Aviva Photography Blog

Sharing is easy and fun (we all teach our kids that, right?) and so I would like to share this with other photographers out there – Okinawa Living Magazine now has a site where anyone can register and submit photos for consideration for the Parting Shot on the last page.

What a GREAT thing this is! So…go visit. Click here, or type in: http://67.15.245.19/~okinawah/ in your browser. Register with a user name and password and then have at it! You’ll see on the site that there’s a countdown to when the photos are due and for which issue. And you’ll also see other people’s photos – and everyone gets to VOTE too! So even if you don’t want to submit something, feel free to visit and vote on the photo you think should be in the next issue. I personally submitted a couple of photos from Peace Prayer Park in honor of Veteran’s Day for the November magazine. These are the two I uploaded:

Bear in mind; the site will want you to upload your photo at web resolution (1MB max size) and 900 px wide. You’ll also need to submit a thumbnail at 200px wide. Be prepared with these when you register and submit.

Have fun with this! I hope to see your photos on the site and in Okinawa Living!

Back in Okinawa and as busy as ever. Can I get a big HURRAH for the incredible weather we’ve been having? Amazing. I’m soaking it all up before the heat sets in. I have a LOT of work to do (as in, client work) but wanted to sprinkle in a few travel shots along the way – so here it goes.

I just returned from Hong Kong. What a fantastic city – and wow – the FOOD. Unbelievably delicious. I went with a girlfriend of mine, Val (cameras only – sans-kids, sans-hubbies), which was a great way to travel. I’m definitely going to share more, but for now just a few peeks of what I did there, and I promise I’ll also put up some Thailand and Kyoto photos finally as well. Maybe as things slow down (ha ha) I can get to more of these… my clients come first.

So this is a really broad overview of the first few shots I got to edit – there are SO many more, I might go in categories like food, temples, scenery, etc.

The first two days it poured. Non-stop. So only the point & shoot came out with me besides for indoor shots. Monday – the rain stopped. So we went to Victoria Peak on Hong Kong Island. It was still a bit cloudy and there is definitely a lot of smog in the city, but you’ll get the idea. Amazing tram ride up the hill and then you come out to see this:

(Well, I guess you see that if you’re looking through a fisheye, but since your eyes have peripheral vision maybe this gives you a better idea…)

At the peak, we went to a restaurant that came highly recommended, Cafe Deco. As the name would suggest, it’s decorated completely with art deco and deco-period furnishings. Besides the food (YUM) here was my favorite part… the bar looking down through a circular hole in the second floor of the restaurant!

Doesn’t it kind of look like a roulette wheel? Well, there is gambling to be done in and around HK (we went to Macau, but did not go to casinos), but we found other ways to spend our HK dollars – trust me! This was at a souvenir stand at the peak. I loved it.

Back at the bottom of the hill, we saw a bride and groom being photographed. We sighed and oohed and aahed… and then as they took off to another location I realized – HEY! That’s not a real bride!

Jeans and loafers under the dress?? Maybe it was a catalog shoot. We had a good laugh at that one.

Down the road on HK Island, we took a double-decker bus. Not a regular one, a skinny one. Kinda reminded me of that bus that Harry Potter rides in that squeezes through stuff, you know what I’m talking about? We sat up top for the experience and looked out the back window at this sweet smile and I had to capture her. The people in HK are very nice, we decided. Except maybe the cab drivers… but that’s a story for another post.

The buildings were really interesting to me. I’m originally from New York, and the city was right next door. That’s right. THE city. Once you’ve done New York, there’s nothing else like it (bear in mind, I haven’t visited Tokyo yet – I realize that’s a city too). My father is in the elevator business as well, so I dig skyscrapers. But Hong Kong is definitely a city, and the structures are fascinating.

Macau & Taipa are just little slices of paradise. Very European. Here’s one of many postcard-esque shots I took of a cathedral facade. The building itself was constructed of wood and had burnt down years ago. Here’s what’s left – it makes for a really interesting site, don’t you think?

Last but not least, on Lantau Island – the biggest outdoor buddah in the world. Known, succinctly, as The Big Buddah. At just past high noon, this was my favorite sun flare shot of the day.

