From Monday to Wednesday, I went to Montreal and Toronto on assignment for a photo agency (pics will be shown here later when after they are published, as usual).

While in Toronto, my Loyalist fast-tracker friend Natalie came to see me at my hotel. She came with her roommate Nami, a Japanese girl who came to Canada for a couple of month to improve her English.

Natalie asked me if I wanted to shoot some photos of Nami, which I did. She (Nami) will return soon to Japan and wanted to have a wedding book ready to find a husband in her country. The wedding book is an “evolution” to the traditional concept of arranged wedding that used to be the norm in Japan. The idea is simple: you make a nice album with photos of yourself with some text describing you, and you pass it around to friends, families and neighbours who will themselves show them to potential wife and husband. This ensure recommendations for serious contenders looking for a serious and lasting relationship from trusted people.

I’m used to shoot men, usually executive or more or less important people. I need to show their “important” and “manly” side. Shooting a cute girl, showing her all feminine was a bit of a challenge, but I’m generally happy with the result.

Now if you read this from Japan and are looking for a wife, stand back for a minute. If you are 18 or 20 years old, please do not apply. She could be your mother. Could you believe that she is turning… 39?? This is not a typo. She is 38 years old.

Technical: Canon EOS 1D mark II, 1/160 at f6,3 with a 85mm prime lens - ISO 200, one remote flash bounced into an umbrella from above and slightly on camera right, one remote flash bounced 45 degree up into the nearby wall on the left

Technical: Canon EOS 1D mark II, 1/200 at f3.5 with a 85mm prime lens - ISO 200, one remote flash bounced into an umbrella from camera right, one remote direct flash snooted to her hair on camera left