All posts tagged: japan

Soma Nomaoi – Kacchu-keiba

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Carrying the flags of their houses, the riders race around the circuit. It’s always an interesting challenge trying to convey motion in a still image. I used a slow shutter speed and panned the camera with the subject. Get it right and you should get a blurry background while the subject remains relatively sharp. One rider was a young girl who galloped around the course with the men. I didn’t manage to get her name, but it was an impressive feat of horsemanship, irrespective of age or gender. The winners collected a piece of paper from the trackside umpires and then galloped up a zig-zag path through the crowd to top of the embankment where they collect their prizes.

Soma Nomaoi – The Riders Assemble

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On day two of the Soma Nomaoi festival, the riders parade back to the Higarigahara-Saijochi horse racing ground from their respective hometowns. Once at the ground everyone starts to get organized. Samurai on giant horses shouted instructions. Others put the final touches to their armor. There were plenty of aging samurai preparing for battle. Some took a quick break from the heat for refreshments. This shot sums up how I, or probably any foot soldier, feels when standing next to cavalry. You’re small, vulnerable, and fully aware why a horse is far more useful than any kingdom. Following the samurai are those offering spiritual protection. Ladies performed a traditional sacred dance, and mikoshi (portable shrines) were carried into the arena. Armor on, flags unfurled, prayers offered, time to ride. And yes in the above epic samurai shot, the horse is sticking its tongue out to the camera 🙂

Soma Nomaoi Festival – Shutsujin Ceremony at Nakamura Shrine

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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. Preparations for the lead samurai and his horse at the castle beside Nakamura Shrine. Breakfast of champions. Sake and cucumbers at Nakamura Shrine. Gearing up. A priest from the shrine places the helmet on a samurai rider. Time for a quick portrait. New camera, same technique of getting up in people’s faces. Priestess helps one of the youngest riders get ready. The little girl was actually the daughter of the Shinto priest. Statues at the shrine show the importance of horses to the area. 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). The samurai and priests then parade south from Soma to Mina Soma and the …

Pentax 645Z in Action – Karate Masters Portrait Project

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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 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 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 …

Seiyu Nakamura – 10th Dan Okinawa Dentou Shidokan Karate and Kobujutsu

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Seiyu Nakamura is a master of traditional shidokan karate and kobudo. More than a decade ago, Nakamura-sensei was my briefly my karate instructor. It was great to meet each other again, although he did note that we’d both got a little grayer over the years. Once again after shooting the black background portraits indoors, I switched the plug-in 7a generator for the battery powered B1, and we went outside. A huge storm was quickly approaching, but we managed to get a few shots in the sugar cane fields before the heavens opened.

Huis Ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan.

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Going Dutch? Huis Ten Bosch is a theme park in Sasebo, near Nagasaki. An interesting place to wander around, it is very much like a large elaborate movie set. There are windmills, stores selling cheese, Dutch ceramics, and even a teddy bear museum. However, like a movie set, it tends to look best if you squint, and of course “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain”.

Diving in Okinawa – Dragonair’s Silkroad Magazine May 2014

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I have a feature on scuba diving, and the cover photo, in the May 2014 edition of Dragonair’s Silkroad magazine. Along with the cover, most of the photos used with the feature are also mine, but unfortunately I didn’t have any decent Hammerhead shark images. A big thanks to all my diver buddies who helped providing quotes or posing for pics! Underwater images shot with the Pentax K5 or K5IIs in an Ikelite underwater housing.

Studio Lighting Intro Workshop

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Great fun was had by all at the first studio lighting intro workshop. After talking about the different types of equipment available we spent the rest of the weekend taking studio portraits. We began with a single light, added a reflector, and eventually got up to shooting with numerous strobes. Things got comical as we got dressed up for our hospital staff portraits. Individual images were composited together to get the group shot of all six people. Thank you Kathy, Molly, Lemont, Kevin and James! I’ll put dates of future workshop up on the Photography Workshops page. If you’re waiting for a specific workshop, or wanting 1 to 1 training, please send me an email.

Whale Watching on Okinawa

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It’s whale watching season in Okinawa. I’m doing some research and taking pics for a future article. Choppy seas, dark skies, and subjects that don’t respond to direction (Excuse me, if you would be so kind as to breach in front of the boat.) make getting decent shots a bit of a lottery. I have one keeper from the first trip, and hopefully I’ll get some more interesting pics over the next few weeks.