More soon, everyone! To include some photo shoots of more gorgeous clients,and travel shots.
REMINDER: The discount on the Aviva Photography Online Art Gallery expires on May 6th! Photographic prints make great Mother’s day gifts – order today and it will probably make it on time!

Thanks, Life in Motion Photography – this was worthy viewing. And my job rocks.

Keep me. Protect me. Share me.

I befriended a jewelry designer named Jen a while ago – she has many other talents as well, but you know being the artsy fartsy that I am – the jewelry designer thing was really interesting to me. She’s something of a newlywed, and moved here from Los Angeles with her Air Force hubby. We all know how…interesting… it can be to try to find your niche here in Okinawa as a working spouse. She had been a paralegal in LA, and when she moved here and didn’t have that job anymore, she went feet first into making new jewelry designs for her 2009 line. And I was lucky enough to have her as a friend and fan; she asked me to photograph her new line!

Jen hired a couple of beautiful models for the job and off we went to the colorful and texture-rich sea wall.

Here’s Rafia in a colorful beaded necklace that I totally want…

And beautiful Andrea modeling another beaded and bejeweled wonder that I totally want…

The models looked stunning in Jen’s unique & inspired designs. I was thrilled when she told me it turned out just as she’d imagined it – because I definitely thought the photos showed off her designs as beautifully as possible.

WORK it, Andrea! Gorgeous!!

In my next life I want Rafia’s hair. Well, shoot, I want her everything.

LOOK at this insane detail! It took Jen months to make these, and you can see why.

Last but not least, some of Jen’s work with gold.

Jen Preston’s jewelry designs can be seen at Jib & Genoa’s website. (Where you can also find some vendors, though not on Okinawa.) But I figure it’s ALWAYS a good thing to know someone in the jewelry designing business – especially one as sweet as Jen. Thanks so much to Rafia & Andrea for their modeling talents too! This was a great departure from the norm for me.

Hi there!

For those of you locals who prefer to call me.. and for all of you who have upcoming shoots and a business card in your hand – I’m changing my phone number.

New business cards are on the way, and my old phone will be active until March (with a message that has the new number).

That number is now on the website. Everything else remains the same – if all else fails (I honestly respond quicker) – EMAIL ME!

And now – Sakura! (aka Cherry Blossoms) I took a delightful trip with some other photogs and captured the gorgeous pink beauties in all their glory. What a fun day. It’s nice to get out & shoot for FUN sometimes!

These guys (Japanese White-Eyes, thank you, Ryan) were flying around from tree to tree and we tried for so long to capture one! I think this is the best one I got.

And these lanterns line the paths… I have to get back there at night to shoot again before the blossoms are gone!

By the end of the shoot, the sun had come out and we had amazing blue skies.

More soon – as usual. Have a great day! (or night)

Many times it’s the father of the family that has to warm up to the idea of doing portraits. It’s not uncommon, the wife/mom drags the husband along and is making him spend the money on the portraits AND show up in decent looking clothes, usually on a weekend morning when there are other way more fun things to be doing. So usually the thing that makes me feel happiest after a shoot is hearing that it was actually FUN for the man of the house. That he enjoyed it, or even that it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was going to be. (I know the women reading this are nodding their heads about the first part – so if you can somehow try to get past it with him, and if you can get your husband in front of my camera, I will be happy to take care of the rest.)

This family was a completely different story. Margo and I met at the pool last summer, we had kids in swim lessons. She’s so sweet, and her husband works with Jenn’s husband (once again, teeny tiny island and word travels fast), and she arranged for a date and we picked a location.

Then I got a follow-up email from Margo: “…and I apologize in advance for any questions Jay asks on Saturday about your lenses or other technical things related to photography of which I do not completely understand… it’s just the geek in him!  Try as I might, it rears its little head every now and then.” I did another happy dance. GUARANTEED this will not be a shoot where I will have to win Dad over!! I told Margo not to give it a second thought – she just gave me the key to a great morning. But you know what? I didn’t even need it – you couldn’t find a nicer family. And yep – again, totally gorgeous.

