Masanobu Sakugawa 9th Dan, Shorinji-ryu
9th Dan, Shorinji-ryu Master Masanobu Sakugawa, photographed at Naha’s Budokan on July 16th, 2014.
Masanobu Sakugawa 9th Dan, Shorinji-ryu
Masanobu Sakugawa 9th Dan, Shorinji-ryu
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
The Soma Nomaoi samurai horsemen festival takes place each July in Fukushima Prefecture. Following the devastation of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami it was cancelled, but it restarted once again in 2013. I attended this year to document one of Japan’s great festivals, and the resilience of Fukushima’s people.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Preparations for the lead samurai and his horse at the castle beside Nakamura Shrine.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Breakfast of champions. Sake and cucumbers at Nakamura Shrine.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Gearing up. A priest from the shrine places the helmet on a samurai rider.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Time for a quick portrait. New camera, same technique of getting up in people’s faces.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Priestess helps one of the youngest riders get ready.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
The little girl was actually the daughter of the Shinto priest.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Statues at the shrine show the importance of horses to the area.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
The priestess like all of the other participants on horseback was an excellent rider.
The mounted samurai were followed by pikemen and priests carrying a mikoshi (portable shrine).
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
The samurai and priests then parade south from Soma to Mina Soma and the Hibarigahara Saijochi horse racing track for the main events.
Soma Nomaoi Festival, Nakamura Jina, Soma, Fukushima
Koyu Higa, 4th dan Shorin-ryu Kyudokan
Koyu Higa, son of Minoru Higa, is 4th dan Shorin-ryu karate. An Okinawan karate master of the next generation.
Koyu Higa, 4th dan Shorin-ryu Kyudokan
Koyu Higa, 4th dan Shorin-ryu Kyudokan
Kazuo Uezato, Goju-Ryu 8th dan
Kazuo Uezato, Goju-Ryu 8th dan
Kazuo Uezato, Goju-Ryu 8th dan
Kazuo Uezato, Goju-Ryu 8th dan
Eishou Nakazato, Hanshi 10th Dan Shorin-ryu , All Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karatedo Association
Eishou Nakazato, Hanshi 10th Dan Shorin-ryu , All Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karatedo Association
Eishou Nakazato, Hanshi 10th Dan Shorin-ryu , All Okinawa Shorin-ryu Karatedo Association
Choko Kyuna, Hanshi 10th Dan Okinawa Shorin-ryu, Risshi Kan Dojo
Choko Kyuna, Hanshi 10th Dan Okinawa Shorin-ryu, Risshi Kan Dojo
Choko Kyuna, Hanshi 10th Dan Okinawa Shorin-ryu, Risshi Kan Dojo
Tatsuya Naka 中 達也 Shotokan Karate 7th Dan, Kumite Champion
Tatsuya Naka is a Japanese Shotokan Karate 7th Dan, Kumite Champion and actor. Although not a master of Okinawa karate, I was lucky enough to take a quick portrait last week.
Tatsuya Naka 中 達也 Shotokan Karate 7th Dan, Kumite Champion
Tatsuya Naka 中 達也 Shotokan Karate 7th Dan, Kumite Champion
Tatsuya Naka 中 達也 Shotokan Karate 7th Dan, Kumite Champion
Naka sensei one of the leading actors in the movie Kuro Obi ( Black Belt )
Minoru Higa Hanshi 10th Dan, Kaicho of Kyudokan
Minoru Higa is a Hanshi 10th dan master of Shorin-ryu karate and Kaicho of the Kyudokan Federation. He was teaching at The 2nd Okinawa Traditional Karate and Kobudo Worldwide Seminar last week so I was able to get a few portraits for the project.
Minoru Higa Hanshi 10th Dan, Kaicho of Kyudokan
Minoru Higa Hanshi 10th Dan, Kaicho of Kyudokan
Minoru Higa Hanshi 10th Dan, Kaicho of Kyudokan
A quick update on how I shoot the Karate Masters Portrait Project. Back in March 2012 we used the following gear:
Pentax 645D with 105mm or 150mm lens
Tripod
Profoto 7a generator with a ProHead
Generic silver beauty dish
PocketWizard Plus II radio transmitters
Light stand
3.6′ x 6.6′ Lastolite Black Velvet backdrop
Karate Masters Portrait Project (March 2012)
And the new 2014 setup.
Pentax 645Z with 90mm macro lens
Profoto 7a generator with Prohead
Profoto Softlight Reflector White
PocketWizard Plus II radio transmitters
6.6′ x 6.6′ Lastolite Black Velvet backdrop
Karate Masters Portrait Project (July 2014)
Why the changes?
645D to 645Z – More megapixels and greater dynamic range. (However 566 not 712 images on a 64GB card, and my computer runs like molasses.)
Tripod to No Tripod – Faster, more flexible. Ambient light is low so it has little effect on image quality. Action stopped by flash not shutter.
Generic silver beauty dish to Profoto Spoftlight Reflector in white – Larger light source, white interior means better control of specular highlights, image quality.
Light stand to voice activated light stand (James) – Faster, more flexible.
Medium to Large Backdrop – Masters using weapons or kicks are less likely to move beyond borders of background.
Profoto 7a generator, heads and PocketWizards are exactly the same. They still work and do an awesome job.
Minoru Higa Hanshi 10th Dan, Kaicho of Kyudokan
The result?
I can now work faster, allowing me to get a wider selection of images in a shorter amount of time. Yesterday I set up the gear at the Budokan in Naha during a karate seminar. James and I were able to meet numerous karate masters we had already photographed which was a real pleasure. We had a book of prints to show them how the project has progressed, and they then encouraged the other sensei to get involved.
Pics coming soon…
July 2014 Off Camera Flash Class
Great time last weekend at the July 2014 Off Camera Flash Workshop. Pete Leong and I had fun with nine photographers who wanted to add a splash of magical light to their images.
Thanks to Rouge Imaging for providing modifiers for the workshop and prizes for the students. Thanks also to Yuki Lynn for modeling, and to Summer Johnson for makeup. Information on future workshops can be found on the Photography Workshops tab above.
July 2014 Off Camera Flash Class
July 2014 Off Camera Flash Class
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 