All posts tagged: okinawan

Noguchi-gera / Pryer’s Woodpecker / Sapheopipo noguchii

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Up early again today. Jumped in the car and met up with birder Ichiro Kikuta to check out another family of Pryer’s Woodpeckers. It was misty and rainy, but the hole in the tree was low to the ground and close to the road. I set up the tripod in the back of the car and shot from cover out through the open window. (Jack Reacher would have approved.) Every few minutes the female, or the more flamboyant red-capped male, would return to the nest with a beak full of insects.  Ichiro said that the chicks were almost ready to fly as the parents didn’t even have to go inside to feed them. Pentax 645D with SMC PENTAX-FA★645 300mm F4ED[IF] and 1.4x Rear Converter

Mushama Festival, Hateruma Island (Part 3 -The Gods)

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Festivals in Okinawa’s southern islands (collectively know as the Yaeyama Islands) are similar but not identical to those on the main island of Okinawa. Shishi lions and ryukyu dancers are common to both, while it seems only the Yaeyama festivals include the god Miroku (white mask) and the rain god Fusamarah (red mask). The images of the man dressed as the rain god Fusamarah show how the presence of the American military has slowly made it’s way into the everyday lives of Okinawans even on the most remote islands. Local farmers are particularly fond of army surplus uniforms, they must be particularly rugged, cheap, and ubiquitous to have become almost standard equipment for Okinawans working out in their fields.

Gojuryu Karate 10th dan Tetsuhiro Hokama

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A great day last weekend shooting with Gojuryu karate 10th dan Tetsuhiro Hokama. As is clear from the following photos the idea that karate is a weaponless martial art is clearly not accurate. Although many practitioners state that karate means empty hand, the original meaning of the word was Chinese hand. Improvised weapons, many from farming equipment, were very much part of karate. It might seem strange to see a karate master using duct tape covered nunchaku, but it’s also impressive that he’s using them so much he’s got to give them a little reinforcement. “Speak softly and carry a big stick; you will go far” Theodore Roosevelt, a big proponent of the rokushaku bo. Tonfa now used by police forces across the world. Never start a fight at the Okinawan dragon boat races. The Okinawan sai, as used by Raphael. Hopefully before you clicked on that link you weren’t thinking of this other Raphael. Hokama-sensei showed how the kama can be used between the opponents legs to end the fight very quickly. And if …

Mihara Horse Club of Okinawa

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A fun shoot last Sunday with Alexis, Eve and Madie, three instructors from the Mihara Horse Club of Okinawa. I’ve hired horses from the club for model shoots in the past, so it was great to get the instructors in front of the camera. One of the advantages of photographing riding instructors, is that they will happily gallop along the beach without looking terrified or ending up bruised, battered and litigious. After getting some shots of the three ladies riding I took some portraits of them with the horses. Although it had only just turned 8AM, the Okinawan sun was already strong enough to make people squint and leave strong shadows. I brought along a large Ezylite diffuser which creates a patch of open shade in which I can shoot. Alexis’s husband Michael and my assistant Shawn were press-ganged into holding the diffuser up above their heads while I shot. A great morning with lovely people and horses. On a technical note. If you’re photographing galloping horses you’re going to need to take a lot …