So yes, Jay asked questions about lenses and cameras. He shoots with a Nikon, so I had to translate a little, but the basics are the same. Now when shooting a shutterbug, it can be bad. You can end up with someone super critical that wants to hover over your camera and make sure everything is just so. Not Jay; this family hired me because they trust my judgment, bless their hearts. But they also came to have fun because they wanted me to capture their family; oh boy did I.

Margo and Jay have two girls. The younger one, K, is a firecracker. She’s beautiful (looks just like her mama) and she did not stop. The weather was chilly, and one half of the sky was purple with clouds – the other half was clear. So we ended up with some amazing beach shots because the light was delicious. Somehow I think Jay has something to do with K’s love of heights and being airborne!

K’s left boot was coming off in that shot, and after getting thrown she took off her boots. It was really too cold for barefoot on the beach, but since K had left her boots I got down in the sand for at least one signature shot… (that’s K’s big sister D in the background, checking out shells)

As I’m looking through my viewfinder and getting this shot, something happens that I wasn’t expecting. I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this hard while looking through my viewfinder – I mean who expects for a kid’s head to come down from above??

Thanks, Jay! These are favorites.

Again – the LIGHT! Wow. Another gorgeous couple!

Their older daughter, D, is smart as a whip. She’s artistic and has a vocabulary and a way about her that’s beyond her 10 years. These girls are so different, but K LOVES her big sis. Jay and Margo are such great parents – they ended up with Daddy’s girls AND Mama’s girls!

Grabbed this on our way up from the beach… another favorite!

Sigh… beautiful.

Are there enough positive expletives? I asked D if she’d take off her glasses – I’m so glad she obliged; not because she looks better without them (I love those frames, D!), but because we got an even better look at those stunning eyes!

These two are awesome together. Another Hubba Hubby. I keep saying it – I even emailed it to Margo after the shoot. I LOVE what I do!

Margo warned me that K rarely stands still. You know I love a challenge. And when I saw this photo, I did one of my “wow” gasps – an all time favorite!

I could post here all day. I have to show you Jay & K doing their “No hitting, no punching no kicking” get-psyched bit that they do before she goes to school. It’s hysterical. You have to see it to appreciate it fully, but here you go. You get the idea.

I can’t thank you enough for a wonderful day. And I can’t wait to show you the rest. Jay, I’d love to have you along on a shoot – we’ll make it happen. (Maybe for a personal tour of the CH-46…I do love to fly.)

On an unrelated note – do you Facebook? I do. I’m not quite as addicted as some, but I’m definitely on there – it’s fun! I don’t really participate in the gaming and poking and whatever. But I love to keep track of birthdays, what people are up to, and look at photos from friends both here and back in the states. If you’d like, search for me, Aviva Bowman, and be my friend! Or if you don’t really care what I’m up to on a daily basis (and really, why would you…) I started a page for Aviva Photography. If you’re into Facebook, and you want to show me your support (come out of the woodwork, blog stalkers!), you can find it HERE – become a fan! Starting in 2009 I just might put offers up there first for the fans. You all rock, thanks for watching!

Kyoto was amazing. There are truly NO WORDS to describe how beautiful that place is. My friend and I were blessed with fantastic weather, amazing tour guides, and incredible food. I am already planning my next trip! YES, I took way too many photos. YES, I will be sharing some photos with you here. But no – not yet. I have many client shoots to finish editing because we had some nasty rain in Okinawa before I left, so things were delayed. There are some things to tend to around here first!

On another note – WHERE has the year gone? It’s November. And it’s time to start thinking about 2009. First order of business is a calendar in my house. I am proud to say I contributed to and helped assemble the Okinawa Hai 2009 Calendar! About 16 photographers in Okinawa contributed to make this amazing calendar a success. Each month displays four gorgeous photos of this island we at least temporarily call home. Please do visit the link, and then pre-order your calendar. The amazing folks at Oki Hai! will ship it to you in the states or to your FPO/APO. The American AND Japanese holidays are marked in the calendar too!

So be off with you – go order a calendar so it gets to you in time to say HAI! to 2009.

Have a great day – I have LOTS of stuff to share with you very soon, everyone.

my child did NOT do this on the day she was born. Which was on October 4th almost exactly seven years ago. Time flies.

Japanese Baby

Sorry for the link, I can’t embed here. Enjoy!