wow,.. Alain, absolutely masterful.
I would love to tag along with you to learn some stuff.
Question, how much do you change the setting of your camera (aperture, speed, WB, ISO) etc. in between pics.
IOw, how much time do you spend composing each shot?

AlainPhoto wrote:
well, it s easy - I screwed up.

I did not wanted to cut the left arm. I did not control the croping enough, it is my fault (I shot 24x36 and just cropped the bottom and up aprts a bit, just like someone shooting 24x36 to get a square).

True to say, I was crushed by a mass of japanese and the action was fast, so I got distracted. If I could do it again I would shoot wieder to get the arm and also more space in front.

For lighting, I always stick to the following - no flash, no direct sunlight if possible, cloud if possible, shadow if possible. Makes color looks better, kills ugly shadows on the subject, makes people open their eyes.
The colors come from the very rich, deep and vivid colors the japanese uses during those matsuri. Those girls clothes are 100 percent silk kimonos made from the best tradition, not the synthetic flashy stuff you have to deal with. AWB and Standard setting in camera, opens in photoshop with the camera profil and, ajust temp color if needed, no treatment in post prosc.

Keep in mind almost all of my shots are made in non-controled conditions.

Hope that help !

Alain

about the lighting. isn't it out of your control to a large extent whether it is sunny or cloudy?
your pics are so great they seem like you took hours with the composition and setting up perfect lighting..
mind boggling..

ok,.. scrolling through this thread and your site I can now officially say, you are my favorite photographer on this forum.

matuka > still, you were so close

weezintrumpete > yes ! 200 f2 to get a 85II on steroids it is the kind of lens I have been waiting for a long time, for all the cases I cannot use the 85 ...

a pricy and heavy lens with challenging focus, but a real gem

sumo in two weeks !

Ronan > I do not change much the settings I guess, I am almost always in A mode / auto WB, then ajust what I need depending on the light available ... the settings must be done before you raise the camera to your eye ... I do not think much about it, it became an habit really

what I focus on is first background + light then instant + composition, that is enough to keep me busy in many cases, so in-camera setting should be set before

about light > even on a sunny day you can look for the shade or the moment a cloud will come by ... best light is early morning (but not really possible in japan : in the summer the sun makes you up a 4:30 !) and end of afternoon, but in general if you focus on background and light, things get better quickly, just avoid the direct sun in most cases

also remember that sometimes I spend a full day shooting and I keep only one image out of it ... sometimes just a detail

and true to says I am far from being that good, personally the most moving photographer I have seen here is Jason Lee, I visit his flickr with always a lot of pleasure :
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/601752/0
http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/722109/0

i'm stunned! every shot's a winner!
i've been to japan a short 3 months and every shot of yours is like a framed memory.

RESPECT.

AlainPhoto wrote:
...I knew PS before and as I have a simple post processing, and PS does it well, I just kept it.

I never really tried DPP, since the (beta at first) camera profiles have been released, the WB comes out almost perfect each time, so I stopped looking for other softwares.

I tried Lightroom and Aperture once and was not at all satisfied, WB was not better but noise/sharpening was worse. I gave up.

Very helpful, Alain.

AlainPhoto wrote:
yes ! 200 f2 to get a 85II on steroids it is the kind of lens I have been waiting for a long time, for all the cases I cannot use the 85 ...

a pricy and heavy lens with challenging focus, but a real gem

Great choice! When will it arrive?; when is your first shoot?

Richard

Glad to see you back.

Ofirabe > thank you I had the chance to come here many times and live here so I get many opportunities to see ... with time you learn to see a country, it makes things simple and easy yet meaningful

Richard > glad it helps ! and the last shot is already from the 200 f2 I spend two full days at this festival at the end of august, I shot 100% with this lens, and loved it

I am going for sumo next week !

Grognard > I come and go the summer is always a shooting time in this country, but I will be very busy in sept/oct

I loved fall/winter in Japan when I lived there. I really loved waking up, walking outside, and there was Mount Fuji off in the distance. Or the old temples when the ginko leaves fall. Man, I wish I could move back to Japan for a couple of years!

Great series of images, Japan is a very special place.

well, I fully, deeply, understand what you mean I really hope you will get the chance, life si full of chances.

a quick update below - I waited 4 years to do this picture properly ...

http://www.alaindavreux.com/index.php?page=3-038-979-1

AlainPhoto wrote:
well, I fully, deeply, understand what you mean I really hope you will get the chance, life si full of chances.

a quick update below - I waited 4 years to do this picture properly ...

http://www.alaindavreux.com/index.php?page=3-038-979-1

So many more pages...no Judo. Alain, you're killing me.

Abe > nothing added, it is a world heritage site and you are not even allowed to go through that gate

the lighting is used only three days a year during a summer festival, the place is crowed, and the lights are very poorly balanced (photographically speaking) ... I shot for one hour to get the good balance between sky and the gate, and the gate upper part (not shown) of the gate is completely burned ... hard lighting to manage !

in fact I am not so happy with the picture and may go back with a 5d2 and a 35 L and a 50 1.2 in 2011 or 2013

Robert > errr .... but I got a 200 f2 specially for sumo ! would you please buy that and wait a few more months ?

in fact I am extremely busy on my pro and private life and to do the subject justice I will wait for the summer to start working on it ... don t worry it is high on my list, it is just I have a lot on my plate lately and to do a good judo image will require some time

no time even for setting the page on my website but here is this week update ... tomorrow sumo with the 200

Stunning colors; the 200 f/2 at work here?
-r

your series of photography is a study of an amazing culture. You definitely capture what makes Japan so unique to outsiders. Thank you very much for posting those pictures here for the world to experience. Simply outstanding.

Cheers,
Ed

Richard > yes, at f2.5 .. I have been covering this and the sumo using 100% the 200mm, I bought the lens for this kind of pictures, and I really loves it

Ed > thank you very much for your comment at it shows in a very nice way that those pictures are doing what I intend them to do - change the way people look at apan and make them want to understand this country and come over

fixed : HD version of the last picture available on my website

Alain, your work is just stunning!
Bruce

thanks Bruce !

I am now sorting a bit of sumo images

it is officially the FIRST time EVER that I am happy to get a flash during one of my shot

check the HD and a few wikipedia links here :
http://www.alaindavreux.com/index.php?page=3-050-047-1

this is awesome Alain

Great work!

thanks guys most of it is due to the models though