Underwater Transformation About Face Underwater Transformation About Face

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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Underwater maternity portrait photography for your eternal memory

about, uw maternity
November 30, 2013/by
Underwater maternity portrait photography for your eternal memory Over the weekend, I reorganized my other portfolio site, erenashimoda.com. I would love to meet new clients going forward. This would be the perfect Underwater maternity portrait photography for your eternal memory! Of course, returning clients are more than welcome!  Underwater maternity photo session has been taking off this year. I've met so many beautiful mothers excited with their new borns. If you know anybody with a happy tummy, please pass my information. Here are some of the sessions from 2013. You can also check out last year's here. Let me know what you think of...
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IMDb, thank you so much!

about, Underwater Healer About Face, uw portrait
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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Organizing Seattle cancer survivor photo shoot!!

about, Underwater Healer About Face, uw portrait
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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Thank you for coming to NightLife gallery show!

about, art show, uw portrait
August 23, 2013/by
I had an awesome time at California Academy of Sciences last night! Thank you, Betty for contacting me and curating the show. I absolutely LOVE NightLife. I couldn't get to walk around much to check out other events but I would definitely go back there again to check it out. My stuff was right next to the penguins. They were so cute, cuddling and getting ready to go to bed. A lot of my friends stop by and I was SO happy to see everyone there. I was so happy all night showing my series and I can't wait to do more projects! Thank you so much for coming out and all the support! I love you guys!! Have a great...
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UPDATES on Underwater Healer – About Face campaign

about, uw portrait
August 19, 2013/by
Hello everyone~ I finally got the disbursement information from indiegogo. I just wanted to give you some updates on the campaign! I can reach out to 5 bay area for sure and 2 more from out side. I'm leaning towards going to the North West. Lindsay (Portland survivor) can meet me and Lori (Settle survivor) in Seattle. I still need to coordinate everything for this trip and I'll be on budget. If you guys know anyone who has an access to the indoor heated pool, please let me know! I just had a first bay area survivor photo shoot with Sante Johnson! We had a great time in Walnut Creek. Her friend, Perry helped me take some backstage photos. Thank you so much, Perry! Sante, you did a fantastic job! Photos are coming soon! Thank you so much for waiting! やっとインディーゴーゴーからメールがきました。まだちゃんとした値段が入って来ていません が、ベイエリアの５人と東西の２人と撮影ができるようにバジェットを守りながら頑張りたいと思います。ポートランドのサバイバーリンジーさんがシアトルま で来てくれるそうなので、シアトルのサバイバーローリーさんと同じロケーションで撮影できることになります。これから頑張って予定をたてたいと思います。 ベ イエリアは完璧なのでついこの間最初のサバイバー撮影に取りかかりました。サンテジョンソンさんです。彼女のお友達ペリーさんにバックステージの写真を撮...
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DAY 30 – end of the campaign. RAISED $10,142!!! Thank you SO much for your support!

about, uw portrait
August 9, 2013/by
RAISED $10,142!!! Thank you so much for your support! I finished my campaign with $10,142 and 1000 likes in 30 days!! Unfortunately, I didn't reach my goal but I can still work on survivors from the Bay Area and a few from out side. I'll find out more after all the tax and 40% of the donation to IHadCancer.com are taken out. I felt like I was riding a roller coaster during my campaign! I learned so much and my heart is full with happiness! I was on my computer everyday, marketing, creating graphics, flyers, ads, social net working and I tried everything I came up with. Even though I didn't reach the number, I'm still proud of myself I put 100% of my life into this. Also I wanted to tell everybody thank you for the support. I couldn't do this without anybody's help. I feel fortunate to have you guys in my life Now, my real job starts from here. I want to be proud of my work and I won't let anybody...
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