
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 130mm — 1/800 sec, f/3.2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Just Browsing
kendo master inspects a bamboo competition sword

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110mm — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
What He Was Checking Out
prices range from about $100 to $170
This post continues from yesterday's “My First Look at Kendo: Masters Tournament in Kyoto” post, which introduced the kendo (“Japanese fencing”) event I attended the other day.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 155mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Abrupt Burst
( for some reason this reminds me of “Hover Cat” )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 120mm — 1/15 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Preparation

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 155mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
En Garde
( they don't actually say that )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 160mm — 1/200 sec, f/3.2, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Touching Gloves
( so to speak )

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Third in Line

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/60 sec, f/1.4, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Embroidery
names are embroidered in beautiful fonts on everything

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Pre-Match Jitters
I wonder whether he still gets them
These people (mostly men, but there were a few women) were 7th-dan masters (the max is 8), meaning that they've been doing this for at least 23 years. I wonder whether they get nervous before a bout.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
The Decisive Moment
or so it seems, but since I don't really know the sport, maybe not

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 90mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
I Got a Lot of Shots Like This
due to where I could find to photograph

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nice Venue
Kyubutokuden Hall (旧武徳殿), dating from 1899

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 82mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
With patience I eventually worked myself into a position that I thought would give great shots, right at the center line where the bonsai tree was directly in the line of sight inside the Japanese flag. But the lighting was ridiculous making the white background of the flag look pink. I “fixed” it in some shots with some heavy-handed post processing, just as I “fixed” the visual clutter of the name signs in the background on some of the shots. Artistic License.
Here's an unfixed view:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/5, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 86mm — 1/200 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Artsy View”

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Keeping One's Eye on the Ball
( so to speak, again )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 125mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
Black Sheep
the one non-dark uniform I noticed

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 90mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 — map & image data — nearby photos
“Luke, I am Your Father”
( sorry )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
I eventually left the main building and wandered around outside a bit, only to find a bigger gymnasium-like building next door being used as a practice/staging area...
This shot is a great little vignette into Japanese culture. Shoes fill the entryway because street shoes are not worn inside a gym (gym-only shoes might be brought in for sports that require them), but they've set up a raised walkway between the two buildings to allow participants to move between them without shoes.
Inside the gym, many folks were practicing...
Back outside at the sales stalls, we have some protective gear on display.` As I mentioned yesterday, this vendor's prices range from $700 a set to $10,000 a set.
Kids forced to tag along have other things on their mind...
Very interesting images! Were there many other photographers at the competition?
Not many that I noticed, now that you mention it. I did see a few folks with iPhones, and maybe one other SLR. It wasn’t a photographic-friendly event, with few places to shoot from, bad backgrounds, heads in the way, and mixed lighting. In fact, I was on my way out after only half an hour when I noticed a crowded little area that could afford the flag/bonsai shots, but only if I could work myself to the exact center at floor level. It took 10 minutes of waiting and shuffling, but I eventually got there. —Jeffrey
I would pay money for a tastefully done, subtlety done… Photoshop of these kendo masters in action above… but with light sabers photoshopped in where their kendo swords are now.
The keywords being tasteful and subtle. http://regex.info/i/JF4_053503.jpg and ‘NICE VENUE” are almost begging for it.
Having said that the action shots are beautiful all by themselves.