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suzi9mm — uniqueness
Published: 2005-04-04 12:03:35 +0000 UTC; Views: 45325; Favourites: 669; Downloads: 5074
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Description
i've been waiting for this moment so long i dunno what to say. maybe that it's a good reminder of how i fooled u all on april 1st
([link] )i'm afraid i will be breaking my 'one photo per idea/shoot'-rule. i took so many photos and i honestly feel like there are several good ones, so you'll be seeing more of these. i am hoping that i later realize the weaker links and can narrow them down then... this for me one of my most important photos/shoots. if you have seen japan 86 or in my past life , they were results of this shoot, but the shoot only happened because of this idea. harakiri is a japanese tradition not much in use anymore(or who knows), but i'm not a history person so this is not supposed to be an accurate reflection of the reality, this is my idea, using cliches and symbols around us, and a woman as the subject of course. actually, harakiri means cutting the abdomen open, but so what, she's got her unique style (pun intended). every person is unique, and all that uniqueness disappears when they die. that's just one reflection on the title.
i got the idea for this photo in the night of july 2nd last year, in montreal, canada. i couldn't sleep for hours because i was so excited over it. it did not turn out to be my best photo ever, in fact the original image that i had in my mind didn't really work in real life at all and so i tried a lot of different poses and looks. i kept thinking about this photo and finally set up the shoot in november. my obstacles were finding a proper sword and a kimono. i couldn't wait longer since i knew ^hesitation was the perfect model and i was leaving canada at the end of november. so i got the props i needed and stressed like hell and tried my best. as i said, it's not my best but i'm pretty happy with it.
she's ^hesitation and i am so happy she's such a patient and motivated model.
the sword is ^superkev 's
the kimono is made by Lissa Hill
the fakeblood is artificial, please read more here [link]
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Comments: 274
ja, that was the name. and I was talking about the lips ^^ you did it on purpose? I geuss so
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Well cool it was a magnificent dress and you looked radiant in it.
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Yeah, that finally settles it- that was indeed only an april fools joke...
I think this is the best of the several photos from the same shoot that you posted, focusing more on the act than the model's face (not that Uniqueness 3 is less accomplished on the technical plane, but I think this one wins out in illustrating the concept)
As for Harakiri, this is only the common name given to the ancient japanese custom of Seppuku or Ritual Suicide, an act reserved to the Samurai (warrior upper class of feudal Japan) as part of the Bushido (way of the Warrior).
However, there are some historical inconsistencies in the picture -I'm not tellling you this because I don't like the photograph as it is, but rather as a footnote, for the sake of historical accuracy.
The most obvious incongruity is the fact that women samurai, unlike men, commited seppuku by sliting their throats rather then cutting their abdomen, and in any case, the idea was not to simply stick a sword in your gut, but rather slice open the belly with three fast cuts, using a special short sword called Wakizashi, as follows: The first one from right to left, strting rougly 10 centimeters below the ribs in a horizontal motion, then diagonally to the top right of the stomach, ending in another horizontal slash acros the upper abdomen. At the same moment the last cut is accomplished , the kaishaku (assistant), placed behind you, would decapitate you with a swift strike of his Katana, or longsword, so not to let the spastic motions of agony dishonour the brave way in witch you died. (after that, most of the time the head was impaled on a short stake and dislplayed for several days- especially as proof that the person is indeed, dead-, then cremated like the rest of the body...)
Of course I am not a partisan of suicide, and don't claim to understand the ideals that make people choose death over dishonour (even now in Japan lots of people still choose to end their life after a personal failure, be it on the profesional or sentimental levels, although seldom with the somptuous and closely coreographed ceremony Seppuku requires), after all, as a character from Luc Besson's "The 5th Element" put it: "Honour killed lots of people, but never saved a single one"
Hope my short explaination did not offend you in any way, as the picture gives out its intended message even without going into the gory technical details behind such an act.
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thanks for the very looooong comment 
i hope u noticed in my description that i'm not intending to be historically, or otherwise, accurate, i was just doing my thing, trying to make it look good
thnaks again, always nice to thear from you
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And you managed that beautifuly, as always.
