ohayo gozaimasu from japan. got off the plane, went to ginza, then to azabu, then tried to sleep, not successful, then sushi, then tequila, then jacksan, then the major jet lag. i woke up at 4am in the dark thinking of something to do. then tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. today i have meetings and it’s going to be a long ass day! yesterday was 36 degrees C or 100 degrees F. japan is hot!!!
i was on the airplane and finally had time to read the new Hawaii Skin Diver magazine. HSD is the most well designed, and well made magazine i’ve ever picked up. from the front cover to the back, the layout and design is top notch. just by looking at the HSD mag, it makes me want to publish a Go-Naminori magazine. and if i do, i’ll hire the guys at HSD for sure. should i publish a mag? ummmm. something to think about huh?
then i flip a few pages and noticed something strange. why is my name in there? they were congratulating me for winning a big award at the 2012 Pele/Addy Awards. huh? i didn’t even know about it. haha. but come to find out, world known photographer D.J. Struntz and surf bum Kirby Fukunaga both won gold awards for magazine covers. wow! i’m stoked!!!! this was my first award for a cover shot. i didn’t expect it and i didn’t know about it but i’ll take it! thank you HSD and to people who chose my cover shot.
this is the cover shot that won. i still remember this moment. this was in Palau last march. i was swimming around with my camera, my gopro, and my speargun because i didn’t want to miss anything. KB shot a huge grouper and was taking it back to the boat. he handed it off to my bodyguard and brent as i took this shot. these are the kind of photos i like taking. no cheese, no faking, no posing, no staging. this is natural. this is how we do it. this is teamwork. and if it wasn’t for all of us working together, this cover wouldn’t have happened. so thanks to all my diving partners for making my dreams come true! let’s do it again!
i went straight to canon in ginza to pick up my camera i had serviced last time i was here. i use to take my equipment to canon in hawaii before but they have to ship it out to the mainland to fix it and it costs 3x more. japan canon is the best. good service, professionals, and very trustworthy. i knew my camera was in good hands.
i paid 9000 yen or $105 and my camera is like brand new. ready to document the next typhoon coming my way! got some meetings in tokyo today and then i’m on a train heading down south. where? it’s a secret!
feels good to be back in this beautiful country. i love everything about this place.
have a wonderful day!
