Inside Photo Edition 2

8/8/2019 Inside Photo Edition 2

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INSIDEp h o t o

FUN WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY

November 2008Edi on 2

INSIDE ASSIGNMENT: THAIPUSUM The most amazing fes val you will ever shoot

DEADLINES: BEYOND THE OBVIOUSThe story behind the photos in the D Scene newspaper

SKILL FACTOR: PAN-ACTION-FLASHEasy ways to add drama to your images

PROCESS: SATURATION LEVELSMake your digital images look like Velvia

TRAVELSHOOTER: On ASSIGNMENT Fish and chips in Tsujiki


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INSIDE ASSIGNMENT: Thaipusam

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DEADLINES

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SKILL FACTOR: Pan-Ac on Flash

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The most amazing fes val you will evershoot

The story behind the photos in the D Scene newspaper

How to easily a drama to your images

Editon 2, November 2008

Photography is like making cheese. It takes a hell of a lot of milkto make a small amount of cheese just like it takes a hell of a lot

of photos to get a good one. -Robert Gillis

c o n t e n t s

INSIDEp h o t o


PROCESSP24Satura on: how to adjust satura onlevels to mimic Velvia

INSIDE

O ver a recent weekend I wasforced to revisit a me thatseems so long ago and yet it wasonly 2002. My trusty Sigma 70-200 f2.8 HSMtele-zoom has nally fallen overand is in dire need of repair so I hadto dig up and resurrect to usablecondi on my rst digital SLR, thevenerable NIKON D100. Why?Because it had my other 80 - 200 f2.8a ached. Now how did we cope with such

TRAVELSHOOTER: On assignment

P26An early morning visit to the famousTsujiki Fish market in Tokyo, Japan

slow speeds back then? Make no mistake I loved my mewith the D100. It regularly gave meA3 sized images with full colour andno noise from just 6MP. I lovingly carried it all around Asiaand Oceania shoo ng sports, traveland editorial images, all at just 3fps, and only capturing just 6 JPEGimages in one con nuous burst. The AF while sharp, was never goingto be racy fast and I rememberedthat Manual Focus Mode was used a

lot on moving subjects. So o into the wilds I went to shootsports in Dunedin. First memo to myself: Pack myglasses as the 1.8 inch LCD seemsso small now compared to todays3 inch models and I cannot see theimages to review them. Second memo to myself: Quicklyrelearn all the tricks we had to learnback then to cope with shu er lag,slow AF and slow motordrives. The answer was simple. I neededto plan my shots carefully as I nolonger had the luxury of 6.5 framesper second and a super fast AF. Atthe rst day of the local so ballcompe on I posi oned myself atthe side of the fences near the homeplate and started to relearn thoseold DSLR skills long since forgo en asthe camera technology marched on. I could now only get one frame of the ba er hi ng the ball, one shotof someone sliding into third baseand almost no follow focus. I alsohad to remember that everythingon the Nikon was opposite to theCanons I have used for the past fouryears. So I really had to plan myshots to pre-empt any ac on, I hadto watch my subjects for muscleindicators that marked when they

were going to swing and I had towatch using both eyes watching forthe pitchers throw and shoo ngwhen it le his hand to compensatefor a small amount of shu er lag. I also had to use manual focus tostop the AF hun ng a lot.

Oh by the way the umpire called himout sliding into third but the ac onphoto clearly shows he wasnt out. So keep on shoo ng and stay intouch p

John C The travelshooter

Contact: [email protected]

LAST FRAME:

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Youre out!...Not!

PUBLISHER/EDITOR/DESIGNER/PHOTOGRA-

PHER/WRITER:John [email protected]

INSIDE Photo e-magazine is published by:INSIDE Photo5 Council StreetSt KildaDunedinNew ZealandP: + 64 3 4555998

www.insidephoto.info

Material published in INSIDE Photo iscopyrighted and cannot be reproduced(or photocopied) other than for individualpersonal use.

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O N A S S I G N M E N T : T H A I P U S A M F E S T I V A LWords and Photos by John and Kath Cosgrove

Some say its a supreme act of religious devo on,others say it a contrite act of penance for ablessing bestowed on them. Others just think of it as a simple act of repayment for a vow to succeedin exams or pledge for success that they had made tothe gods which was rewarded and now its me for thepayback. And what a payback!

