TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

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Moving Pictures – Okinawan Martial Arts Budosai Seminar

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Along with the photographs I shot for the Okinawan Martial Arts Budosai Seminar on April 29th, I also took some video of the event. I edited the footage in Final Cut Pro X and uploaded to YouTube.

For those interested, I shot this with a Sony A7sII with the 16-35mm lens (at around 20mm). I manually set the exposure and the white balance. I shot with continuous auto focus. The camera was mounted on a CAME-Single 3-Axis Handheld Camera Gimbal by CAME-TV (see top image).

It was a great learning experience. You have to find a balance between documenting the event fully, and not getting in the way of those attending. I didn’t want to block the view of the students or be hit with a flying foot or fist. For some techniques, it would be nice to have another camera angle to show close ups, but for this occasion a single viewpoint will have to suffice.

Looking forward to shooting a lot more video this year.

Serendipity

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A final post from the Kyoto workshop. One evening we had a memorable few minutes that resulted from being in the right place at the right time, and a fair amount of luck. The featured image at the top of the post may be my favorite of the trip. It is nice to get a shot that captures several aspects of Kyoto life in a single frame.

Why luck? Because a maiko or geisha will prebook a taxi then wait for it to arrive. You usually get a brief glimpse of them as they dart from a doorway into the taxi.

On this occasion, however, a geiko and a maiko were stood waiting on the sidewalk for their taxi. Close by another geiko was talking into a mobile phone. For three or four minutes they stood on the street, and unsurprisingly, drew stares from locals and tourists.

Finally the taxi arrived and the two geikos, followed by the maiko, got in and were whisked away.

Another memorable moment from a great Kyoto workshop. A big thank you to Ashley, Amanda, Mindy, Mina, Jessica and Christine for being such great company for the week. A huge thank you to Yuki for interpreting and making sure everyone survived the workshop with big smiles.

In the Studio – Allison

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A couple of portraits from part of last month’s studio workshop where we were using soft light and black background. Thanks Allison for joining the workshop and posing for us.

Camera: Pentax 645Z with 90mm lens

Lighting: Profoto D2 with softlight reflector white (right) White card as a reflector (left) Profoto 7a with 2 pro heads in RFi 1×4′ softboxes (rear left and right) for rim light. Triggered with Profoto Air Remote.

Gatekeepers

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During the Kyoto 2017 Workshop we jumped on the bullet train to visit Himeji City and the finest example of a Japanese castle. I didn’t get any new shots of the castle itself, but did get a few snaps of the guards.

A short BTS video taken by Tech Ninja Patrick.

And here are few shots of the castle from 2016 in case you were wondering which one is Himeji. For movie fans, it’s the castle used to train the elite fighting force in James Bond’s. “You Only Live Twice.”

Karate Seminar at the Karate Kaikan

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Last Saturday I photographed a special 1-day seminar at the Karate Kaikan taught by 4 masters of different styles. In the morning there was a demonstration and class by Isao Yagi, 9th -dan of Ryuku Royal Family Martial Arts Bu Mai Moidi Motobu ryu Gassen Tuidi school. In the afternoon the first class was given by Yoshio Kuba 10th Goju ryu karate and followed by Tetsuhiro Hokama 10th-dan Goju ryu karate. At the end of the day, the event organizer Terry Wingrove 9th-dan karate jutsu gave a final class focused on the efficacy of techniques.

Isao Yagi teaching at Karate Kaikan, Okinawa, Japan.

Yoshio Kuba teaching at Karate Kaikan, Okinawa, Japan.

Hokama Tetsuhiro teaching at Karate Kaikan, Okinawa, Japan.

Terry Wingrove teaching at Karate Kaikan, Okinawa, Japan.

The seminar was a clear reminder that Okinawan karate goes a lot further than simple punches, kicks and blocks. Although not covered in sanitized sport karate, there are plethora of different ways to incapacitate an attacker’s body and mind.

Along with documenting the seminar, I brought a long a black background and strobe to take a few portraits for Terry Wingrove. At 75-years old he’s still a fearsome man.

