All posts tagged: japan

The Tobacconist

Published by

Met up with photographer Trevor Williams in Okayama and spent the day checking out Naoshima Island in the Seto Inland Sea. Driving around the island we spotted an old store squeezed between more modern buildings. Murao is an 83-year-old tobacconist who defiantly sells his cigarettes and non-safety matches just has he has done for more than half a century. The sign next to his window says, Kyo mo genki da! Tobako ga umai, which roughly translates as, Today I’m also healthy. Tobacco is delicious. The future of tobacconists is literally on Murao’s doorstep. A cigarette vending machine with taspo age identification sits beside his store. Murao however doesn’t seem worried. Against all the odds, he’s happy and healthy, still puffing away.

Soma Nomaoi, Shinki-Sodatsusen

Published by

If the kacchu-keiba (horse race) is analogous to the race into battle, then the shinki-sodatsusen is the battle itself. Here the riders test the skill, bravery and luck. The battle is made up of several skirmishes.  Each skirmish begins with a couple of fireworks blasted up into the sky. Each fireworks carry a banner which, after the explosion at altitude, come wafting back to earth. Any samurai who catches a banner, receives fame, glory and probably a few bit of yen. On a technical note these images were shot with the 645Z and the smc FA 645 300mm F4 ED (IF) which is equivalent of a 240mm on a FF35mm camera. I used a monopod to give some extra stability and it gave excellent results. The speed of the autofocus was slow, but it the overall sharpness was great.

Soma Nomaoi – Kacchu-keiba

Published by

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

Published by

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

Published by

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

Published by

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

Published by

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.

Published by

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

Published by

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

Published by

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.