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Whats in thebag?A Sony DSLR-A200and a couple of G series lenses.Kingston CF cardsand GP ba eries.

The combined weight of these limes must have been extremely painful for this devotee. Kath shot this image using a Sony Alpha A200 at 1/500th @f6.3 on ISO800.

What gives this shot impact is the subtle colours and the hands holding the shoulders as they support the devotee.


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This is where knowing what your DSLR can do really comes in handy. I shot this imageseveral years ago on an NIKON D100, 6MP using the kit 18-55 zoom lens.

I knew that Nikons o en defer to highlights in Matrix Metering Mode so I set the camera upand then dialled in -1/3rd compensa on and went shoo ng.

Because it reads the highlights and drops the middle exposure values it really punched upthe satura on and gave me exactly what I wanted for this shot of a devotee with peircings.


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Held annually betweenJanuary and February inSingapore, Thaipusam is adeeply religious and amazinglyphotogenic fes val that shouldbe on everyones must-dophoto bucket list along withphotographing the Passion of Christ in Oberammergau andthe running with the bulls inPamplona. Its all about payback and the greaterthe pain the more god-earned meritone receives. A er weeks of fas ng and prayerhundreds of Indian, Malay andChinese devotees will be piercedwith sh hooks and meat hooks onwhich heavy milk churns or heavy

fruits such as limes or oranges arehung. Tongues and cheeks will be piercedwith brass skewers or spears. It is thought that with a spearpierced through his tongue or cheeksThe devotee will always be reminded constantly of thier faith and it alsoprevents them from speaking andaids in their endurance. Some will walk on shoes of nailswhile most will have their backs andstomachs stabbed by hundreds of sharp rods suppor ng the weightof heavy Kavadis decorated with

owers, gold chains, brass idols,peacock feathers, photos and palmleaves. The larger more spectacularlydecorated kavadis can weigh asmuch as 40 kg and o en reachto a height of nearly four metres.Supported by chan ng family andfriends these devotees will o enstruggle to carry these heavyloads nearly ten kilometres fromone temple to another under amercilessly hot sun, hoping theirdeep faith and beliefs will getthem through the pain barriers.Throw into this colourful mixturea managed tourist spectacle withhundreds of foreign photographers,all clamouring for the shot, and youget some idea what the Thaipusamfes val is all about. While Hindus around the globecelebrate this act of gra tudededicated to Lord Subramaniam,the Hindu deity of youth, powerand virtue, the largest Thaipusamcelebra ons o en take place in

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At the moment of piercing you are l ooking for any pain. The secret here is to shoot with a tele-zoom with a wide aperture to blow any backgrounds out of focus.Concentrate on their expressions and you will get your shots.


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excrucia ng pain, devoteesprac ce a very through and lengthypuri ca on of their bodies. This includes taking just onevegetarian meal a day for more thana month beforehand and total sexual

abs nence. A 24-hour fast is alsoobserved on the eve of Thaipusam.Many women devotees, while notpermi ed to carry kavadis by law,some s ll allow themselves to bepierced before they join the men on

the long walk carrying a heavy potof milk called a palkuddam on theirheads. The milk is later poured overthe statue of Lord Subramaniam atthe end of the procession. Star ng a er an all night prayer

Singapore, Mauri us and Malaysia.But only in Singapore will you

nd the body piercings makingthis fes val a major photographicspectacle. Most Hindu devoteessee it as a me for repentance as

they believe that Lord Subramaniamis also the universal dispenser of favours. Hence, those who have made vowsand pledges in the past to LordSubramaniam must prove their

gra tude to him by undergoing self-mor ca on during the fes val of Thaipusam. To get to the mental and physicalstate whereby the many piercingso en dont draw blood or in ict

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The Kavadis are always very gaily decoratedwith lowers, gold and silver and are extreme -ly heavy. Use all your lenses to vary the anglesand then zoom in for detail shots. These shotshelp you tell the story of the long walk downto the other temple. Think about using rearcurtain sync lash to lighten the colors andmake the whole image more vibrant.


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mee ng which involves re walkingin the early hours before dawn at theSri Srinivasa Perumal Temple, located

in the middle of Singapores famousLi le India on Serangoon Road.

