All posts filed under: Sony A7RIV

Tuari Dawson – Māori martial arts

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Portraits of Tuari, a master of Māori martial arts. He is holding a patu, which was made by his father-in-law.It was a real honour and a delight to photograph Tuari, and I am so pleased he could make his way up to my studio in Motobu. My goal is to visit him in New Zealand, as Tuari has offered me the opportunity to document Māori martial arts on location in beautiful Aotearoa. For those interested in the technical specs…. I photographed Tuari in my studio with the Sony A7RIV and the 70-200 GM2. The keylight was a Profoto D2 strobe with a gridded soft white beauty dish. The rim lights were two 1×4′ gridded softboxes with Proheads powered by a pro-7A 1200W generator. The background is a black felt on a Manfrotto / Lastolite EzyFrame. On his previous visit to Okinawa, I did a quick interview with Tuari and took some pics of him on the local beach here in Motobu. It is always a pleasure to hang out with Tuari, often swapping anecdotes of …

Ryoichi Onaga 1948 – 2024

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RIP Ryoichi Onaga 1948 – 2024 A student of Eichi Miyazato, Ryoichi Onaga taught Okinawa Goju-ryu karate for half a century in Murcia, Spain. A 10th-dan Hanshi, Onaga Sensei was also Vice Chairman of the Okinawa Goju-ryu Karatedo Kyokai. Through an introduction from Norihiko Masuda Sensei I was able to photograph Onaga Sensei on August 20th 2021. Condolences to his family, friends and students around the world.

Sanguwacha Festival, Henza Island, Okinawa

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Sanguwacha Festival is held each year on Henza Island, Okinawa, Japan. The traditional rituals combine the practice of cleansing in the ocean with prayers for a bountiful harvest and safe fishing. Two large paper fish are carried by teams of local school children through town and then out into the ocean. The elderly residents at the village’s day service came out to wave as the procession went past. At low tide, everyone was able to wade across through thigh deep water to the nearby island. There the local priestess gave a blessing over offerings of awamori, fruit, and containers of diced octopus. Back on the main island the women danced and sang as the giant paper fish made their way back to the village. A fantastic experience to get in amongst the action, using a wide angle lens to capture the scene. (Sony A7RIV with a 16-35mm lens)

Warrior Poet – Māori Martial Arts Master Tuari Dawson

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Tuari Dawson has a passion for sharing his Māori culture, especially through the martial arts. He has made several trips to Okinawa to study Goju-ryu karate, and to find similarities between these two island nations. Tuari and I met up on his recent visit, and I was able to record a quick interview at our local beach. Such a memorable experience, one of the highlights of my year. Of course I was in awe at him performing the haka, but I hadn’t expected that he was such as soulful singer! Tuari has followed the Okinawan karate masters series, and has invited me to Aotearoa (New Zealand) to photograph and interview the masters of Māori martial arts. This would be absolutely amazing, so hopefully we will be able to make this possible sometime in the next few years.

Ryukyu Guardian Lions v Taipei Predators

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On July 1st 2023 the Ryukyu Guardian Lions took on the Taipei Predators in an off-season American football game. I had the opportunity to shoot from the sidelines, and be up close to the action. I used a couple of Sony A7RIVs with the 200-600 and the 16-35 lenses. I managed to get they key shots I wanted which included the quaterback 藤原 慶太 throwing the ball, and defensive line Gabe Edwards shutting down the opposition. Wide receiver 池口 伸之 had a fantastic run to score a touchdown that sealed the game. As RGL won the game it was also good to photograph the celebrations, and gett pics of both teams. You can find more information about the team at https://ryukyuguardianlions.com

Andrea Klementisová – Gojuryu Karate

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A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to photograph a karate world champion, Andrea Klementisová. After winning numerous karate championships around the globe Andrea moved from Slovakia to Okinawa. She has assisted Okinawa prefecture with the promotion of karate overseas, and helped with the organization of tournaments. She is now also teaching classes at the Asato Dojo in Naha, City. Meeting Andrea also gave me the opportunity to start a new series of portraits, Sensei: The Next Generation. Unlike the original series of portraits which are all shot with a single key light, my thought is that these will also be lit with a rim light from behind. Shooting with a single light against a black background worked well with the oldest karate masters as they usually had either white hair, or were bald. If you photograph a person with black hair against a dark background, they can sometime melt into the darkness. Adding a rim light or hair light helps the subject stand out. James and I also recorded an interview with …

Dragon boats are back!

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After a four-year hiatus, the dragon boats are once again racing during the Golden Week holidays. Friday afternoon had the finals of the regular races with the boats crews made up of both locals and Americans. The sky was overcast, but luckily it was not raining on the day. After these races the special dragon boat race took place, which the crews in traditional costume, along with flag bearers and karateka. I’m not sure of the names of the sensei performing with the black-robed crew, or the blue-robed crew, but the white-robed crew was led by Onaga Sensei, a karate master I’ll be photographing in the coming weeks. Checking back through my archives I found a pic from 2011 when I actually managed to get in one of the boats for a race. Can’t believe I was shooting with a medium format digital camera, in the rain, on a boat that might sink! After going further back in the archvies, I found images shot with the Pentax 67ii medium format film camera around 20 years …

Bise Village Kimono Shoot with Tomoko

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A great experience photographing Tomoko before she leaves the island next month. Bise Village in Motobu Town is famous for its fukugi trees Garcinia subelliptica which are used as windbreaks and provide shade. The idyllic tree-lined avenues are particularly photogenic and are recently the setting for a Japanese tv drama Chimudondon (ちむどんどん). Professional photography/video in Bise Village of clients in formal wear (bridal or kimono) now requires booking and a shooting fee, but it remains one of my favorite locations. Kimono styling by Yuki. Sony A7RIV with 50mm f1.2 lens. Profoto B1 strobe with softlight reflector to add a little fill.