Sensei knows best, a photo from Tokyo, Kanto

Photographer's Note

Sensei always knows best...
At least in my experience.

There is an old saying here in Norway:
"The Boss may not always be right, but he is always the Boss..."
I guess in some part this applies to senseis within martial arts as well.
They are the part, they are the best, they know things best, but they are always open to achieve higher knowlege and understanding.

This is photo I took while attending (as a coughing bystander) a kendo practice with a local Kendo Group in Tokyo this May.
I am not sure where this was in Tokyo. I know it is somewhere relatively close to Haneda Airport, but I ma desperately searching though google earth to find the location.

This sensei and student had just finished a "keiko" (fight/round) and as they were walking over to join the rest they had an exchange of tips and ecouragement.
With this young group being between 8-12 years (I think) it can be very easy to just drop out, at least I believe so.
So my guess ius that encouragement like this is only positive.
Enough sayed.

As for the technical side....
For the first time in a really long time I actually had to lower the colour saturation! The warm yellowish brown of the wooden structure tinted the entire photo and I simply had to lower it to bring out more of the people.
Slight crop and simple frame.

Enjoy.

Odd Jarle

tomescuc, mphotographies, vinicio, peco85 trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

JonnyU (530) 2008-06-23 15:57

Good work OJ
I like the movement around the main center of
attention, this looks very good.
Great picture
JonnyU

Ladycat (293) 2008-06-23 16:07

Excellent composition. I love the affection between the teacher and the student. A great composition to show another side of Japan.

TFS
Anna Liza

naga_laut (408) 2008-06-23 16:55

Excellent photo! The stillness of the sensei and student vs the action behind them adds to the dramatic effect.

scalerman (26900) 2008-06-23 21:10

OJ: has the dynamism of a Turkish Durbish here. Great image. regards, c

Morac (27725) 2008-06-23 21:51

Hello Odd,
Excellent composition.
The colors are beautiful,
The attitude of Master and pupil is superb.
Regards
Marc

tomescuc (3291) 2008-06-23 22:45

Hejsan Odd Jarle,
I really like the scene. the master and the pupil, interesting outfits, a dynamic shot showing an interesting cultural tidbit.
cheers,
CT

mphotographies (1976) 2008-06-24 9:56

Hey Odd Jarle,

The modern teachings of Kendo carries the verbal, spiritual and material aspect of Japanese culture that are handed orally by observation, training or simply imitating Sensei. The art of fight or martial arts goes beyond the folklore for thousands of years in Japan also in ancient countries is Asia. The desaturation in a more 'neutral' hue makes it more subtle, focusing more on the action, what is happening, its relationship between the content inside the photograph to the viewer makes it worth the shot.

Best Regards,

Jom

peco85 (921) 2008-06-24 22:00

Very nice "action" photo. The details are quite good where you want them to be good. And the colors are well balanced. Nice image:)

PeCO

vinicio (23423) 2008-06-26 5:55

You capture in a splendid way this moment, Odd, compliments, I much like this kind of images whit high dynamic blur, more this have the nice scene like "father and son" that adds beautiful feeling to the image, well done.
Ciao
Vinicio

MarcT (20964) 2008-07-03 6:45

Hi Odd,
Excellent composition around this little boy and his master. The bokeh and the movement are helping us to focus on these two kendo fighters.
Well done
Marc

marcan44 (6315) 2008-10-04 13:17

GReat shot, the black is always difficult in photografy.
You did it better.
I like action shot and fantastic sharpness.
Compliments and best regards
Mario

Disabled_A (0) 2008-12-05 15:41

Hello Odd Jarle,
I happened to see this photo - by chance.
Excellent timing, the right moment was captured. Excellent composition, good POV! The whole world around these two people seems to be spinning, it's very dynamic.
best regards,
Elena