My real name is Taku Kumabe. I live in Toronto. Well, sort of. Mississauga is only a mere 20 minute drive westwards. I was born in Tokyo, Japan making me a first generation Japanese. However, after three short months of living there, I moved to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, thus making me a Canadian. I lived in Ottawa for a good 12-13 years. After that, I made the move to Mississauga where I now reside.

Smaku is my online alias. It was given to me by one of my brother’s friend when I was growing up, and has stayed with me ever since. There is no turning back from it now.

Smaku’s World has been my portal to the Internet since 1995. It has stayed with me ever since, and will continue to stay with me well into the future allowing long lost friends and family members to catch up on what I have been up to.

I am currently working as a magazine graphic designer and production worker for Canada’s largest media company, Yellow Pages. In addition, I also run my own company, media Smaku, specializing in desktop publishing, magazine production, and photography services.

I publish my own magazine, U&I Magazine, which accepts photography and written submissions from photographers from around the world. This venture is still a work in progress but has garnered an impressive amount of attention.

I am also an avid photographer. I currently shoot with a Nikon D200 and Nikon F80, with a myriad of lenses:

• Nikon 28-80mm f/3.3-5.6
• Nikon 50mm f/1.8
• Nikon 24mm f/2.8
• Sigma 70mm-300mm Macro f/4-5.6
• Nikon DX VR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G.

I also like my Yashica Mat-124G.

Everything you see in this site is copyright by me. Every single photo used in this site has been taken by myself, unless otherwise noted. If you wish to use some of my photos, please have the courtesy to ask in advance. I am usually quite good about this if you ask.

If you would like to purchase prints of some of my photos, please email me and I will respond promptly.

I can be contacted through the following address:
tkumabe [at] smaku [dot] com.