Underwater Transformation About Face Underwater Transformation About Face

Interview with a Brazilian TV show　ブラジルのテレビ局とインタビュー

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October 1, 2014/by
Interview with a Brazilian TV show　ブラジルのテレビ局とインタビュー I got a email from a Brazilian TV show, MULTISHOW. They told me that they are launching a new TV program and it will suit perfect with my Underwater Healer Project. They wanted to interview me in person. ブラジルのテレビ局、ムルティショーのプロデューサーから連絡があり、来年の新しい番組に私の去年からしているキャンペーンがぴったりだと言う事で、サンフランシスコの私の家（オフィス）でインタビューがしたいというメールでした。 I was super excited to have people over from Brazil and I felt definitely flattered by it. I'm grateful to be part of the show and to share my story to inspire the world. もちろんオーケーを出してすぐにスケジュールをくみました。他国からも興味を持っていただけて私のストーリーが世界中に広がってくれるのはとても嬉しいです。 The director, Gustavo and the cinematographer, Manuel were super nice, interesting and professional. I talked for 40min. I'm a listener and usually don't talk much so I felt like I used up 1 year worth of my voice and tons  of calories! They had few shots of me editing photos and my mermaid decorations. I hope I told everything they needed to know... It was a great experience meeting them and talking in front of the camera!　ディレクターのグスタボとシネマトグラファーのマニュエルはとても親切でoおもしろくて、プロフェショナルでした。４０分ほどのインタビューで喋りまくり。普段は聞き手なので、一年分の声とカロリーを燃やした感じです。笑。その後は私が写真を編集している所を何ショットか撮ってくれました。彼らが知りたいことをすべて話せてたらいいのですが、少し心配です。 For the perfect composition....The cinematographer, Manuel is fixing my best friend's underwater portrait photo from Puerto Rico. 私のベストフレンドの写真の位置を完璧な場所に動かしているマニュエル。 AND it is a SMALL WORLD. Manuel and I have a mutual friend, Branca!! I asked Branca if Multishow really exist in Brazil (hahaha). Meanwhile, Branca was trying to meet Manuel to catch up! Crazy! He was too busy and they had no chance to meet up :( I hope three of us can meet...
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Sport Diver Magazine 2014 July Issue

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June 5, 2014/by
Sport Diver Magazine 2014 July Issue スポーツダイバー7月号ページ21に載りました〜！！ I was interviewed by Sport Diver magazine few month ago. Somebody emailed me that I'm on the Printed July issue!! This magazine was hard to find in San Francisco! One of my friends suggested to try calling Smoke Signals  They had 3 more left!! I bought them all! (I was too excited:) スポーツダイバーの雑誌に何ヶ月か前にインタビューされて７月号に良い記事で載ってるよいうメールが読者からきました！この雑誌は結構見つけにくいのでサンフランシスコにある本屋に電話をしまくりました。親友がスモークシグナルはあるはずとの事で、朝７時オープン直後連絡したら、３冊残っているとの事。興奮して３冊とも買ってしまいました！ Sport Diver magazine July 2014, page 21! Click here to enlarge the...
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Genentech USMA conference in Arizona, Phoenix

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May 6, 2014/by
Genentech USMA conference I was invited to Genentech USMA conference in Arizona, Phoenix from April 21-25 to present my underwater healer project. They flew me out and gave me a gorgeous hotel!! For the opening night to welcome us, the band, Pink Martini played! I wish I had talked to them! Sante Johnson came with me to give a beautiful speech in front of more than 500 doctors. She was one of the survivors from my underwater healer about face campaign, 2013. She survived from breast cancer. In the end of 2013, she was diagnosed and she is sick again. She agreed to share her experience going through her treatment. (Thank you, Sante!) Monday night, We finally got to meet the organizers and Sante rehearsed her speech. Tuesday was the BIG day for us. Sante's husband sent flowers to wish us the best of luck!! So sweet! Thank youuu-!! Then we checked out my images if they arrived safely from SF! Whewww they did! Sante's speech time! The place was packed!! I was so nervous for her! I was holding an iPad to take video. Her speech was beautiful. She talked about her artistic life and experience going through her treatment. She also talked about my underwater healer project how therapeutic it was to experience the transformation. When she finished her speech, everybody stood up. I started crying! After the speech, we all went upstairs to see my images. I stood right next to them and Q and A sessions with everyone who appreciated my work. They were...
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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

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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

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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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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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