“Find beauty, try to understand, survive.” Words to live by from James Sallis.

My final two encounters with the maiko Mamefuji of Gion Kobu were intense, funny, and looking back now, bittersweet.

Where but Kyoto can I get a lesson in history and aesthetics every year that comes alive and literally walks down the street in front of me?

If you are thinking about going to Kyoto to photograph the geisha and maiko there, I hope the following story will help you decide if it is a good idea or not.

This portrait of the maiko Tanewaka of Miyagawa-cho would never have been made if I hadn’t been photographing her on a Monday.

One of the key moments in a geisha's debut is when her katsura (wig of human hair) is placed on her head. Once it has been fitted, the young woman can study herself in the mirror and see how she looks. All of a sudden, there is a geiko staring back at her.

2012 was without a doubt the best year I ever had photographing maiko and geisha in Gion Kobu and Miyagawa-cho.

There are 3 secretes I had when photographing the erikae of the geisha Momifuku of Ponto-cho.

Sometimes it's not so easy to get a maiko to smile!

One of the key moments in a geisha's debut (erikae) is the first brush of makeup across her face.

Baikasai has changed a great deal for photographers since I made this portrait of Katsuru in 2007.

My book Now a Geisha would not exist if not for Mameharu, the first maiko who gave me permission to photograph her erikae.

My new book, Now a Geisha, is a dream project that took me fifteen years to make. It gives a behind-the-scenes look at the debuts of three geiko in Kyoto, called erikae in Japanese.

The transformation that maiko undergo on the day of their debut, both physical and mental, are stunning.

Photographing a double misedashi is both mentally and physically taxing!

Photographing the double misedashi (debut) of the maiko Yuriha and Tatsuha on January 21, 2017 was the biggest photographic challenge I've ever faced.

May you have many unexpected blessing in 2017 and beyond!

At events like Koto Hajime in Kyoto that are filled with chaos, I look for the calm moments amidst the storm when I photograph. And sometimes it's better to avoid the storm completely for the sake of the geiko and maiko involved.

Rereading Junichiro Tanizaki's essay In Praise of Shadows gave me deeper insight into my photography and the worlds of geiko, maiko, and tayū.

Although I tried my best, I'm not sure if I succeeded when I tried to teach the maiko Takahina about a famous American icon of the 1970s and 80s.

Photographing the maiko Takahina of Gion Kobu was both a challenging and rewarding experience!

If you look closely at a photograph, you can notice many things, from a quick glance to possibly even a ghost.

There is no better way to spend an hour than making portraits of a tayū near a window dripping with light!

Sometimes all you need for a fine evening are a bottle of wine and some good friends.

In Gion Kobu, tradition sometimes gets in the way of making a good photograph!