Portait of Terry Wingrove at the Karate Kaikan, Okinawa, Japan

Off Camera Flash with the Profoto B2

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During the 2017 Kyoto Workshop it was great that I could introduce new pieces of equipment and techniques to others in the group. One of these was the Profoto B2 Off Camera Flash System.

This strobe allows me to add light to my images to make the subject pop a little more and add catchlights to the eyes. I also use it to fill in shadows. In the featured image taken at Fushimi Inari Shrine I used the Profoto B2 with no modifier, while the image taken at the Philosopher’s walk below (right) was with a shoot-through umbrella.

The system works really well. Dividing the head and the battery pack makes life for the assistant easier as holding a B1 light on the end of a pole can be top heavy. The option to use the pack with two lights is useful, and also gives you redundancy if a flash bulb stops working. I used the Profoto Air Remote triggers with my Pentax cameras, as there is still no Pentax TTL/HSS trigger (unlike Canon, Nikon and Sony).

On this trip I decided to take a “shoot-through” umbrella deep translucent S, rather than my OCF beauty dish as it can be opened and closed so quickly, and although a little bulky it fits alongside a Lastolite Extending Handle on the side of the Lowepro Whistler backpack. When not in use, the Profoto B2 battery pack fit in the base of the bag while the flash head was carried in the top pocket.

Tea with a maiko

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One of the highlights of the Kyoto Photography Workshop was tea with a maiko in Gion.

The maiko we met was Kanohiro-san who is just 18 years old. After her years of training she will become a geiko (Kyoto geisha). We took photos and asked her many questions with Yuki interpreting for the group. Kanohiro san was very happy that we were so excited to met her.

She gave us tea, performed a traditional dance, then posed for individual and group photographs. A really memorable experience with a lovely young lady.

Photo by Ashley Michaels

Studio Workshop – Medics

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Another fun themed studio workshop. After covering the basics we used a multi strobe setup to produce clean medical images on a pure white background.

Images shot with Pentax 645Z with 90mm. 4 light strobe setup with two background lights, a 3×4′ softbox, and a softlight reflector white. Profoto D2, Profoto compact, and Profoto 7a generator system.

A big thank you to Keith, Tyson and Allison for joining the workshop and being willing to dress for the part!

Geisha, Geiko and Maiko

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What’s the difference between a geisha and a maiko? How do you tell them apart?

A geisha, 芸者, is a professional entertainer, the direct translation of the kanji would be art person. Geiko 芸子 is sometimes used when referring specifically to geisha from Kyoto.

A maiko 舞妓 is a geiko in training. This process takes many years as she masters the various instruments, dances and social graces required to become a geiko.

Geiko walking down Pontocho Street, Kyoto

Along with their age, there are other ways to distinguish maiko from geiko.

The hairstyle of a maiko is created with natural hair, while a geiko wears a wig. A maiko usually has many more ornate accessories that adorn her hair.

For footwear, maiko usually wear okobo (platform sandals) while the geiko wear zori (low sandals).

The inner collar of the kimono is usually red with patterns for maiko and plain white for geiko.

Maiko walking along Pontocho Street

And when looking from the back, the obi of the geiko is folded to form a box knot (taiko) while the maiko have the obi folded in a longer elaborate display known as darari.

Maiko walking along Pontocho Street.

In the image above, I like the expression on the lady’s face as she looks up at the maiko passing by.

Geiko getting into a taxi on Kiyamachi Street

All images shot with the Pentax K-1 with the 24-70mm f2.8 lens. A great combination for street shooting.

Toei Kyoto Studio Park

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Toei Company produces anime, movies, and Japanese historical dramas. The Toei Kyoto Studio Park is a theme park where you can stroll through movie sets of Edo Japan, encounter ninjas and samurai, and buy souvenirs from various TV shows.

Pretty Cure aka PreCure Japanese anime characters by Toei at the Toei Kyoto Studio Park, Kyoto, Japan

The park is worth a visit if you are traveling with children, but if you’re only in Kyoto for a short amount of time it’s better to check out Kyoto’s real historical buildings rather than a movie facade.