The real spectacle starts a er sunrise. While it is s ll cool the kavadicarriers, together with their rela ves,friends and well-wishers take it inturns to be lanced and suited upwith their Kavadis before walkingalong Serangoon Road, over OrchardRoad and nally down to the SriThandayuthapani Temple at TankRoad. All along the way, devoteeschant hymns of praise for the deity.The kavadi carriers arrival at theMurugan Temple at Tank Road marksthe accomplishment of their task, a

repayment of their debt.

The Sri Srinivasa Perumal Temple

The rst stage of the ritual, the self-mor ca on appeals to all as themost photogenic of the fes valsmany events. And here you will nd hundredsof foreign and expat amateurphotographers, some on dedicatedphoto trips, all clamouring to geta good angle, the best posi on,the most colourful image and themoment of incision or even someblood if they can. In some ways its kinda crass butwhen you get there it isnt hard tobe swallowed up by the moment and

nd yourself elbowing your way intothe crowds, shoo ng over heads and

clipping ears with long tele zooms,before zooming ghtly into the facesof the devotees to try and get the

ul mate piercing shot. Its not that easy especially if you aresqueamish but there is some muchof it going on around you that itshard not to get a good shot.

Rule Number One: Take o yourshoes in the temple, nothing sadderthan seeing rude ang mohs (euros ingeneral) feeling the wrath of templepriests because they have walkedinto the sacred shrines.

Rule Number Two: Follow thecrowds and the noise, as the templea endants prepare a devotee forlancing they will start loudlychan ngand singing to help the devotee

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Be prepared to be shocked, the skin of these devotees is being pul led by a very heavy man. Use you zooms to highlight the tension.


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Devotees put all kinds of heavy objects on their backs, here are a few; miniture urns of milk, limes, oranges, spikes , skewers and larger bo ttlesof milk. I have even seen cigars and other ornate bits of heavy gold jewellry hanging by hooks stuck into d evotees. Again what you are trying tocapture is the repeating pattern caused by the objects.Use a average depth of ield, say f8 or below, to keep the background o ut of focus and from distracting the viewers.


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Many devotees walk the distance with heavy urns of milk called palkuddam mounted on their heads. The photos you arelooking for here are the patterns of the silver urns or any re lections you can zoom in. In the image shot by Kath shezoomed in tight to get the expressions oon the devotees face as milk dripped down on him.


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Out on Serangoon Road:

This is Singapore, so the event is verywell stage managed with an ac vepolice presence controlling the daylong procession down SerangoonRoad. Posi on yourself along thebarriers and shoot headshots andthe spectacle or take a punt and walkalong with the devotees.

a ain an almost trancelikeappearance aiding the inser onof the skewers. But when they dothis they o en crowd the devoteemaking the shot harder to catch souse your tele-zoom to get closer,

Rule Number Three: Dont jamyour camera into the face of a

devotee being lanced, it is liableto o end and it may get roughlyknocked away. Rule Number Four: Wait and lookaround, there is so much happeningin such a small area that its not thathard to nd good, unique shots. As the sun rises you will o en get

more colourful shots as the crowdsthin when the temperature risesforcing many ang mohs to seekshelter and sustenance from theirearly morning rise. The streets around the temple arefull of cheap well stocked restaurantsand hawkers centres o ering manyIndian delicacies.

There are many good ac onshots to catch here. Look for themilk from the heavy palkuddamsspilling out and dripping down theheads of devotees, the reac onsof the crowds to a devotee withan especially painful kavadi on hisshoulders, the young and the olddevotees who take part and thepain on their red faces as they

walk those weary miles under thehot sun to the other temple. Lookfor sights such as their skin beingpulled and stretched by the skewers(incidentally o en there is no traceof these incisions the day a er thefes val), the pa erns of the skewersand then think of ways to alter yourperspec ve by l ng and twis ngthe camera, think colours and userear or second curtain sync ashto li the shadows or use you tele-zooms to focus only on the faces. Learn how you camera sees lightthrough its meter and use thatto your advantage like I did onthe leading page shot. Matrixor Evalua ve metering alwaysdefers to highlights so use this and-1/3 rd compensa on to punch thesatura on of your images. Lookfor emo ons, moments of pain ortrepida on on the faces of those s llto go through the process. p

Thaipusam is a lot of fun to shootand you will go through a lot

of card space so remember topack extra memory cards, ashand camera ba eries and water,

but all the me remember tobe respec ul of the faith of thedevotees and dont be rude to

others even when they stand upin front of you just as the spike

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Some mes you cant see the treesfor the forest.

