Underwater Transformation About Face Underwater Transformation About Face

Come celebrate for my first self-published book!!

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March 31, 2014/by
April 12 Come celebrate for my first self-published book!! @WORKSHOP 1798 McAllister Street, San Francisco, California 94115 I recently self published a photo book of 13 cancer survivors and their inspirational stories. https://www.behance.net/gallery/Underwater-Healer-About-Face-Photo-Book/15560457 I would love to celebrate both the success of the indiegogo campaign http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/underwater-healer-about-face and the book release with my contributors, friends and family. I'll also be showing and selling both prints and the photo book. All the proceeds will go toward renting a Tokyo gallery space, MIDORI.SO for my exhibition that will happen in May. My work was featured on different media. (yay, thank youuuuu-!) http://underwaterhealer.com/press Most recently, it was featured on Comprehensive Cancer Center site http://www.cccnevada.com/2014/02/05/underwater-photographer-uses-art-to-empower-cancer-survivors/ (Thank you sooooo much!) I was invited to USMA conference, organized by Genentech in the end of April. (This is craaaaazy!) It means a lot to see this project spreading around! THANK YOU SO MUCH for your support, everyone! I would not have been able to do this campaign without your support!! Besides my book, I'll be selling my YOKAI metal prints and other canvas prints from the previous shows. Prices are half of the gallery price.   Hope to see you there. Erena (and it's my...
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Underwater Healer About Face Photo Book

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March 5, 2014/by
Underwater Healer About Face Photo Book Hundred copies of Underwater Healer About Face photo book finally arrived today! I worked on the book for 2-3 months. It seemed forever... It was a whole new experience designing a book and learning InDesign at the same time... I was really nervous to open the book and see if I made any mistakes.... I found few! (shhhhhhh-...) I remember I was exhausted and going blind towards the end. But I'm really happy to see my final product!!! Thank you! I got a sad news from NY few days ago. Emily Morrison passed away. I met her for the first time in NY photo shoot. Even though Emily has gone through a lot of difficulty, I was totally blown away by her positive energy. Her amazing spirit motivated me, especially since she wrote, “Have Under Water photos taken” in her "To-see list," a wish list of all the things she wants to do before she loses her eyesight. When Emily and I met, I could tell she was eager and ready to jump in the pool immediately. She thanked me for coming out there and told me how happy and excited she was to do the photo shoot with me. Because of Emily’s ongoing medication and treatment, I wanted to be careful and make sure she was feeling okay. But because we had a good connection from the start, my nervousness began to melt away. I was confident that this photo shoot would head in a good direction. Emily wore...
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Happy New Year!!! Underwater healer project will be growing in 2014!

about, Underwater Healer About Face, uw maternity, uw portrait
January 1, 2014/by
Happy New Year, Everyone!! あけまして　おめでとうございます！ 2013 was an amazing, inspirational and evolving year for me. I felt like I was riding on a roller coaster emotionally and physically everyday. It was definitely fun and dizzy :) Looking back into all the underwater portrait photos in 2013, I had 23 portrait photo shoots including survivors, engagement, family and maternity! I was busy towards the end of the year especially working with 10 survivors in 3 states in 3 months besides my full time job! I managed my time to not lose myself and I think I made it through successful result! ２０１３年はとても刺激的で進化した一年でした。毎日、ローラーコースターに乗っているような楽しく、目まいのする、激しい毎日でした。一年を振り返ってみると、今年は２３の水中撮影を終える事ができました。サバイバーの人達、妊婦さん、婚約、ファミリー撮影、昼のお仕事の合間を探しながらスムーズにこなす事ができました。特に年末は１０人のサバイバーを３つのロケーションで３ヶ月で撮ったので風邪を引きましたが　自分を失わず、キャンペーンを成功する事ができたと思います。 My project, Underwater Healer About Face, helping heal cancer survivors through underwater portrait photography, was featured on CBS, The Huffington Post, The Huff Women, BuzzFeed, Weather Channel, IMDb, AsianWeek etc.  It was an exciting moment and I've never felt that kind of chill and goosebumps all over my body inside out. I loved that feeling. (definitely not good for your heart :) キャンペーンは色々なメディアに取り上げられ、多くの人達に見てもらえる事ができました。ドキドキして、鳥肌のがたち、心臓に悪い毎日を過ごしました。 I'm currently working on a book of cancer survivor underwater images with their stories. It'll be in English and Japanese. I'm hoping to extend my project all over the world and reach out to people as much as I can. This is my first book that I'm designing and I hope many people can read it and get inspire. 今はサバイバーのイメージコレクションの写真集をデザインしています。彼らのストーリーもそえてレイアウトしました。初めて自己出版する写真集。日本語にも訳してあるので多くの人達にみていただければ良いなと思います。 Thank you so much. I would not have been able to do this campaign without your support! I hope you all have a fantastic new year! 本当に皆様のご協力のおかげでここまでやって行く事ができました。ありがとうございます。２０１４年も良いお年をお迎え下さい。 Sincerely, Erena　下田恵玲奈 photo by Jeremy...
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The Huffington Post, Girls Talk HQ and Refinery 29

about, Underwater Healer About Face, uw portrait
December 6, 2013/by
Thank you so much, The Huffington Post, Girls Talk HQ and Refinery 29! This week has been awesome and I feel fortunate to get my work pressed by 3 different websites. The Huffington Post Mailet Lopez, a CEO of IHadCancer wrote a blog on The Huffington Post yesterday. I was very much happy to see my work on the website! Girls Talk HQ I contacted Girl Talk HQ by sending email about my work. Asha Dahya got back to me saying that she wants to feature my work on her site! She got all the information from 2 of my web sites and all the other pressed...
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NYC Trip Photos

