Tokyo Kaleidoscope is the boutique fashion label of Tokyo-based, Melbourne designer Leanne Yew. Leanne searches throughout the Sunday markets at Tokyo’s temples to find used kimonos, which she transforms into beautiful one-off pieces. Click here to visit the Tokyo Kaleidoscope website. We did this fashion shoot on the dark sands of Ichinomiya Beach, Chiba. Leanne is modeling her own garments. Read More
Today, 11 Sept 2009, the first article that James and I worked on together will be published in ‘The Australian’ newspaper. If you are in Australia you can look in the special Japanese travel section to read our article about the beautiful Hanami Season that we were fortunate to experience during our first week in Japan, back in April. You can read the online version of the article (written by James) here. Read More
Our Niijima article that was printed in the July issue of Outdoor Japan magazine is now up online. You can take a look at The Outdoor Japan Website. Read More
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piSvTkWa-9M This is a video from a photo shoot I did with Melbourne band Bonjah, in Verve studios. Enjoy the photos and the soundtrack, of their song ‘Steady’. Read More
Thank you to all the Fashion Designers, Models, Stylists and Make Up Artists who have worked with me so far on my photo shoots in Japan. I’m having so much fun dreaming up the concepts and seeing them come to life with the help of many beautiful people. These images are from a shoot I did last week in Ichinomiya with Aya from D’xim model agency. Make Up and hair was styled by Annco and the garments are from at Everlasting Sprout. We shot last Saturday. I found the location that morning when I was on my morning bicycle ride. It was so beautiful that I changed all my previous location plans to shoot there. We were so lucky, because as I passed the property exactly one week later, the gorgeous house covered in vines was being demolished. Read More
Here is a photo from my recent bodypaint shoot. I wanted a strong Japanese theme, with white skin influenced by geisha, acting as a canvas for the Japanese flowers across Alex’s face and body. The fan, flowers and chopsticks enhance the flavour, to create a set of images that I love. The girls were amazing. Annco did the bodypaint and make up on our model Alex Brooks. We had a lot of fun shooting this. We originally intended to shoot outside, but after discussing the timid nature of most Japanese people (even in Tokyo) we decided that it was probably too confronting to photograph a ‘naked’ woman outside. We decided to shoot in Annco’s apartment against a perfect white wall, and the other 3 walls were close enough to act as a soft box with the single Speedlight flash. Thanks to the girls. Read More
Here are some behind-the-scenes shots from the kimono shoot I did on Sunday. Naomi, the stylist is a professional kimono dresser in Tokyo. I now understand why you need a license to dress kimonos – the number of layers required, and the skill involved in all the folding and tying is phenomenal. Shoko did a great job assisting Naomi (and me) and Hideyuki did a wonderful job on Aya’s hair and make up. The first theme was sporty, and the styling included wired shoelaces in Aya’s hair and Nike high top sneakers. The second merged Chinese and Japanese traditional styles to create a uniquely classic look. With two sets of make up, hair and kimono, it was a long day but we all had a lot of fun and I’m really happy with the photos we finished with. (Wherever you are in Tokyo, there are always onlookers) Read More
I have been really busy lately shooting for my Japan Fashion photo book, which I am aiming to publish next year. It’s been really exciting, and I’m really happy with the results of all the shoots so far. It’s also given me the opportunity to work with a whole lot of beautiful, talented people. I have been meeting with some amazing fashion designers in Tokyo, planning shoots for the coming weeks, so watch this space for updates. Pic: This is Tsuya, a lovely actress from Tokyo. We had a lot of fun spending a day shooting around Tokyo with her cosplay outfits (Japan has a big sub-culture of girls dressing up as characters from anime – her outfits on the day ranged from a maid to gothic). If anyone has any info or advice on publishing that would be greatly appreciated. I have a fair idea of how to find a publisher, but it is my first book so I’m open to any advice. x Alicia Read More
During our second week in Japan, James and I took a short trip to an amazingly beautiful island not far from Tokyo. Niijima Island was like a dream – clear waters with empty waves, quaint village streets and the most wonderful outdoor onsen (natural, hot water spring) which overlooked the waves crashing below. We were so inspired that we decided it was the perfect subject to do our first collaboration together – I took the photos and James wrote the article. We submitted it to Outdoor Japan magazine and we ended up getting an 8 page spread, and the front cover. It’s a nice start to our journalistic adventures. Outdoor Japan Magazine website Read More
This was the first fashion shoot that I did in Japan. We shot at the ANA hotel in Tokyo in the early hours of a cool Spring evening. The sun went down faster than expected, so we improvised with some flash, which provided some beautiful results. Thank you for the crew for all your wonderful work – Styling – Kelly Wetherille Hair & Make-up – ANnCO Model – Lucia and Justin and our great Assistants. It was printed in Tokyo Weekender magazine, June 19-July 2 issue Please visit my website to see that pages at a larger size. Read More