Now how many mes have Iheard that old pearl of wisdomand yet in the world of newspaperphotography it happens on averageonce a day to most photographers.You can arrive at a func on or eventand despite having access to all therelevant info about who, what, whenand where, you just cant see anyphoto ops as you look out over theroom. The pressure to perform risesinside you as you struggle to nd aunique angle or di erent view point

to snap your subject from. Sadly some photographers quicklyfall back into their old comfort zoneframe of mind and simply hold thecamera up and shoot o a couple of frames and then leave their job isdone. They have recorded the factthat Yes! They were there and Yes!Something did happen there. Now I saying this because as youscan through the newspapers of today its pre y obvious whichwere the images shot by recordphotographers and which werethe ones were shot by the talentedshooters on the sta . Make no mistake, there is a lot of

talent out there in New Zealand andyet we all know that to take it to thenext level you have to go o shore toreach out to the higher paying careeradvancing jobs. That leaves a lot of photographersback here quite comfortable in theirdaily work. Flip the pages on anynewspaper and despite the workof the page subs and designerssome mes they have to use whatthey are given and o en it isntpre y. Herein lies the problem, a newsphotographer o en has a very busydaily shoo ng schedule dependingon the size of the newspaper they

work for. My top count was 13 separateassignments in one eight- hour shiand that was in pre-digital days. The average assignment count canbe from four to ve assignments.Now factor in interviews andtravelling mes, image processingand transmi ng delays and you canhave a very busy day especially as weall know that news never happensto a schedule. Racing from oneassignment to the next you o enarrive on site unaware on what isactually happening. Snap decisionmaking skills are very importantfor photographers, helping them to

The strong graphical elements in the picture invite the viewer to look around and yet it says very quickly what is happening in the frame - a mans head is being shaved - simple and e ective.

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decide what really news is worthy.Lets look at a couple of newssitua on I experienced recently.

Case #1: The local volunteer rebrigade at Ravensbourne nearDunedin had decided to shave theirheads in a fund raising venture. Anice feel-good story as it promisedsome interes ng before and a erphotos. A er standing around inthe crowd watching the ac on andsnapping o a few frames I soonrealized that I was just recordingthe ac on. There wasnt anythingwrong with the images, they weresharp and to the point but they

lacked some sort of unique angleto a ract the eye of the reader,so I started to vary the angle I wasshoo ng at. Crouching down tolook up at the men and snappingtheir pained expressions or goinghigher to change the view point of my images. S ll not happy I changedlenses and put on my trusty Sigmatele-zoom and look for shapes andangles. Now the photos I had shotup un l then had been okay, theywould have suited the story but asa photographer I wasnt happy withthe record feeling about them.Byzooming in and removing distrac ngbackgrounds I have now createda unique viewpoint that everyoneunderstands just what is happeningat the event. So rule number 1 is: Vary yourangles and rule number 2 is:Remove distrac ons.Shoo ng beyond the obvious: the key to success

The story behind images shot for D Scene Newspaper

Case # 2: A call came throughthat the Mayor of Dunedin PeterChin was opening a new businessventure in a nearby suburb. Thebusiness reporter needed an imageto hang the story on so o I went.The usual suspects had turnedout with colleagues from the dailyand community newspapers allcongrega ng outside the Mosgielrailway sta on to watch as MayorPeter arrived by helicopter to showo the new GPS technology of thisbusiness. The usual shots werebeing taken, corporate handshakes,the mayor arriving by helicopter,the mayor standing by the fer lizer

spreading truck, the mayor si ng inthe truck etc, etc. By now I was ge ng a wee bitrestless, again the shots I already hadon my Kingston CF card were goodenough for the story but I wantedsomething di erent to what the restof the media was shoo ng. It wasthen I started to look for alterna vesand I spo ed this large puddle of water nearby. Hooking on my super wide 10-22mmWA lens I started shoo ng. I couldhear some of my my colleaguessniggering behind me when they sawme crouching down beside it butlater when they saw my re ec onshots they all wished they seen it aswell.

