing still image.
This shot, made very recently for a magazine fashion insert, incorporate with BridgeStone, the location was the tire cache warehouse, a lovely model from Russia. Using Canon 1Ds3 and EF 50/1.2L, I place the light behind me, a Profoto flash to flood the warehouse so it reflects back to the model with a more natural and even light, but still enough to pain the high light on the model's skin.
What I captured was not an image, it was a moment of her movements.

Color

A fashion image took for Kloset, using Canon 1Ds Mk3, EF 85/1.2L, the focus of course is to highlight the dress. The lovely model, Dasha has a fair skin and nice blond hair, I use the light, a Bron-color Para 220 with Pluso G powered by a Nano A4, burn the skin and hair while keep the vibrant color of the dress the center of focus of this picture.

Eye Contact

Taken in Krabi, Thailand, with Canon 1Ds2 and EF 24-70/2.8L. I made this picture with myself in the pool, the model on the rim of the pool, so I can get myself to able shoot with an angle a little lower than the level of the ground the model was lying.
Why? Because human eyes are very sensitive, we are able to sense something we know subconsciously, without our brain telling ourselves. In this picture, because I am able to level the camera on lower than horizon, the model will appear to be larger than life, and have a larger impact.