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Picking up after “Reception, Part IV (Mingling)” in the series about my brother-in-law's wedding two weeks ago, it was then time for some entertainment, starting off with a video presentation by one of Shogo's college buddies...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/160 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Preface and Introduction

He'd made a great video showing a bunch of pictures of Shogo over the years, to better acquaint Namiko with her husband. Apparently Shogo's nickname among those friends is Mattsun 「まっつん」, which is pretty funny in its own right....

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Motto: We ♥ まっつん
( there were video screens on opposing walls )

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Namiko Laughing
Shogo enduring

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sharing Blame
with others at his table

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
Gift-in-a-Can
apron covered with inside jokes

For the next event, the doors opened and twenty or so members of the singing group where Shogo and Namiko met entered....

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Mini Speech
Shogo and Namiko are the first intra-group marriage

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26 mm — ¹/125 sec, f/3.2, ISO 800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Performance

I knew that Shogo was a member of a “Gospel” singing group, but hadn't really understood that it meant in Japanese exactly what it means in English: they sang full-bodied English-language gospel music...

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
Showmanship

They really got into it, though I'm sure I was the only one in the room who understood the lyrics straight away, and I doubt many (any?) are actually Christian. As I said in the lead post of this series, I was continually and pleasantly surprised at Shogo's exuberant nature this day, and his performance with the group was pretty much the pinnacle of my surprise.

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Anthony Enjoyed the Energy
but by this time George was tuckered out

Nikon D700 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/250 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fumie
( just throwing this in here because I liked her hair and kimono )

As I mentioned in the cutting of the cake post, my goal was to get interesting or unique views that the 30 or 40 other cameras at the event might miss, so in that vein...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 14 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 3200 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 14-24mm f/2.8 @ 24 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
( if I hadn't already said they were singing gospel, I could say they were doing a Village People cover )

Continued here...