So rule number 3 is: Always lookfor re ec ons to increase the visualimpact of your pictures. p


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M ost are simply happy to leavetheir ashes set on E-TTL andlive with the results. Over the yearsthe ash technology has improvedand today using either the pop-up ash or an external ash cangive us what we need in terms of usable photos. BUT! Now thatwe are ge ng be er at our ownphotography our desire to improveand extend our skill sets nowincludes ash work.

Tech Notes :

In Front Curtain Sync or A Flashmode (the default on all cameras)the ash ring sequence is asfollows:

i: Just 1/10,000 th of a second a eryou have fully depressed the shu erbu on on your camera it res a weakpre- ash beam out at your subject. Ii: The re ected light is then readby the cameras inbuilt ash meterto determine the output ra o the

ash will need to discharge to givean average exposure based on these ngs you have preset includingISO, Color space, scenic mode, syncmode and shoo ng mode etc. iii: Now, 1/1000 th of second a er theShu er Blinds start to move in theirexposure sequence, the main ashdischarges and the sensor recordsthat re ected light as an image.

The results are the usual ash photoswe see, nicely exposed subjects andblack under exposed backgrounds.A nice and safe way to take pictures,but what about ll ash and the factthat the room you were shoo ng inwas light and airy not dull and darkas recorded?

Pan Ac on Flash: Pu ng dramaand movement into your imagesFlash or strobe photography,call it what you like, hasalways be regarded by mostphotographers as a black artand be er le to the pros.

One of the easiest ways to li your images above the othersis to simply move from Front Curtain to Rear Curtain Sync

shoo ng with your ash.

In the default Front Curtain Sync mode,1/10,000 th of a second a er the shu eris depressed the camera res a pre-

ash to determine the exposure.

1/1000th of a second laterthe main ash res.

In Rear Curtain Sync modethe camera makes anambient light exposure rstbefore the ash res.

Some mes it looks like you have uked it. This shot of arider was captured on a Canon 40D @ f8, 1/50 th of a secusing ISO 800. I was shoo ng in the trees because out inthe sun it was too bright to use ash. During the exposure I was also pulling the zoom on mySigma 70-200 and it captured this nice e ect. Always used the rear LCD monitor to check your progressand look for over movement which can ruin your image.22 23


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In Rear Curtain Sync or Slow FlashMode the sequence looks like this:

i: As you depress the shu er bu on,at a point 1/10,000 th of a seconda er you have fully depressed theshu er bu on it res the pre- ashbeam out at your subject. Ii: The re ected light is then readby the cameras inbuilt ash meterto determine the output ra o the

ash will need to discharge to givean average exposure based on these ngs you have preset includingISO, Color space, exposure modeand the sync mode you have nowselected. iii: Now, because you have selectedREAR or SLOW curtain sync theShu er Blinds will complete theirexposure sequence, exposing for

the ambient light in the room orloca on. iv: Just 1/1000 th of second beforethe the Shu er Blinds start to closemarking the end of your exposurethe main ash discharges a balancedbeam that adds a smaller amount of light to your total exposure.

The sensor now records yourcombined ash supplied andambient light image and theresults are wonderfully lit balancedexposures. But you will have no cedthat the exposure has changed fromits usual 1/200 th of a second to amuch slower speed to allow for anambient light exposure. Here liesthe fun element of rear curtain sync

ash photography. You can use thatslow shu er speed to add drama andmovement to your photos. Simplypan and or zoom the camera as theexposure sequence happens andmarvel at the results.

Hint: Watch your shu er speeds asit can become too slow, blurring out the e ect you want. It is a simplema er of trial and error to see whichshu er speeds are going to give youthe e ects you want.

I have been a big fan of MountainBiking and as a sport it lends itself to great imagery and here those Pan-Ac on-Flash techniques really workto add both drama and movementto your images. Regular high speedexposures will freeze the ac on butpanning and kicking in a li le ashmakes for be er, more impac ulphotos. p

The ash has this icon visible when set toRear Curtain Sync mode.

One of my favourite shot was again shotin under trees to slow the exposure down. I was shoo ng this me with a Fuji S3Proand shot it at 1/20 th of a sec@f8 using ISO200. Panning the camera with the riderincreases the sense of speed and yetthere is enough in focus to capture hisemo ons.