My photography workshops will be running throughout the Summer, in Tokyo. They will be hands on workshops with a specific focus on your own equipment. More information can be found on the “Tokyo Workshops” tab (see above). Please contact me by phone or email with any inquiries, for additional workshop information, or personalised workshops. Read More
Last Sunday I was sipping on a $25 cup of herbal tea at one of Tokyo’s finest hotels, as I waited for my models and stylist to arrive for a swimwear shoot. Within less than 24 hours, I had headed down the coast to a farming town and found myself up to my shins in mud in a rice field, as I began my first WWOOFing experience on an organic/natural farm. Traveling provides me with opportunities to be completely diverse, random and extreme, and I can follow a path to wherever my life takes me. Of course I could be living like this at home as well, but for some reason I feel freer when I’m on the road. And that is one of the reasons why I plan to spend the next 2-3 years exploring the world. Pic: This is Nao, one of my farming friends. Technical: I shot this with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens, at f/2.8 @ 1/100sec. I chose the wide aperture to blur the edge of her hat, and the background. In post production in Adobe Bridge, I used a split toning effect to give the image a slightly old fashioned, yellow tone. I used […] Read More
Pic: Donavon Frankenreiter I had a brilliant weekend at the Greenroom Festival in Yokohama. It’s a music festival, based around surf culture. There was a whole lot of amazing artwork including live mural paintings from the Gravity Free crew. These guys are prolific, and James and I will be hooking up with them again to help get their artwork out to the world. The music was a lot of fun, and the floorboards on the huge wooden theatre were literally bouncing with thousands of dancers. Highlights for me were Dachambo, Natty, Rickie-G, Matt Grundy and Donavon Frankenreiter. I got to meet up with Matt and Donavon after 5 years, when I last saw them on their Australian Tour in 2004. It was a reminder that this is a crazy, small world – and I love it. Pic: Me sporting a new headpiece from Tokyo Designers Chaco, with some of my new friends, backstage at the Greenroom Read More
Yesterday I had an amazing day in Tokyo, meeting a whole lot of interesting young people. They have a lot to say to the world, and they choose to do say it through the way they dress. Many of the teenagers here spend six days a week at school, after school club sports and study classes. Sunday is their only day off and they choose to express their individuality through extreme dress. A lot of the costumes are based on anime characters. Animation is unbelievably popular in Japan, amongst children, teenagers and adults. Kids in Harajuku, Tokyo ‘become’ their characters once a week, and hang around other people doing the same – From cute dolls with pink hair, to gothic-like characters covered in piercings. Anything goes! -Alicia Read More
Thanks for all the feedback about my blog. It’s been great to hear from everybody and find out who is following my journey in and around the place. I have had more and more people ask whether I my photos are for sale, so I will start working on an Online Store page and let you know when it’s up on my website www.aliciafox.net Until then, I’m going to go and enjoy the sunshine and head up to Harajuku tomorrow to get some photos of the girls and boys dressing up in some of the worlds most extreme fashion. Peace x Read More
James and I were looking for inspiration for our next article submission, so we jumped on the local train and headed down the coast to Onjuka. We walked from the quite train station, past streets of deserted houses in overgrown yards, to a beach of half white and half black sand. The coastal holiday town was deserted on this windy Sunday afternoon, all except for a few keen surfers who took their longboards out on the completely flat ocean (and I’m not exaggerating. We watched the ocean for about half and hour and not a single ripple came through). Thankfully, we were more successful on our mission than the local surfers, and the change of scenery gave us inspiration for a great photo article….I’ll tell you all about it once it’s been published. Read More
Here are some photos of around where I live, in Ichinomya in Chiba, Japan… I got up at 4:30am to get some sunrise shots on the beach. It was Sunday, and even at sunrise the beach is crowded with surfers – many from Tokyo on their weekend break – quite possibly their one day off each week. Technical: I exposed for the background of this image to silhouette the figures against the back light. By setting the white balance to flash, I enhanced the colour temperature to an even warmer tone than the true early morning light. Black, volcanic sand with tetrapods protecting the land from typhoon swells and tsunamis. People leave their surfboards, bikes and shoes lying around, because nobody steals things in Japan. I love the morning sunlight on this boat. Technical: The hazy atmosphere diffused the sun to soften the warm early-morning sunlight. I shot at a fairly wide-angle to distort the shape of the boat and enhance the surreal feeling of the image. A few of our neighbours, with rice paddies in the foreground. Japanese people tend to have different taste in housing colours, to what I’m used to back in Australia. Pink is a bit […] Read More
