SPOT: Ocean

Showing posts with label Ocean. Show all posts

Feb 5, 2015

Christophe Lemaire, Pre-Fall 2015

I love the lighting in this shoot. It has a strength to it that I can't quite describe. The cold and salty wet feeling from the sea helps put me right into these big jackets. Given that I live in a landscape much like the one depicted here, I really appreciate the juxtaposition of these clothes and the elements. This entire collection is wonderful - here are my favorites:

*The photographer and model are currently unknown to me.
I will update as soon as I find out.

Jan 26, 2015

Ama 海女

↑ by Fosco Maraini (via)

↑ by Eishin Osaki (via)

traditional Japanese Ama pearl diver in the sunshine with her catch. topless, small plaid shorts, beautiful

↑ by Yoshiyuki Iwase (via)

The ideas and fishing practices of the Ama pearl divers are so different from the ones used in the community where I live. These ladies are so legendary to me. They have such a strong faith in nature and the ocean. The picture above gives me a great feeling of summer and what is like to be a human.

"Ama – The Pearl Diving Mermaids of Japan"
One of the lesser-known but fascinating parts of Japanese culture is that of the Ama pearl divers. Ama (海女 in Japanese), literally means ‘woman of the sea’ and is recorded as early as 750 in the oldest Japanese anthology of poetry, the Man’yoshu. These women specialised in freediving some 30 feet down into cold water wearing nothing more than a loincloth. Utilising special techniques to hold their breath for up to 2 minutes at a time, they would work for up to 4 hours a day in order to gather abalone, seaweed and other shellfish. ...

- Michael Gakuran (via)

This is an awesome short documentary on the Ama and features a great interview with a real live woman of the sea!

I highly recommend checking out this article ("Ama – The Pearl Diving Mermaids of Japan") by Michael Gakuran if you'd like to learn more!