Good Ballerina Gone Bad

I did a shoot a few months ago with Jyllian (Photographer) and finally got my cd from her during the weekend. I really enjoyed working on this shoot. It is probably one of the most fun shoots I've ever done.

The Concept:
Jyllian came to me with this concept that she had - "Good Ballerina Gone Bad". She wanted to capture a dreamy, organic, whimsical feeling through the images. Which would be the good ballerina. This concept was shot in the morning time for natural light. The good ballerina concept is then contrast with an edgy ballerina look which is dark and mysterious. This would be the bad ballerina. This concept was shot at night.

The Shoot:
We shot this all in one day. I did my own hair and make-up for both sessions. Both Jyll and I worked together leading towards the shoot on wardrobe. Since the first part of the shoot was to be shot in the morning in natural light outdoors, the weather was paramount. We were really worried about the weather. But it turned out great! ^_^

The Good Ballerina Concept:
We met early in the morning and headed off to our first location. It was just a little piece of land covered in tall grass by the side of the road. People who were driving were stopping and trying to catch a glimpse. Must've been weird seeing someone dressed in a white tutu dancing about amongst the grass LOL.

I look so serious here haha

Different color version ^_^

After shooting at this location for sometime, we headed off to our second location at Nakagusuku Castle for the rest of our shoot.

Each image reminded me of a dream as I would frolic through the grassy fields. I was in another world...all dreamy...embracing nature, my surroundings and my character...

We tried the 'blow the dandelion into the wind' concept that you always see in photos and movies LOL gosh it is much harder to capture than they make it. They always make it look sooo easy...but we tried for sometime...didn't really work haha

It was so hard standing on this tree...it was sooo slippery and I kept slipping down.

We finished shooting the first session by the afternoon and I headed home to rest and get ready for the second session in the evening.

The Bad Ballerina Concept:
I went over to Jyll's house to shoot the second session. We started off in her living room.

Black & White version

After that we headed outside her house to a back street by her house and finished the rest of the shoot there on the street.

I love this shot. It's so cool! The light is actually coming from the headlights of a passing car.

Jyll and I both agreed that it brought back memories of when we were young wanting to be ballerinas. I definitely enjoyed playing one for the day! ^_^

For more info on Jyllian and her work check out her website:

..:: Jyllian's Website ::..

Jakkepoes - A Pancake House in Yomitan

A little update:
Oh wow...I can't believe it's been a few months since I last updated my blog. I'm soooo...sorry for the delay. I've been so occupied with other things in my life but yeah I can't believe how fast time flies. I've been in Japan for over 6 months now...guess time flies when you're having a great time...

I also went on a vacation to Seattle for a 7 day Alaskan Cruise, got to explore several different ports in Alaska and even got to visit Victoria (British Colombia) then the final part of my vacation was spent in Hawaii. It was an awesome vacation!! One that I'll always cherish. It was my first time visiting the United States & Canada ^_^ I'm still debating if I want to blog about that vacation. Hmmm...we'll see how it goes *winks*

On with the post:
My friend Akane is so awesome. She's always taking me around Okinawa and helping me out when I don't know where to find certain things that I'm after. She's always recommending places that I can go to shop at that I can find the things I want or great places to go to eat. Without her, I would never have known of the many great places to eat at. Thank you so much Akane~~!!!

I've noticed that there are a lot of places to eat that are tucked away hidden amongst back roads and residential areas...places that you wouldn't think to find a restaurant/cafe hidden there. But it's usually in these areas that you'd find places that are more interesting and unique compared to the other more commercialized areas. Thanks to my friend Akane, I get to discover all these hidden treasures.

Last Monday she took me to this little place hidden amongst the residential buildings in Yomitan called Jakkepoes. It's just a little white single story building. Kinda like a house that's being converted into a restaurant/cafe

The big sign in the front so you won't miss it

If you love pancakes, you will love Jakkepoes as pancakes is all that they serve. They have several varieties of pancake dishes to choose from and serve both savory and sweet pancakes for those with a sweet-tooth *wink wink*

Inside Jakkepoes

The place is really small with just about 5 - 6 tables and can get busy even during weekdays usually around peak time (12-2pm). Apart from that, the great thing about Jakkepoes is that the pancakes are made fresh as you order. That is the reason why if it is busy, it may take sometime for the food to be served.

A sign reminding customers that it may take sometime for the pancakes to be served

But definitely worth the wait! Once you get a taste of these light fluffy pancakes, you'll know what I mean ^_~ They just melt in your mouth *drools*

Jakkepoes' Menu

And yeap they have an English menu so that's always helpful especially if you are like me, still unable/learning to read Japanese =^_^=

The ambiance of the place is simple, clean and pure ^_^ Well that's the feeling I get when I'm there.

And now what you've been waiting for...


Eye-candy of the yummy pancakes!! :p

..:: Chilibean Pancakes ::..
Chilibeans with sausage and shredded cheese and whipped butter. The chilibeans are sooo good... *drools*

..:: Berry Pancakes ::..
Mixed berries with whipped cream drizzled with chocolate sauce & sprinkled with icing sugar. Yummmmm~~~ ^_^

These were the two dishes that we got when Akane took me to Jakkepoes. We both couldn't decide whether we wanted something sweet or savory so in the end I suggested that we both ordered one dish each and then share so that we could both have some of each. It worked out PERFECT ^_^

I also ordered a hot chocolate. It wasn't that great though...it just wasn't thick enough for me...

We went there on a weekday during lunch time so it was pretty busy there was a constant flow of customers. I enjoyed the pancakes so much that I decided to take Reid to Jakkepoes during the weekend. This is what we ordered:

..:: Meat-lovers Pancakes ::..
Bacon, spam, sausages and eggs with whipped butter

..:: Meatball Pancakes ::..
Meatballs in white sauce with corn. Pancakes and whipped butter. This is real good too. The sauce is like a cross between corn chowder and white sauce ^_^

I was worried that it would be packed since it was the weekend but we went there around 2pm and it wasn't busy at all just us and another table. I guess it's because it wasn't peak lunch time anymore.

I'll definitely be frequenting this place a lot. There's still a lot more pancakes for me to try *wink* So if you are ever craving for pancakes definitely check out Jakkepoes for their homemade light fluffy pancakes! I definitely recommend them. All the pancakes that I've tried so far have been divine ^_^

For more information regarding opening times, how to get there and menu, check out their website.

..:: Jakkepoes Website ::..