The second sensei in the recent trifecta of Jundokan karate masters. Tetsu Gima, Hanshi 9th Dan, Okinawa Goju-ryu Karate – Jundokan. On a technical note, I now use a 20.5″ Profoto White Softlight Reflector rather than a generic 16″ silver beauty dish. This doesn’t change the look of the images, but gives better control over specular highlights and a wider spread of light.
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.
Yesterday I had the opportunity to photograph karate master Naonobu Ahagon at his dojo in Naha City. It was a great experience to meet another Okinawan icon. In October 2013 he was one of 7 karate masters to be given special recognition by the Ryukyu Shimpo newspaper for his contributions to traditional Okinawan karate. Ahagon-sensei is a master of both karate and kobudo (using traditional weapons). These include the kama (sickles) and sai. I took a few extra shots of Ahagon-sensei surrounded by some of this weapons inside the dojo. Starting from the far left you can see the eku (oars) then nunchaku, a pair of tonfa, and bo staffs. A big thank you to Sensei Mark Spear of the Black Bear Traditional Martial Arts Center in Connecticut for helping set up the shoot.
Now available in your Star Cruises cabin, the latest edition of Indulge Magazine which includes a feature on the karate masters of Okinawa. One of their cruise ships now docks at Ishigaki and Naha, so it’s great to be able to share some of the local culture with visitors.
Shooting on location with karate master Meitetsu Yagi and his son Ippei, at the Fukushu Garden in Naha City, Okinawa. Photographed using the Pentax 645D with the 90mm and 35mm lenses along with the Profoto B1 flash with a beauty dish.
After taking the studio images against the black background for the Karate Masters Portrait Project, I asked Shinjo sensei if we could walk down to the beach and get a few location portraits. I unplugged, then packed up the Profoto 7a generator and pro head I’d used in the dojo, and grabbed the new Profoto B1 battery powered head and the beauty dish. Set ambient exposure for the desired background then light up the subject with the flash. On location lighting with a bit of punch 🙂
Narihiro Shinjo, Uechi Ryu karate master, and younger brother of Kiyohide Shinjo. He has won the kata section of karate championships so many times, James and I are having trouble working out the exact number. Just like his brother he is fast, conditioned beyond belief, and very very strong. He is also a lovely man, and has great control, which is a relief when a foot that could probably pass through concrete flies towards your camera.
Toyama Zenshu was born in Awase in 1936, he used to swim in the bay as a kid, and now at age 77, his dojo looks out over the same bay. He is still very strong and demonstrated with James how easily he could throw someone to the floor and dominate an encounter. His favorite kata (set forms) are sepia, suparenpei and saifa. When asked about his favorite kotowaza (idiom / words of wisdom) he said Mikan se no kasei which refers to the imperfection of vision or the inability to see what is right in front of you, like your eyelashes. Fearsome and powerful, but also a lovely friendly grandfather. Toyama-san gave James advice on how to dislocate a man’s jaw. He gave me a can of coffee and a hug.
Father and son shoot at the Toyama dojo on Sunday evening. Satoshi Toyama is 9th dan in Goju Ryu karate and now runs their dojo in Awase, Okinawa City.
Tsuyoshi Uechi, 8th dan master of Isshinryu karate. We photographed him at his dojo in Okinawa City. His preferred weapons for kobudo are sai, which as you might expect, he wields with complete control.
