My latest photo shoot for Metropolis magazine was Yoshihiro Nishimura, the famed special effects artist and director, who has made such movies as 'The Machine Girl' and 'Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl.' He makes these entertaining horror movies on extremely low budgets. Entering Nishimura's Tokyo workshop, I was suddenly surrounded by special effects creations of all kinds - strange heads, monster figures, arms and legs, kind of like a nightmare version of Santa's workshop. Nishimura himself, like the other two horror movie directors I've photographed for Metropolis, sported a goatee and glasses, and far from being an aggressive kind of person, was (like the other directors) very gentlemanly and kind.
These two photos are an interesting contrast. I needed something for the inside of the magazine that would show clearly what he does. But for the cover, I wanted something more subtle and mysterious. I wanted to focus on his character, and suggest his profession. So, it wasn't so much a matter of what to show, but what not to show. I chose to use only the mask, to keep the image mysterious but also illuminating. Both images were shot with a single flash, outfitted with a 30 degree honeycomb grid.
