As we run into Christmas and the festive holidays, so partly because I'll be busy, and partly because I would like to share these pictures with you, I have decided to start a run of portraits that I made a few years back. Some of you may have seen some on Facebook before.

No better way to start this series than with the portrait of my first good friend I made when coming to Japan. He sadly passed away soon after, but I still look back fondly and remember him dearly. My friend, Maki.

''Laughter is not at all a bad beginning for a friendship, and it is far the best ending for one.''
- Oscar Wilde