Ken's Portfolio

Motorcycles `06

2006-02-13T20:26:00.000-06:00

Guitar Wolf

2005-08-27T14:31:00.000-05:00

Rockerbox

2005-08-27T13:20:00.000-05:00

Kenny Wells` Room: Vol.2

2005-08-24T19:02:00.000-05:00

Kenny Wells` Room

2005-08-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

Brandon's Room

2005-08-10T22:37:00.000-05:00

Harlem, NY

2005-07-17T12:04:00.000-05:00

Vanessa's Room

2005-07-17T11:55:00.000-05:00

At Oregon Coast

2005-06-30T15:37:00.000-05:00

Captain Midnight`s Room

2005-06-25T20:46:00.000-05:00

Ralph: Session 2

2005-04-13T15:44:00.000-05:00

Midnight Eastside Skate Session: Vol.1

2005-03-07T16:05:00.000-06:00

Brighton, England

2005-02-28T16:51:00.000-06:00

Brighton, England

Brighton. It was not quite like any scenes from Quadrophenia where the port town was portrayed as battlefield of the Mods and Rockers in the 60s. The town stood quietly, and its beach was covered by thick pavement. The town has seemingly become a town that does not differ much from other ordinary towns in England.

photos © copyright 2005 kentaro onda

London, England

2005-02-23T17:02:00.000-06:00

London

Many cities in the world have changed over years, and London is no exception. While many have change, some remained unchanged. Those that have remained unchanged have reasons to be unchanged because there are some who wanted them to be unchanged.

Ace Cafe is one of these places that has been historically meaningful. The cafe opened in the 30s and flourished in the 50s as the nation saw the emergence of rock `n` roll and rise of motorcycle-industry in England. It closed in 1969 but reopened in 90s. Even after all those years passed, it is still a place for rockers, motorcycle-riders and so forth. It still serves good chips, hamburgers and beer for these who love to hang around there.

Hope & Anchor is another unaltered place that offers visitors something that they have been looking for. The bar stands quietly, unlike a little fancy restaurant across the street, and it has its own fanciness and deep history. In the stairway, there are a couple of Elvis Costello`s 45s hanging on the wall as well as photographs of bands representing the bar, such as an Irish rock band, the Boomtown Rats. It has been long time since these late 70s punk bands and other played there, but there is atmosphere that one can feel that these bands were certainly there when he steps into the bar.

photos © copyright 2005 kentaro onda

Road Trip 2004

2005-02-23T16:51:00.000-06:00

Road-Trip '04
Various types of minorities have existed in the United States. When one travels around the nation, he can always find some of these minorities who are almost invisible because they belong to less social institutions than majorities.

Motorcycle-riders have been among minorities ever since the emergences of many motorcycle clubs in the 40s, such as Hell`s Angels, Outlaws so forth. Some have still belonged to the clubs as some clam themselves as “1% Club”, a word that started being used because the American Motorcycle Association stated that 99% of bikers abide laws. There is ceratinly legacy of therse bikers today, as West Coast Choppers carry some of traditons of motorcycle-riders in the nation.

Native Americans have been among these minorities and some of them still live in desert of Arizona. They seem to enojoy what they have when one sees they run their own business and have their own properties. It also seems that something is still missing in their lives when one sees vast and empy land that they own in the middle of desert.

photos © copyright 2005 kentaro onda

Ralph

2005-02-07T17:41:00.000-06:00

Ralph
Ralph. He sees the world differently. He does not believe in earning money and spending although he currently has a job to earn money and spends it. In fact, he does not “wanna need money,” and prefers to getting what he wants by giving others what they need.
He does not pay the rent, therefore. Instead he washes the dishes once in a while for his roommates. He gave them his artworks that he painted. The roommates are fine with how the system between him and them works.
It is very true that in this bureaucratic society one needs money and money often defines who he is. The relationship like the one Ralph creates with the roommates, therefore, should be considered valuable because one hardly sees anything like that today.
He currently lives in the east side of Milwaukee. He shares the room with a couple of guys and has a studio in the basement. He still keeps on painting.

photos © copyright 2005 kentaro onda

Seattle, WA

2005-02-04T17:35:00.000-06:00

Seattle
These photographs are from one of the first portfolios that I have ever completed. It was an assignment for school that I shot people on the street in the downtown area of Seattle in my first year there. It was quite natural to take photographs of these people for me at that time because these guys on the photographs were the only people that I could have conversations with. Being in Seattle for the first time, I had hard time finding someone with whom I could relate to. I saw no uniqueness in individuals there until I started shooting these homeless guys. Their lives, for some, might be filled with emptiness or just boring; however to me, having conversations with them was critical experience in terms of getting to know people in the city and city itself.

After spending two years in the city, I still think doing the documentary on these individuals helped me find a way to get through hard time. It also gave me some tips and reasons to shoot photographs.

photos © copyright 2005 kentaro onda