12 Fireworks Photos from the Kyuzo Toyama Matsuri in Kin Town

Away from Festival Grounds

Kyuzo Toyama is considered the father of Okinawan emigration.

Kin Town is celebrating the 150th year of his birth during this annual festival.

Grounded by doctor's orders and heavily medicated, I didn't attend the matsuri.

Having been to this festival dozens of times, I came up with a plan. Stay home.

Under orders, to not leave the house, I simply went up on the roof.

Normally, the bursts of fire would appear off to the west of my position.

This year the wind decided to carry the show off towards the north.

Having the camera and zoom lens mounted on a sturdy tripod made things simple.

It was easy to swing the contraptions around and capture a few good shots.

The camera was taken off Auto Focus and, I focus to infinity.

That way the lens won't be continually searching in the dark for fireworks.

Starting things off, I use an exposure of f/11 1/60 ISO 100.

Hanabi can be tricky and you learn to adjust the shutter speed, quickly.

Some photos were exposed 0.3 seconds, others to 1.6 seconds. I go with the flow.

There are advantages to being up on a roof shooting festival fireworks.

Number One: Nobody can walk in front of the camera and ruin your shot!

My method of shooting is, use continuous firing mode or rapid fire.

That means, I hold the shutter button down and fire bursts of 3 or 4 images at a time.

Everyone has their own preferences for fireworks photography. That's mine.

If, you Google "Fireworks Photography" there are probably a dozen other ways of doing it.

A tripod makes things a lot easier and eliminates camera shake somewhat.

But, I have also steadied the camera resting on a fence, wall, or rock and, done just as well.

An advantage I discovered this time around, to being farther away pleased me.

The wind seemed to clear the smoke surrounding the fireworks, more quickly.

Smoke can ruin some great shots when it clouds-up images.

Hanabi, translated to English, would mean, flower fire. What flower is this?

Maybe a dandelion or one of those weeds growing on your lawn?

Grand Finale

The Mad Moment, when all Hell breaks loose gave me flashbacks.

They must say, "Times up" and load everything they've got in their mortar tubes.

Not very pretty but, this photo shows some buildings silhouetted in the foreground.

I could email you a digital copy for only 5 bucks! 

Google Maps Directions

Psychedelic at the Festival - Just One Photo

Mind Twisting Drugs

This won't be a long story, I promise. The doctor gave me these drugs.

For the second night, in a row, I went and shot photos at the Kin Matsuri.

Saturday, I took one of these pills, slept for 3 hours and, went to work.

They said, "Don't operate any machinery, until you feel used to the stuff."

That's why, I took a long nap.  A camera, on a tripod isn't really all that heavy.

At the matsuri,  I tried avoiding beer because, I wasn't sure it would be a good idea.

Eventually, I caved and, tossed a few before the fireworks even got started.

  

Then, shot a bunch of fireworks and, went out drinking beers until 2 AM.

Skipping the nighttime dosage, I slept fairly well. 

Next morning, I did an internet search on Lyrica, the pain killer, they gave me.

Oops. You shouldn't consume alcohol or, only drink in moderation if, you have to.

Well, moderation, to me, would be, no more that 20 and no less than 17 beers.

Just kidding. Taking the dosage the pretty doctor, put me on, I won't be drinking at all.

Pain killers and I, don't exactly, get along with each other, I told the doctor.

Why in hell, anybody would want their brain numbed beats me.

Figure out, what's causing the pain and, fix it. Numskulls.

Anything stronger than Aspirin, is too much, for me. Beer can make me numb.

With two women in the room (wife and doctor) telling me, I need these drugs, I groaned.

There's no sense getting in an argument with experts, who know everything about anything.

So, I'm taking this medicine for the next two weeks. I had to make a promise.

No heavy lifting. Can't lift a cement block, over my head 150 times a day.

That would be dangerous, with a numb skull and psychedelics on your mind.

One hundred and fifty push-ups, a day, doesn't sound too bad, though.

Processing Fireworks Images

All hopped-up on medicines, I'm going through about 300 photo files, for developing.

The bright light and colors was really getting to me, today. Dizzying.

Every 20 minutes or so, I went outside for a break and, a smoke, usually.

Do ten push-ups for each cigarette, you smoke and, it adds up to 150, quickly.

Without cleaning-up the images, I put 50 or more, in a Facebook album.

This one, had some editing done, to remove the smoke, trailing behind the explosion.

Some psychedelic GIF animations, could be in the making, at a later date.

For now, I'm limiting my work, to things which are simple and enjoyable.

Some reporter, wanting to interview me, had to be told, to go find someone else.

A guy, like me, might say something offensive, when taking mind-bending drugs.

We, wouldn't want that to happen, would we ?

