Fukuoka Sumo Bashou Photo

Photographer’s Note

On the last day of the tournament, the top tier wrestlers psyche themselves up for good old slapping. Note Korean wrestler on the left.

Being a tight git I bought the cheapest seats possible, i.e. right up at the back of the stadium, so this picture was taken on full zoom with out a tripod. Needless to say it needed sharpening. I cropped it a little better then boosted the colours. I blurred the annoying old man a little in the foreground.

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paulw (2014) 2006-01-19 5:38

Nice image. Shame it looks a little grainy but from your note I can see why. Great colour to the image. Well captured.

lermission (300) 2006-01-19 8:28 [Comment]

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javierdenavea (608) 2006-01-19 8:50

Hello Paul, I like your composition, with the 3 big bodies all along the image, enhancing their big size.

Regards,
Javier

grantcorp (117) 2007-04-28 14:24

Aaaahh... rikishi! Kaiho, Tokitsuumi and Kasugao, the latter being South Korea's only man in the elite Makuuchi division. Kaiho is now back in the lower Juryo division, while Tokitsuumi still hangs in in the Makuuchi and Kasugao performed better than usual recently. However, these are three men that would never stand a chance at winning a tournament in today's highly competitive environment where the Mongols are all over the place.

I like the way you filled out the whole photo with these three gentlemen and capturing them with their eyes closed works really well too. Of course the little man is spoiling the photo, but he also serves well in conveying the size of the wrestlers.

On a side note, it is good to see that it is possible to take this good close-ups from the top section. I am hoping to be able to follow in your footsteps when the Kyushu Basho launches this coming November, time to start saving up for ringside tickets! Although I'm not sure if it is such a good idea to bring in the gear only to have it smashed by 150 kilos of flying rikishi...