The shot of a boxer above is a classic example of using the ash to add movement to increasethe sense of drama in a photo. Shot on a Canon 40D at 1/13 th of a sec @f4, using ISO1600 tocapture the low ambient light in the gym. Prefocusing on the boxer I just kept on shoo ng ashe bobbed and weaved around the ball. Below is an example of where the ash set on rear curtain sync adds just enough ll lightto illuminate your subject and make it more colorful. I ran alongside the bike, shoo ng as Icarried my Canon 30D down behind the bike as it climbed a small hill.The use of a 10-22mmsuper wide and ll ash made a unique viewpoint of the cyclist.

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TIPS:

1: Use the pop up ash as a lllight and it can also act as thecommander unit in mul - ashsequences.

2: Monitor your progress usingthe rear LCD looking for overmovement and blow out in yourimages.

3: Plan your shots well and useback markers as test dummies toaid your setup, they make goodsubjects as they are usually slowerthan the experts at sports events.

4: Use the Green Square or (P)se ng if in doubt and rememberto always cover yourself if

shoo ng for the bosses.5: The Rear Curtain Sync modeis usually found in the CustomFunc on menus on most camerasand most ashes have it also ontheir own LCD panels, just look forthe logo.

Jet lag had kicked in and I was wide-awakeat 5am in Mumbai, India. Not wan ng tomiss the sunrise I wandered down to thehistoric Gates of India and hoped I could geta nice sunrise shot. Sadly the smog and hazeruined that idea but I started to play withthe pigeons res ng nearby. Se ng my Canon30D with the 10-22mm super wide on to f3.5on ISO 400 in the low light I wandered intothe ocks of birds sca ering them. With thefocus set on Ai Focus I was able to get a fewshots o each me before the pop up ashrecycled. It is fun to use the pop up ash asit is very capable and can aid your crea vityheaps.

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How to make your images look like Velvia

FUJIFILM Velvia: Loved by manywhile others hated it but you

couldnt dismiss its ability to punchup the satura on in your photos.Landscapes were not worth lookingat unless they were shot on 50ISO Velvia lm with its ability toaccurately render deep blues andvivid greens. Digital came alongand we all decided to live with thereduced levels of satura on in ourimages. Fuji im kept Velvia alivewith its S1/2/3/5pro series of DSLRswhich had a sweet RGB color spaceyou could dial in that replicatedVelvia but others le it up to theuser to dial up the sat levels inPhotoshop. To punch the satura onin your camera you can adjust itslevel under the scene or imagecustom func ons or simply shootimages at -1/3 rd compensa on. In ADOBEs excellent PhotoshopCS series and Elements youcan easily adjust the levels of Satura on in an image under the

IMAGE>ADJUST>HUE /SATURATIONcontrol. But when you move thatslider along past 10-15 you no cedthat the image started to posterizeand look fake.Satura on increase #1

A er crea ng a new adjustmentlayer and selec ng LEVELS, hit theauto key then use the layer opacityto dial back the e ect.

Or under IMAGE>ADJUST>LEVELS,select Auto and then EDIT>FADEto adjust the amount of e ect youwant.

Satura on increase #2

Use the SPONGE tool (quick key le er o) and select Saturate as the mode and 50% for the ow and simply rubit over the areas in the image you want to increase the levels of satura on in.

The original

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Step Five: Adjust the level of satura on using the LayersOpacity control in the Layerspale e.

Step Six: Change the ImageMode from LAB back to RGB

Step Seven: use another

Adjustment layer tohighlight other areas of theimage.

Satura on increase #3

One of the best ways I have found toreplicate Velvia in digital images andcontrol the levels of SATURATION inyour landscape images so that youdont posterize the image is to use asimple LAB method.

Step One: Change the Imagemode from RGB to LAB

Step Two: Open a newAdjustment layer and selectCURVES and then tap yourmouse in one of the largesquares whilst holding downthe Alt Key to increase thenumber of sec ons in theCurves graph.

Step Three: Under the Achannel simple move thetop point one square to thele and the bo om pointone step to the right. (Dontstress about what the imagelooks like as it will improvein the next step)

Step Four: Repeat step 3under the B channel.

BEFORE AFTER

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Shots to look for: Repea ng pa erns - long rows of frozen Tuna sh lend themselves togreat repea ng pa ern shots. Usethem as leading lines to draw yourviewer into the image.

