Thursday 5 November 2015

Feature Shoot

Leon Borensztein On Why Photographing the Yakuza was the Biggest Risk of His Career

Posted: 05 Nov 2015 05:00 AM PST

© Leon Borensztein
Leon Borensztein: In 1996 The New York Times Magazine send me to Japan to document the Generation X, the underworld of Japan. I was worried a little, as I was dealing with the real underworld without any protection. On my third day I have a real Yakuza, three gangsters coming to my fancy hotel room; they refused to meet at any place but on my territory. Two of them had missing pinkies, a bad omen. After taking a few exposures I asked them to take their shirts off, which they did promptly. After a while, I asked them to take all their clothes off so I could photograph all their tattoos. All of them went to the bathroom, took showers and returned naked. I had two young and attractive Japanese girls with me, students from the best university, speaking perfect English and working with the world press. To my surprise all went smooth, they did all of what I asked. I never felt any real danger. On the ninth day, I was supposed to photograph members of motorcycle gang, young fellows who later grew up to be the real gangsters.
They wanted to meet at midnight at undisclosed locations, since their names were known to the local police. We meet them some place, and we were told to follow them, about 20 on 10 bikes. They were driving very fast out of Tokyo, and I started to worry. After an hour of driving, we arrived to some place that was totally dark, some Shinto temple with an adjunct graveyard. It didn’t look good. I powered my generator, set my studio lights, but then a few of them took their hara-kiri sabers and started to throw them in the air and in some maddening dance started to move closer and closer to me when yelling angrily in Japanese. There was no escape. The leader, his face full of fury was just centimeters from my face and his dagger was performing some frenzied dance between us. As the cold blade was moving fast in front of my eyes the modeling lights were reflecting in ominous way.
I was sure that this would be the end of me. After scaring me, they turned to be pussycats, did everything that I asked them, and more.
A few weeks after returning from this assignment, when the award piece was published I received a fax from one of the girls that the real Yakuza were going to kill all of us because their faces are showing and the caption under the image said that after the session they went to “claim” money that somebody owed their boss. I explained to the girl that they stood in front of my camera voluntarily, but somebody told them that there would be a big black bar over their eyes. I am alive, but I never heard from my young translators.
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These 19 Photos of the Open Road Take Us on a Beautiful Journey From South Africa to Sonoma (Sponsored)

Posted: 04 Nov 2015 07:50 AM PST

Maui, Hawaii. © Juliette Charvet/Vault Archives

Joshua Tree National Park at night. © Ryan Allan/Vault Archives
“I swear to you there are divine things more beautiful than words can tell,” writes Walt Witman in his 1856 poem Song of the Open Road, a call to men, women and children from the confines of their homes and onto the great unknown. If indeed the pleasures of the open road cannot be condensed into even the most evocative of stanzas, perhaps it is only through pictures that we might discover the surprise, delight, and knowledge that follow in the wake of an infinite horizon. For this group show, we’ve pulled together nineteen photographs that capture the essence of the open road, all curated from Vault Archives, a boutique licensing agency with breathtaking images from all corners of the world.
Here, we travel from the mountain summits of South Africa to the manicured roadways of Tuscany, from Californian wine country to the moonlit forests of Albania. Vault Archives is an exclusive, high-end agency offering images to commercial, advertising, and editorial clients. With a focus on authentic imagery from international artists, Vault Archives currently holds a roster of over seventy-five phenomenal photographers, each with a keen vision and natural ability to capture unforgettable moments. Through collaboration with subagents all over the world, Vault Archives is able to reach far and wide, bringing places and people together through vivid stories and outstanding images.

In the Dark Hedges, where the HBO series “Game of Thrones” is filmed, a shadowy lane is flanked by centuries-old trees, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, June 13, 2013. © H. Thompson/The New York Times/Vault Archives

A fence-lined road in the morning mist and fog in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. © James Duckworth/Vault Archives

An oceanside path in Monterey, CA. © Noel Camardo/Vault Archives

Driving up the Boesmanspoortberg Mountain in South Africa, Eastern Cape Province. A low mist hangs over the rugged terrain of quartzite rocks. The road ends at a telecommunication tower high above the town of Willowmore. © Obie Oberholzer/laif/Vault Archives

Headlights illuminate apple trees that are growing along side the road in Schlanders, South Tyrol, Italy. Between Bolzano and Mals lies one of the biggest connected fruit cultivation areas of Europe. Around one million tons of apples are produced there every year. Due to the heavy winds in the valley, pesticides are being blown onto the fields of organic farmers, making it almost impossible for them to stick to the rules they have to follow. © Mario Wezel/laif/Vault Archives