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 18-250 at 18 MM

Exposure: f/11   1/sec  ISO 100

Location: Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time: OCT 10 2017   8:58 PM  

Almost Missed Fireworks at Kin Matsuri

Thanks to an Alert Granddaughter

The sun was still blazing hot when I arrived at the Kin Town Matsuri.

Placing the tripod and camera under a food counter, I did some serious BBQ eating.

The only photos I planned on shooting, would be the fireworks.

Some friends, hanging around the festival food booths, were drinking beer.

Some medications, I'm taking gave me an excuse to, not join them, enjoying the booze.

Along came the Mayor and, he wanted to chat, meet my friends and, drink beers together.

The next thing, you know, everybody's buying beers and doing cheers.

That was my excuse, to partake in a little bit of beer drinking. Not to insult the Mayor.

The Mayor, doesn't speak much English and the gang, didn't speak Japanese.

Even though, I'm not an official translator, I had to do some simple translating.

Like, introducing people and, telling the Mayor their ages and occupations.

Maybe, stuff like, "Wow. She's got nice jeans." When some gal walked by.

Other than that, everybody kept buying, each other, cups of beer and saying, "Kampai."

That's what folks do, when drinking and making toasts in Japan.

The Mayor, floated away in the festival crowds so, we kept drinking beers without him.

Along came a granddaughter, who knows, I have a camera, for the festival, somewhere.

She asked if, grandpa remembers, why he came to this festival.

"I came to shoot the hanabi (fireworks), I told her."

"Where's your camera, Grandpa?"

"Over there, under the counter."

"Hurry up and get ready."

"Why" I said, "The hanabi don't start, until 8:45."

"She came back with, "Grandpa, it's 8:40 now!"

Holy crap. I had to slam my cup of beer and run to get the camera set up.

These shots were taken between 9:00 and 9:02 PM, the last few minutes of the fireworks.

More Photos on Facebook in the Kin Town Matsuri 2017

Fireworks and Festival Goers

Before the Illuminations Kickoff

It's a good idea, to start searching for a good point for low light photography.

To capture fireworks (correctly) the camera has to be held steady.

Having left the tripod behind, I was going to use an alternate method of shooting.

Twenty minutes of circling the grounds, helped me decide where I'd set up for the explosives.

Some rock and roll band was playing, their last few tunes and, I got an idea.

Instead of shooting the performers, I'd capture images of the crowd, watching them.

They don't hold still, for very long. Do they ?

In the lower right of the frame, are the Orion Beer lanterns hanging from festival tents.

In Japan, they call these "Hanabi" meaning "Fire flower." OK maybe. I guess.

It seems like, I'm far away from the festival grounds, when you look at these images.

Actually, I was just outside the crowd, using a wide angle lens.

Something tells me, there will be a much livelier display of pyrotechnics tonight.

It's the closing ceremony for this matsuri and, a very popular band is playing.

 

That means, I better take the tripod along and, do it right.

It's not a good idea, to sit on your fanny with elbows on your knees for firework photography.

Especially if, the weatherman's prediction comes true. Rain this evening ?

Clowning Around with Animations

They Aren't Really Clowns

 

 

The two characters dancing in this seen are called chondara or, gajan-gani.

Sort of comical, they play an important role in Eisa dancing.

 Chasing mosquitoes away, making folks laugh and passing around drinks is hard work.

So, I thought it would be nice, to make a GIF of the energetic characters.

Another GIF at the Closing of the Festival

 

 Watching Eisa and, trying to get images of each group, can be lots of fun.

Hopefully, no team was missed and, I'll be processing photos throughout this week.

Shooting hanabi (fireworks) like this was, a first, for me.

No tripod was used.  Sitting on a rock, I propped the camera steady on my knees.

Continuous shooting mode was used to take the 6 photos in this animation.

The clowning around part -- I wasn't sure a GIF could be created with the images.

It worked alright.  Now, it's time for me to go clown around somewhere out of this office !

2015 Went Out with a Bang

Welcome 2016

 

 

The past few days have been hectic around here so, not a lot of photos get developed.

The 2016 files have been opened and 2015's will soon become history.

 Tonight, I post just a few photos depicting the transition into the New Year.

The celebrations around this part of the world, continue into next week.  And, I gotta go.

Shortly after 10PM on New Year's Eve this photo was taken, at the Temple in Kin Town.

A mother and daughter, stand silhouetted before, approaching the altar.

To me and, lots of other folks, it is a picture worth a thousand words.

Only, I don't like writing so, somebody else, can do it !

 In a parking lot, across the street from the temple, food tents were set up.

My travels, to climb an observation tower, took me past here at 10:20PM.

The best time, to shoot this image, would be now, before the crowds showed up.

Every kind of festival food imaginable, was being prepared.

