The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Oct 2013 back issue
film stills by David James
Battle stations.
Blessing at Hemeji Temple.
Ed Zwick, Producer Last Samurai, thinking yoga.
John Toll, Director of Photography, Last Samurai.
Ken Watanabe.
Official movie poster.
Marshall Herskovitz, Writer Producer.
Night shooting, New Zealand.
Pre-shoot blessing at Hemeji Temple.
Sword fight.
Tom Cruise.
There are times when I feel like I am 'Dr Who' (with a camera). In my world, one month I am shooting President
Abraham Lincoln and another I can be on the front in World War II.
I couldn't turn down the offer to travel back to the world of the Samurai, especially when Tom Cruise and Ken
Watanabe, a month's shooting in Los Angeles, on to Japan to shoot in the Hemeji Temple and several months filming
in New Zealand were thrown into the mix. Tough, I know, but someone's got to do it and so it might as well be me!
Our shoot in Hemeji started with a blessing from the Temple's resident Priests followed by a lunch and of course, gifts.
In New Zealand a village was constructed for our filming, true to the last detail to resemble a Japanese village that was
the home to our Samurai Warriors. The shot of Tom Cruise charging at my camera was fun to capture. Tom's story is
that he was yelling "Get out of the way David" but going through my head was, "You got the reigns TC."
