Jun 24

Jun 24 Rumiko Koyama

For this shoot Rumiko did it all. She cast the talent, scouted the location, styled the thing and took the photographs. Her end result was a sweet and honest look at two young boys playing in the park with images that are reminiscent of days past.

Who are these two boys? What are their names and how are they related?
Roman is 9 years old - I found him through a kids modeling agency. He was "the boy" whom I had been looking for ages. I was really happy when I found him.

John is 10 years old. I stopped him on a street near where he lives. I asked his mom and dad if I could shoot him. I found John in "Yokosuka" which is a city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. A lot of American boys lives there as it is a U.S. Navy base so I visited there over and over again to find a boy I wanted to shoot.

The two boys were complete strangers but they clicked immediately on set!

What were the locations for this shoot - where were you??
The location was a park in Tokyo, Japan. I'm currently in Tokyo.

What is the biggest challenge when working with kids on set?
To get them to open up to me.

What is the biggest advantage when working with kids on set?
In terms of shooting, they don't care about unnecessary things. That was the most important thing for this project.

Where did you source the clothing for this shoot?
I sourced them from classic vintage shops in Tokyo and from my own clothes.

Did the boys see these pictures? What was their reaction?
I don't know! I sent the pictures to their parents and the agency. My guess is that they would say something like “That's weird!!”. They kept shouting that on set ….”that's weird!!!” as I put on them oversized clothing and shoes.