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November 20, 2013/by
I'm finally uploading the  NYC trip photos! Arrived safely with my gear and welcomed by corn chips and Dunkin Donuts! Yum! Vicky helped me finding a pool for this photo shoot. We had to wake up early so only ONE beer to celebrate my arrival! She was my first subject. Getting ready in the early morning is brutal but her eye brows were perfect! (how did you do that!) Emily Morrison was my second subject. She was so adorable! Her mom was cute too. I was so happy to make her dream come true! Brian (on the left) was my third subject. He flew down from Maine for the photo shoot. He wanted to have a bicycle theme! I wished I got a used bike for the prop! Next time! Mailet is a CEO of IHadCancer (in the center), the company I partnered for the campaign. She was my last subject for the day. Her hair was synchronized with the motion and the movement was so graceful. Everyone did incredible jobs performing in the water considering it was their first time. I can't wait to show you all the final photos! After the photo shoot, we all went out to have dinner. Anthony, a president of  a design agency, Squeeky, treated us with bunch of pizzas and fancy bottles of wine! I brought my laptop to have the preview of  underwater portrait session. They were thrilled to check them out. It's so interesting to see them criticizing their performances. I just loved seeing their smiley faces :) Last night...
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Underwater Healer About Face in NYC!!

about, Underwater Healer About Face, uw portrait
October 31, 2013/by
I'm getting ready to go to NYC! IHadCancer (the company I partnered for the campaign) is flying me out to take photograph of 4 people. I'm packing all the underwater gear in 2 cases just like the Seattle trip. I'm really nervous because this trip is going to be the toughest challenge I'll ever face in my life. 1. I'm photographing my friend Vicky who has been a great supporter for this project. I want to offer a complimentary underwater portrait session. 2. CEO of IHadCancer, Mailet Lopez is a breast cancer survivor. She wanted to create the community for cancer survivors, fighters and supporters connect. 3. Her friend, Brian is my first male survivor and he is flying in from Maine for this photo shoot. 4. Another friend of IHadCancer, Emily is going blind after multiple cancer treatments and a tumor on her optic nerve. She is only 25 years old. Everybody is important to me and I'll do my best work on each person. I'm SO nervous and excited to meet them specially, Emily. Please check out her TO SEE LIST, all the to do list before she loses her vision. Do you see underwater portrait in there? I'm so happy she found...
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IMDb, thank you so much!

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October 27, 2013/by
I was just searching my article on the website and I found this on IMDb's website! Thank you for the post, IMDb! Washington, Oct 15: A photographer, who is on a quest to help cancer survivors rebuild their self-esteem, recently conducted an amazing underwater photo shoot for six such survivors. Erena Shimoda told CBS News that after her father died in a car accident, she was physically and emotionally broke and she had to learn how to deal with herself. But by helping other people, she was able to overcome her painful experience, Shimoda said. Shimoda had started an Indiegogo campaign and collaborated with IHadCancer.com to raise 17,000 dollars so she could shoot 10 cancer survivors underwater. However, the money collected was just over 10,000 dollars. But Shimoda decided to go ahead with the project,...
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CBS NEWS!!!

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October 15, 2013/by
My heart was beating fast all day since they published an article about my campaign this morning. I've been waiting for this moment and I felt so relieved when I saw my work on their website! Thank you so much, CBS!! CHECK OUT CBSNEWS.COM I wanted to post few more images. I originally gave them 30 images but they only used half. You can view the 30 day campaign, Underwater Healer About Face. It seems so long ago.... This is Erica Yee. We are reviewing the poses to improve for the next shots. We both had a great time! Please view her beautiful images here! Setting the camera makes me nervous every photo shoot. I'm finally getting use to it! You can view the simple set up from my pitch...
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Organizing Seattle cancer survivor photo shoot!!

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September 14, 2013/by
So far, I've done photographing 4 survivors from the Bay Area. I'm waiting for one more male survivor, then Bay Area is complete!! You can check out the testimonial page to see their beautiful images and their underwater experience. I loved meeting and working with all of them and it was a precious experience to see their faces glow :) They made my day. Now, I'm getting ready for 2 survivors in Seattle on the 26th. Due to my tight budget, Lindsay from Portland is meeting me and Lori in Seattle to do the photo shoot. I'm heading over there on the 25th to meet the pool owner. My friend's friend, Ann is offering the pool for no charge!! Thank you so much for the generous support. People have been so sweet and supportive for my campaign. My heart is full of happy...
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