Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
Sanjusangendo Temple (三十三間堂)
January 2015
去年の成人の日、「三十三間堂大的全国大会」の撮影。14ヶ月遅いですが、この記事の続きです。
As I seem to do more often than not, I never did follow up on an early-2015 blog post that I intended to be just an introduction. In January 2015 I posted “The 2015 Young-Adult Archery Event at the Sanjusangendo Temple” with a few pictures and a “To be continued...” ending. So here we are, 16 months later, I've come across the event in my photo archives.The event for recently-come-of-age adults is introduced and descried on the earlier post, so I'll just get into the photos.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/400 sec, f/3.5, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lady in kimono walking a dog on an ugly modern street.
A kimono can lend class and style and calm to any scene.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 80mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1000 — map & image data — nearby photos
to the actual event
As I've mentioned in other posts about this annual event, the crowds are utterly ridiculous. Having made the effort to get close in previous years, the above photo shows the closest I bothered with this time.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
toward the end of the 2,000 ladies shooting that day
At one point I did have a view of the board used to indicate to the archers whether they connected on either of the two arrows they were allowed to shoot. Six archers shoot at once, so the board shows the results for twelve arrows:
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 110 — map & image data — nearby photos
it's tough to hit the target from that distance
Rather than try to muscle my way through the crowds to see the actual event, I spent more time in the less-crowded areas, using my big lens to reach across the crowds to zoom in on scenes of interest...
Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo by Yuo Kato
who kindly sent me the shots he took of me
With crowds like we had, and my not being 10 feet tall, I often got unlucky with people caught out of focus in the frame, such as the big orb at the bottom of the shot above, which I assume is some person's head.
I also had my 70-200 zoom for more-traditional shots.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 155mm — 1/400 sec, f/3.5, ISO 250 — map & image data — nearby photos
When the kids posed, they usually did so without the heavy leather glove worn on the pulling hand while shooting, and never posed with an actual arrow...
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
These Charlies Angels actually posed with actual arrows!
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 360 — map & image data — nearby photos
moments later
With all this color and posing and youthful spirit, there also congregated a lot of cameras...
Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM — 1/800 sec, f/2.2, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
with the Nikkor 300mm f/2.0
photo by Yuo Kato
Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo by Yuo Kato
Damien Douxchamps stopped by as well, and uncharacteristically smiled (sort of) for my camera.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
I tried not to contribute to too much “mob scene” feeling, so would retreat to a quiet distance with my long lens. So while the crowd above continued, I opted for a different approach to the same subjects...
Another thing I could do was just wander and focus on patterns or small details...
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO 160 — map & image data — nearby photos
I like the look of that Harris Tweed bag
In looking at that last photo I realized how much work many of the ladies put into their hair.
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 140mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
with their teacher
Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO 280 — map & image data — nearby photos
of the lady seen in “Juggling” on the earlier post
Nikon D700 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 — map & image data — nearby photos
It was hard work to earn the right to be here
Thanks for posting the additional images from the archery event. Enjoyed seeing them all, particularly the ones of special hair arrangements. You made good use of the 300mm lens to get close without joining the crowd.
Beautiful
I am planning to visit this event on 2018 Jan 15. What is your suggestion from your previous experience? What time of the the event is best for taking photo and how to get close to the match.
Thanks for your tips.
The times I’ve seen it, men shoot first, then women, then instructors. There seems to be less crowds for the women and instructors, but here, “less” still means “crazy crazy packed”. I can only suggest to get there very early and hope you get a good spot and hope you don’t need to use the bathroom until it’s over. During most of the event, if you had made it to a good spot, it would be almost physically impossible to move away. —Jeffrey