Aikido Part 2

dadwtwins

I did not know if I should of posted this in sports or post it in portraits. I guess it really doesn't matter:scratch

After my brief introduction to Aikido last week, I decided to go to a buds 3rd Dan test and take picks of the Demo afterwards. The Sensei was pretty clear about not taking pictures during the test but he had no problems with me taking pictures of the demo so a snapped away.

I first took some individual shots for their Dojo Black Belt member's picture board











not everyone wanted a serious picture:D



On to the Demo.
They performed a variety of different throws. All of the demo's were done at full speed. I love watching how little effort by the thrower caused such dramatic results to the person getting thrown. Ouch.....











Well, there ya have it. My attempt to capture some very cool to watch demo's of Aikido throws. :thumb

InsuredDisaster

Sweet! Rear curtain/sync flash? Good use of B/W. Nice shots!

dadwtwins

InsuredDisaster wrote:

Sweet! Rear curtain/sync flash? Good use of B/W. Nice shots!

Thanks:D

Rear sync, pocket wizards for remote flash control, one strobe sitting on top of a tripod shooting into an umbrella for portraits and the same flash/tripod bouncing off a silver lined umbrella for the action shots.

aktse

dadwtwins wrote:

I did not know if I should of posted this in sports or post it in portraits. I guess it really doesn't matter

It doesn't matter where you post them! They're awesome! After seeing your other thread, I couldn't wait to see these!

I must say, they were worth the wait!clapclap

My favorite of the portraits:

dadwtwins wrote:

What shutter speeds were you using to get the motion blur of the throw?

Also, to be a bit picky, first group photo should be cropped about a pixel higher since there is a white line.

You make me want to take up Aikido again.... maybe I should check out this group.

Sweet set!

dadwtwins

aktse wrote:

It doesn't matter where you post them! They're awesome! After seeing your other thread, I couldn't wait to see these!

I must say, they were worth the wait!clapclap

My favorite of the portraits:

What shutter speeds were you using to get the motion blur of the throw?

Also, to be a bit picky, first group photo should be cropped about a pixel higher since there is a white line.

You make me want to take up Aikido again.... maybe I should check out this group.

Sweet set!

Thanks April.

The shutter speeds changed a few times. A couple of the fluorescent lights in the room kept cycling off and on. Nothing like a little challenge:D

In general here were the settings,

manual mode, shutter 1/25 ~ Aperture f2.8 ~ Lens 28mm in manual focus, ISO 200, flash was set at 1/2 power rear sync.

dadwtwins

aktse wrote:

You make me want to take up Aikido again.... maybe I should check out this group.

Forgot to mention, they are only a couple miles from you. They meet every day and have several evening times as well as weekend times. There are three sensei's that teach there and they are all long time (old timers:D) trainers with extensive backgrounds.

Check them out if you get the chance - http://www.aikidosiliconvalley.com/

johng

Very, very nice!

I really like the choice of black & white Good, clean, images - sharp and an effective exposure.

Great job

coldclimb

Very nicely captured! I love them.

MikeMcA²

Excellent! Timing, lighting, motion, composition, all so well done.

schmoo

Dan!! bow

I love the motion in these. I think this situation would be so hard to shoot but you captured them perfectly. They are very lucky to have these shots of themselves!

dadwtwins

johng wrote:

Very, very nice!

I really like the choice of black & white Good, clean, images - sharp and an effective exposure.

Great job

Thank you, B&W hands down is my fav. I used to watch my grandfather develop film and process prints in the dark room for hours at a time. Even with digital these days, i still like the look/flaws of hand processed prints. I try to emulate the darkroom as best as i can.

The D3 camera is a joy to shoot. I tend to stick with full manual controls when I have consistent lighting and predictable subject movement.

MikeMcA² wrote:

Excellent! Timing, lighting, motion, composition, all so well done.

http://www.mcadooimages.com/

Nikon D3 and D300 / Some glass, some light, some tripods, and enough personal debt to choke a large horse.

Thank you for the compliment. Looking at your signature, we own the same equipment including the debt

schmoo wrote:

Dan!! bow

I love the motion in these. I think this situation would be so hard to shoot but you captured them perfectly. They are very lucky to have these shots of themselves!

Your words are very kind and continue to inspire me, thank you

ian408

That you've done these in B&W seems appropriate and seems to pay homage to the sport. The group shot is very nice. I like the casual look. And the action shots are fantastic.

dadwtwins

ian408 wrote:

That you've done these in B&W seems appropriate and seems to pay homage to the sport. The group shot is very nice. I like the casual look. And the action shots are fantastic.

thank you:D. The action shots were alot of fun to take.

dadwtwins

InsuredDisaster wrote:

Sweet! Rear curtain/sync flash? Good use of B/W. Nice shots!

I received some emails asking what my setup was for this series. So I thought I would just show a snap shot of the layout. The setup was really simple, one light source fired at an umbrella reflector by the help of a couple of pocketwizards. I shot in manual with manual focus.

The manual settings helped me get the timing of the capture I wanted. No delay waiting for the camera to focus and such. Left the camera on a tripod and used a remote shutter trigger to see the action unfolding better.

Well there it is. Pretty simple stuff eh???