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Tokyo at 4.30am is a very quietplace. It is cool and quiet, incomplete contrast to the usualtourists percep on of Tokyo being afast paced, ac on packed city 24/7. A couple of mates and I werestanding on the pla orm atShinagawas subway sta on wai ngfor the rst train of the day to carryus up town to connect with theTokyo Metro Hibiya Line and thenonto the Tsukiji Sta on and oureventual des na on, the Tokyo

Metropolitan Central WholesaleMarket or as it is more commonlyknown as The world famous Tsukiji

sh market. Despite visi ng Tokyocountless mes over the past 20years I have never found the me tolook at this popular tourist a rac onso it was a real treat when we foundwe had me to sample the delightsof this famous market. It just meantsacri cing some sleep me which Iknew I could make up later. Tsukiji is the biggest wholesale sh

and seafood market in the world anddespite being a must-see des na onfor foreign travellers passingthrough Tokyo, very few locals willever visit it. We had planned ourearly morning photo expedi on toget there just as the famous tunaauc ons were star ng at 5.30am,shoot up a storm and then get backto our hotel in me for breakfast andthe start of the days ac vi es withCanon, our kind host for the week. As our train got nearer to the Tsukiji

TSUKIJI:FROZEN FISH AS FAR AS THE EYE CAN SEEWords and pictures by John Cosgrove

Shots to look for: Watch out for lovely street scenes inside the market. Set you camera toAperture Priority Mode and enjoy the scenes as the appear.

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Sta on I no ced more and morecamera to ng tourists ge ng aboardand at the sta on it was easy to jointhe lines of people all heading in justone direc on the markets. Once inside the huge mul -acrecomplex your aim is to get over tothe inner market area where theauc ons take place and most of theprocessing of the sh is handled.The outer market is a mixture of wholesale and retail shops that sellthe usual Japanese kitchen tools,restaurant supplies, groceries, andseafood, and upstairs are manyexcellent restaurants. There isntmuch in the way of English languagesignage once you enter the site thebut you cant get lost, just follow thecrowds as they are all going in onedirec on. If you are really cheeky,

latch onto the back of one of themany guided tours that run throughthe market each morning. They arealmost military like in their precisionfor ge ng tourists through themarket as quick as possible and backto their hotels in me for breakfast.

(Note: Always plan an exit strategy.Arrange a mee ng point and meand s ck to it! Remember whichsta on exit you arrived at as thereare many exit points and sta onsall within walking distance of themarket. The Tsukiji sta on itself hasone exit that exits directly into themarket. I always pick a prominentlandmark, building or signage to useas a reference point to nd my wayback. )

I soon lost my travelling buddies inthe crowds at the sta on and hookedup with one tour group of 10 richAmerican tourists, all dressed to

the nines in their fancy gear (Manwould they su er later when theyrealised just how much sh byproduct, scales, oils, crud and smellsare associated with the market. Itis not the place to wear high heelsand fancy branded shoes or clothes).I followed them through the outermarket and over to the auc onhouses before I broke o to shootmy own shots.

Problem number 1: The local tradersdont want your there, in fact onlinethey advise you not to come ci nghygiene and sanita on problems.The o cial quote is: Sanita onmanagement problems such as

Shots to look for: (Above) Breaks in repea ng pa ern shots look for a buyers legs or hands to break the pa erns and create nicermore dynamic images.

(Below) Viewpoints vary your angles and lenses to change how you view the subject

Shots to look for: Pan Ac on Flash photos- rear curtainsync the ash to shoot the workersas they race by.

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temperature control issues caused bythe entry and exit of large numbersof unauthorized persons, andproblems with visitors impeding theauc on and other trading ac vi esespecially at the early morningauc on held in the tuna wholesalearea. For these reasons, tourists arecurrently not allowed to enter thetuna wholesaling areas. The reality is that you can usuallywalk around there just watch whatyou are doing and shoot from theopen sides of the warehouses orfrom the designated walkways theyhave made through the long lines of frozen tunas. Travelling on your ownrather than in a group usually getsyou places you wouldnt normallyget to.

Its a place for both wide angles andtele-zooms but not ashes so packcarefully. Dont put your bag down asthe oor as it is covered in oily waterand seafood by products.