My comment was, like I said, just a historical sidenote... glad you found it useful.
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I hope that blood will come off that lovely kimono....
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wow
great jobs and like the movie @!@
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Wow, I love it, especially the cropping
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I can feel the painnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn ! No need to see the expression on her face , you can see it on my face.
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I really prefer this one. More interessing and powerful I think. The fact that we can not see all her face is a good idea.
And for the subject, well, it's interessing how you have captured it!
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I like it a lot but I would have liked it even better if the lighting was darker.
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just a short notice: - wow -
really, this one looks amazing and very real - but
it's all about the atmosphere - you really did an amazing job here.
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heya that is unique, saw something similar one day, cept it was a black dress, anime pic, and you could see their whole body in a...star jump sorta pose, amazing what difference colour and light changes people can make, luv this one!
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wah.... emotive image..
great piece, the light and red go well with contrast!!
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my initil rection... this photo is so wicked!!!! i was so ttrcted to the way blood stained the lips of the model nd the way she stbbed herself mking it looked so real tht i can't see where she hid the other end of the katana. LOve it
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When I was a child, I saw one TV series called "Shogun". One of the images that most impressed me at that time was the moment when the bride of starring Richard Chamberlain was forced to do harakiri. I cannot remember if there was a last minute salvation or if she effectively died, but the moment shocked me really. She was going to cut her abdomen while another samurai was going to chop her head with his katana. I surely wasn't more than seven or eight years old.
I thought that harakiri consisted in cutting your belly from side to side, so if this is true, I think the katana in your photo should be in a horizontal position.
The photo is brilliant, as usual in your works, and the expression of her face is very good, a mixture of pain and resignation. I like it.
Greetings!
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The framing/crop works quite well with your description. I think that eyes are one of our most unique qualities, when it comes to appearance at least. Anyway, good shot 
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awesome photo. n' i love how the blood on her lips is done how the lipstick is actually put on when they have their faces made up. this photo is awwesoem all around. great job
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wow... thats just wow.. I love it
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That's amazing. I love the pose and how the blood looks and what you can see of her face is great. The cropping is really good.
Overall it's awesome.
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youre back!!!!!!!!
(ya I know you never realy left)
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the cropping is stunning...great shots!
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I like that you focused on the actual action going on. But I think I prefer the second version of this. Being able to take in the expression helps with the emotion I think.
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Funny, Montreal has never made me think of seppuku.
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lol... i didn't mean it THAT way, i had a great time there. they who's place we were staying at, had a katana, that gave me the idea.
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"they who's place we were staying at, had a katana..."
That's how all my good stories start!
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"they who's place we were staying at, had a katana..."
That's how all my good stories start!
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I like the composition of Uniqueness 2 better, although this tells a little more of the story.
I don't know much about harakiri, but I do know that Samurai Warriors who let down or betrayed their elders, their people, would lay on their swords to take their own lives. This piece seems to be too soft for that (but like I said I do not know about harakiri...)
Something about this makes Hesi look like a victim of crime, rather than self inflicted... She seems scared, and hesitant (no pun intended, although quite funny 
Regardless of any of the technical aspects, your insight and creativity is definately portrayed in these two shots...
Great work on both,
P.
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thanks for the thoughtful comment, i'm glad u liked the photo
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Hey u got the idea for this photo in my city hehe ^^
Whatever, this is a GREAT picture, I really love it, the blood looks great with the white kimono. Makes me think of "Lady Snowblood" (the movie that inspired Kill Bill) if you never saw it, you really should!
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i'll keep the movie in mind
thanks
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Thats pretty crazy.
It would be fun to do studio pictures with a theme like that but it seems like it would cost too much money to do.
Great job. It looks really sweet.
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reminds me of "House of flying daggers" the end part when then are in the snow //
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in my humble opinion,one of your best works,lately.
perfect,i'd say.
awesome work jeni.
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glad to hear i'm not the only one who really digs it
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blood is a little dark, in my humble opinion, but i'm sure it took much time and result worths it
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