2009
You are currently browsing the archive for the 2009 category.
At the end of November, my grandfather (my mother’s father) passed away. He was an amazing man and he really had a great life. We were pretty close and in following tradition, I went to visit his tomb outside Masan, Korea. The day started at a Buddhist temple to honor his life and his spirit where offerings were delivered and chants were murmured by two presiding monks and my extended family. The tomb site is near his home town, a fishing village, where his plot is laid amongst our other relatives. The hill is set beyond levels of farming and residential housing. My intention with this post is not to bring people down. It’s just a document of a place I visited.
Read the rest of this entry »
Share/Save
Tags: 2010, Buddhist temple, funeral, grandfather, Harabagi, James Ryang, Korea, Masan, Photography, tomb
This has been a hectic trip so far. It seems like it’s mostly been travel, whether it’s a car, bus, or plane. It was almost a full day on an airplane. Just getting here has been a trip and it’s going to be mostly fulfilling family duties before any real fun starts. It also occurred to me that I’ll pretty much only be around Asians for the next three weeks which is always fun to experience again. I’m already starting to shoot some things that will be of more interest in future posts.
Read the rest of this entry »
Share/Save
Tags: 12.24.09, Airports, Christmas Eve, JAL, James Ryang, Japan Airlines, JFK, Narita, New York, photographs, Seoul, Tokyo
So I’m here. It’s nuts. I haven’t had much time to even review what I have so far, but here’s a good one and I thought it works as a Christmas / New Year’s card. The text to accompany this photo could go something like this: “To all my friends and colleagues, have a very productive and prosperous year.” Super formal. Anyway, Happy Holidays everyone.
Image copyright James Ryang 2009
Share/Save
Tags: Happy Holidays, Japan, JFK, Narita Airtport, Tokyo
This is where I want to be going to get away from this cold but I’m trying to get excited about traveling around Korea and Japan for a month where it is also cold. Expect irregular updates as I’ll be moving via train, plane, ferry, and automobile and only using the internet where available. Photos soon to come from Seoul, Pusan, Masan, Cheju, Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Chiba.
Share/Save
Tags: California, Holiday, James Ryang, Japan, Korea, Los Angeles, Seoul, Tokyo, Travel, Venice Beach
I did some photos for T Magazine. They are on The Moment Blog on The New York Times online. To read the interview by Elizabeth Spiridakis click HERE. And also read her blog, White Lightning.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Share/Save
Tags: Alexis Krauss, Derek Miller, Elizabeth Spiridakis, James Ryang, Sleigh Bells, T Magazine, The Moment Blog, The New York Times
I just did a shoot tonight inside the World War II aircraft carrier, the USS Intrepid. But in eight years of living in New York, I never visited the museum. What a trip. But tonight was a totally different type of visit. I setup a mini-portrait studio inside the hull of the ship. Below is a portrait of my friend Thibault, who I worked with tonight, and an interior shot from inside the belly of the beast. Also, below are some amazing images from the top-level deck of the aircraft carrier shot by my friend Leonard Fong. To learn more about the Intrepid Museum, click HERE.
Top two images copyright James Ryang 2009
Bottom two images by Leonard Fong
Share/Save
Tags: 2009, December, Intrepid, Intrepid Museum, James Ryang, Leonard Fong, Photography, Portraits, Remy-Cointreau, Studio, Thibault, USS Intrepid
I want to get one of these “THINK SAFETY” banners for my studio. After this last week of shoots, my studio is a war zone. Keeping organized is important but I know it’s gonna get wrecked starting Monday.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Share/Save
Tags: construction, James Ryang, photo studio, Photography, Studio, think safety, Williamsburg
Yesterday was awesome; actually, this whole week has been amazing. First, Alexis and Derek of Sleigh Bells came by my studio for a shoot for Nylon. They were rad and had good music which always get things moving. Can’t wait until their record comes out. Some polaroids below.
Then, my good friend Louis Abelman came over to have dinner and we did some portraits. He works at The New York Times and is a documentary filmmaker. We had fried chicken again. This is going to be on the jacket of his first novel. Anyway, the images came out nice and were Interview Magazine / Irving Penn inspired.
All images copyright James Ryang 2009
Share/Save
Tags: Irving Penn, James Ryang, Louis Abelman, Nylon Magazine, Polaroid, Sleigh Bells, Studio
This is something I wanted to do for awhile. Martha is amazing. The whole thing is bonkers. I’d never been in or seen a studio audience before, except for that time when I was shooting on a sound stage by the Family Feud in L.A. The set, the kitchen, the smells, the cheering women. We stuck out like sore thumbs. I’m even like, “what??!!! did that really happen?” It did. She gave us plant food and a gift certificate. Palazzo and I were the only guys there, except for this guy who stood up when asked where you were from and he yelled out, “Montreal.” I’d never seen so many Chimera softboxes in my whole life. Creamy lighting. That’s all I can say. Woah.
Read the rest of this entry »
Share/Save
Tags: chelsea studios, crafts, James Ryang, Live, martha, Martha Stewart, marthastewart.com, NBC, New York, NY, Photography, plant food, studio audience, taping, The Martha Stewart Show