Problem number 2: This is a workingmarket that is very, very busy withmul tudes of trucks, forkli s, andother small vehicles all moving aboutseemingly without order or speedcontrols. Be especially careful andvigilant when visi ng and alwayslook around rst before you decideto move. I am sure the drivers of thesmall one man tuna trolleys run abook to see who can get the closestto a tourist and splash them in oilywater or even clip them on the backof the leg or worse s ll knock themover. I saw so many close shavesin a short period of me that I wasamazed no one was killed. Theseguys have no me for tourists asthey are racing against the clock to

move sets of 300KG frozen tuna fromthe markets to the buyers. At aboutNZ$18 -20 per kilo for the cheapestBig Eye frozen tuna these NZ$6000+

sh are treated with more carethan gawping photographers. Theother thing to watch out for is theirswinging pickaxes. The sh handlersswing their sharp knifes around withlightening speed as they move theheavy sh up onto their carts anddont care if you get hit, so watchout. Timings

It all depends on when you visit themarket but because we were there

Shots to look for: Viewpoints vary your angles and lenses to change how you view thesubject. Look for the odd shots that can act as ller photos to add impact toyour photo story.

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buyers who look rstly at a smallsample cut in the frozen esh beforeno ng the numbers on colouredlabels. As soon as a hand bell rings,these middlemen line up on aterraced pla orm and the auc oneercalls out the number and openingbid for the tuna. If they want it the

middlemen will use a gesture calledTeyari to inform the auc oneer of their respec ve bids and then thesebids and the nal prices are agreedupon almost instantaneously, it alltakes but a few seconds and theymove on to the next sale. Using one of the very lightweightWhite f 4 EF70-200 Canon lensI went in search of this gesture.It happens so quick that you mayo en miss it. So I reposi on behinda buyer and shot a wide angle viewlooking over his shoulder. Because the market is such a noisybusy place you may nd it veryexhaus ng. There seems to be

everything happing in front of yourlens. I recommend taking me outto visit the upstairs restaurants totake a break and let the sun come upa bit further. Then head back down

into the markets to see what it lookslike a er the tourists have all le .A er 7am most have gone back totheir hotels lamen ng their choiceof wearing ne clothes and shoes tosuch a busy messy place. With them gone and the sunlightdri ing through the sheds it changesthe way the markets look. You canlook out over the nearby river andget golden sunrise shots or catch raysof sunlight ltering through the roof lights. The Tuna starts to defrost andsteam up so it all adds to the avourof the place. I shot more images a er7am than I did before as the lightwas much be er and there were

less people hanging around. Themorning light also made for goodpan ac on ash shots of the busydrivers moving the tuna around. Asthe morning auc ons progresses

you will start to see freshly caughtTuna and sail sh appearing. But theclock was against me so I made myway back though the outer marketslooking for repea ng pa ern shots of

sh, trucks and knives; in the manystalls there before I nally met upwith my colleagues and we boardedthe underground back to our hotel. There the others in our travellingparty rstly commented on thestrong odours emi ng from ourclothes and shoes and then moanedloudly that they had missed anexcellent photo opportunity, onethey will endeavour to shoot next

me they visited Tokyo. p

in spring me it was s ll dark un labout 7am so if you are looking forthose lovely nat geo style imagesof rows of steaming frozen tunawarming up in golden glow of themorning sun, go only in the summermonths. I peeled o from thetourists, found a quiet safe cornerin one of the sheds and took the

me to watch what was happeningall around me and then plan myshoo ng schedule. Its dark in therewith halogen and uorescent lightseverywhere so I was fortunate tobe using the newly launched Canon40D during this visit. I knew thatat 1600 or even 3200 ISO I wasntgoing to strike any banding or noiseproblems. Plan your shots carefully as it cansoon become a boring processionof images of long lines of tunaand nothing else. I watched as anauc on for tuna began. The sh areinspected by middlemen for the

Shots to look for: Look at the outer markets for shots of butchers carving those very expensivefrozen carcasses up for sushi. Thats a 2metre long sword they are using and

it so sharp with went through the frozen carcass like a hot knife throughbu er.

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Sometimes you just have to laugh and take the photo. This isnt an exercise in composition or colour it is just one of thos ephotos that make you go Hmmmmm! enjoy.

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Travelshooter on assignment: Cambodia

INSIDEp h o t o


Inside Assignment: Sports - fun in the sun

Deadlines: Ways to be crea vewhen nothing is

happening visually .

Skill Factor: Working to a shotcount

Date post:	09-Apr-2018
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