Downtown Samurai Photo

Photographer’s Note

This was taken at the 2008 Musha Gyoretsu (Samurai Parade) at Matsue. When my wife and I checked in at the Japanese Guesthouse (ryokan) during our roundtrip, we were quite surprised to find out that our visit coincided with this annual event. This photo shows a close-up on one of the mounted 'warriors' on their way through downtown to Matsue Castle, the culminating point of the parade.

Matsue (pop. 140,000) is the capital of Shimane prefecture, one of Japan's least densely populated regions.

Nikon D200
2008/04/05 13:50:22.2
JPEG (8-bit) Normal
Color
Lens: VR 18-200mm F/3.5-5.6 G
Focal Length: 150mm
Exposure Mode: Programmed Auto
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
1/200 sec - F/7.1
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Optimize Image: Custom
White Balance: Auto
AF Mode: AF-S
Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
Color Mode: Mode I (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Enhanced
Sharpening: Medium high
Image Comment: (c)2008 Norbert Woehnl
Long Exposure NR: Off
High ISO NR: Off

jonathan_hart, Muse, scobert, migzal, carper, zmey, ChrisJ, PixelTerror, John_F_Kennedy, toto, coco, bertolucci has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jonathan_hart (21637) 2008-04-08 7:02

good close portrait
surprizing
a good contrast between the subject and the BG
excellent exposure & focus
regards
jo

Muse (29028) 2008-04-08 7:10

Hello Norbert,
Très beau portrait avec l'arrière plan flou qui met bien le sujet principal en valeur.
Très net et bien cadré.
Best regards
Denise

Kenny10pin (19301) 2008-04-08 7:17

very nice shot here I like the sharpness of this pic, all is well thanks and I hope you and your wife are well too.

I will upload more pictures soon

I need to start commenting more too

take care

scobert (5333) 2008-04-08 7:32

Hello Norbert,
I have always been fascinated with the Samurai warriors. Their uniforms are fantastic and fierce looking and they must have scared the heck out of their opponents. I like the way that you have placed the ancient Samurai tradition against modern Japan in the background. Excellent and very interesting shot!
Stan

pboehringer (768) 2008-04-08 7:35

Norbert,
it seems that going back to your photographic roots - Japan - is doing some good to you! What a weird composition. The tight frame doesn't give that info of a parade and so without your text I might wonder of some temporal displacement. A samurai taking care of the traffic? Nice blur of the background with the enough amount to diminish the attention to it and yet enough to make the connection to the portrait.
Peter

Cormac (26423) 2008-04-08 7:46

Nice shot combining the ancient and the modern aspects of Japan. The close up of the warrier allows us to see the incredible detail, and I like the slightly blurred out background, which gives this a less cluttered appearance. Well done!

migzal (485) 2008-04-08 7:56

Very good portrait with excellent dof and good in choosing the center of the hat as a focal point. Thanks for sharing and keep on posting.

brandstaetter (12911) 2008-04-08 8:56

Hallo Norbert,
es gibt hier ja viele Kontraste zu sehen, aber das ist ein historischer ...im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes. Nebenbei auch ein technisch tolles Portrait.
Super !
LG Christian

zmey (7257) 2008-04-08 10:50

hello norbert

a beautiful take of this warrior. and i like the juxtaposition of the clearly modern background and the antiquity and tradition represented by your subject. great, clear detail on the subject too.

my compliments and TFS
kristaps

guillaumejm (8523) 2008-04-08 13:37

hello norbert,
Great portrait with wonderfull focus (the type of I can't achieve with my bridge!).
best regards
JMarc

CaptainJack (0) 2008-04-08 16:43

Hi Nobert - wonderful timing of your trip indeed! As 'fake' as this warrior obviously appears, it is nice to see the contrast against the blurred out trappings of the modern age (the traffic lights, signage, power lines, etc.) with this foreground being an ode to a long ago time. I've never been to Matsue but the next time I do, will definitely have to make it a spring visit.

Jack

carper (60991) 2008-04-09 0:25

good portrait Norbert,
fantastic composition with a lovely dof in it and a fine details, good photojob, have a nice evening.
gr. jaap

PixelTerror (81500) 2008-04-09 0:58

Hi Norbert,
Well it's always a joy to discover once on site there is added bonus ! I like here the contrast between the background modern world elements and the samurai, this mix of tradition and modernity represents very well Japan to me. It seems you focused on the helmet rather than visage.
Have a nice day JY

ChrisJ (65367) 2008-04-09 1:00

Hi Norbert

Perfect use of a shallow dof to isolate the fg subject from the bg. Good sharpness & nice light colour tones of the predominantly high key toned bg. The samurai subject is well placed offcenter. Tfs!

John_F_Kennedy (27465) 2008-04-09 5:42

Was für eine interessante Komposition, wo doch das balue Schild nur Spaziergänger und Fahräder zuläßt und keine Samurai. Wunderbares Porträt der japansichen Kultur.
Viele Grüße,
Achim

toto (17589) 2008-04-09 6:04

Bonjour,
Belle photo de ce samourai de toute beauté, nature,sérieux, un peu comme les vrais de labas, les anciens, ceux que l' on connaient par ces films superbes sur le japon.
Jolies couleurs et bonne netteté.
Superbe portrait de cet homme.

Amitiés Thomas

coco (25650) 2008-04-09 14:47

Hi Norbert.

Splendid and simple composition where the use of the DOF is very good.

Well done and thanks for sharing.

(I haven't seen you in TE for a long, long time!!!)

tsukishima4713 (24) 2008-04-11 1:46

Hi Norbert

Good focus, and nice photo. You surely enjoyed
traveling in Japan, I mean you visited to Matsue,
rarely visit there even Japanese.
See you.

bertolucci (11960) 2008-04-11 1:58

Hi Norbert, very nice to see posts from you again. And in this fine capture we can see that you still have your street sensitivity and used this in a very graphic vain. It's a great cultural street graphism! Have a fine last week in Japan and a safe trip home.
Bert

jrj (34527) 2008-04-11 6:13

Good to see you popping in from time to time Norbert. Some changes going on both here and private I think..

Fun capture and quite a contrast in this setting of the traditional warrior and the peaceful sign up there.

Colombiana (2433) 2009-05-30 11:24

Hi Norbert,
The modern and traditional elements contrast very beautifully in this composition. Great Japanese fusion of modernity and foklore. Wonderful portrait.
Regards,
Maryori

Photo Information

Copyright: Norbert Woehnl (nwoehnl) (61227)
Genre: People
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-04-05
Categories: Daily Life, Festivals, Event
Camera: Nikon D200, Nikkor 18-200mm 3.5-5.6 G ED AF-S VR, Digital ISO 100, Hama UV O-Haze 72mm
Exposure: f/7.1, 1/200 seconds
More Photo Info: view
Map: view
Photo Version: Original Version
Travelogue: Japan 2008
Date Submitted: 2008-04-08 6:59