Chicken and barbecued pork  were sizzling on charcoal grills and, I was tempted to stop.

But, I growled back at my stomach because, me and the camera, had work to do.

 Eleven minutes after midnight, I passed by the temple, again.

There were so many people, in line, you couldn't see the temple or, altar.

This image was taken, with me standing in front of the food tent, across the street.

The line of people, waiting to enter the shrine, extended outside the entrance gate.

It went all the way down the street and wrapped around the next corner.

Cold and hungry, I decided religious stuff could wait; I wasn't standing in that line.

Other spirits were waiting for me, to put the camera away.

So, after sobering up, I went back to the temple, New Year's Day.

Before noon, I did all my holy stuff and, got my fortune for the year then, went back to work.

There's a crazy little ritual, we do around here, which makes me have to close the office early.

It only happens, once a year, a bunch of us start celebrating in the bars.

When the clock strikes midnight on January 1st, everybody wishes me a:

Happy Birthday !

2016 Happy New Year from Okinawa !

Fireworks Look About an Hour Away

 

 

The reason for that is, they were and, I didn't feel like having anyone drive me there.

In the right side of this photo frame is the Kin Town Electric Power Plant smokestack.  

Way over on the left, you can barely see the pyrotechnics.

The photo was taken from an observation tower, a 10 minute walk from my office. 

The celebration with fireworks, took place along Kaichu-doro in Uruma City.

That's a causeway, leading to outer islands on Okinawa's east coast.

It was fun, hanging around atop a windy tower to take some photos.

But, next year, I think I should go to a five star resort for the New Year's  fireworks.

Not many people climb towers in December, around here.

I'll bet you ten dollars, a lot more people with common sense, go to those resort hotels !

Camera:  Pentax K3

Lens:  Sigma 50-500 at 70MM

Exposure:  f/11   13sec   ISO 100

Location:  Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  DEC 31 2015  11:48PM

Travel Photo: Kin Kannon-do Temple New Year's Eve

Crowds Will Arrive Soon

 

 

Out scouting a location for tonight's New Year's fireworks, this photo was taken.

The pyrotechnic display will take place in another location, far  from here.

If all goes well tomorrow, I'll have some images of fireworks, reflecting over the ocean.

The event, I'll be shooting from an observation tower and, it starts at 11:50PM.

So, I will miss the celebration, downtown, when the clock strikes 12.

Heading back to the office, I'll pass by this temple, again.

If it's not too crowded, I might pop in,  pay my respects and, get my 2016 fortune.

 Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Sigma 50-500 with 1.4 converter -- Focal Length: 193MM

Exposure: f/8   1/15   ISO 200

Location: Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  DEC 31 2015  4:32PM

More About Kin Kannon-do:

CNN Travel

Kin nisshu-do

A Whirlwind Tour of Kin Temple

Beauty at the Kin Town Matsuri 2015

Yukata Contest

 

 

There were 9 contestants in this yukata (summer kimono) contest.

Some folks go to the festival, just to  see this event and, cheer on their favorite gal.

 It isn't supposed to be a beauty contest so, I won't tell you which beauty won.

At festivals, I try to capture a little bit of all the activities.

These inflated thingamajigs seemed to be the most popular activities for kids.

It reminded me of Disneyland, seeing the long lines of children, waiting to get in to them.

The young taiko drummers put on the most excellent show.

They got the crowd rocking and, earth shaking with their energetic drumbeats. 

The weather was beautiful, too, considering a typhoon just passed the island the day before.

Fashion shows, festival foods, fun and games for  kids; they're all great.

The fireworks (hanabi) is what, I go to festivals to see.

Maybe it's true, beauty is in the eye of the beholder !

Travel Photos: Unexpected Fireworks

An hour after the festival fireworks were supposed to happen, I was walking home.

All of a sudden, things started taking off so, I set the tripods up along the side of the street.

 And, managed to catch enough shots for this animation.

That way, the rest of the people who left when it started to rain can watch the display, now.

The hanabi display ended the 36th Kin Town Matsuri.

Animations from an Event Behind My House

Wonderful and Whacky

 

 

Fireworks and festivals take place somewhere on the island, every weekend these days.

Instead of traveling miles and miles to see them, I stayed close to home.

The parking lot for this preschool is directly behind my house.

So, there wasn't going to be too much wear and tear on the yellow flip-flops.

It didn't take over two minutes to get to this event.

The little boys and girls get to dance in their summer pajamas.

Music being cranked out of loudspeakers gets the kids dancing.

It sounded like some Japanese version of Pop Goes the Weasel.

The more mature young ladies, got to wear yukatta or, summer kimonos.

Some of the songs sounded like Mickey Mouse and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

Parents and teachers got involved in some sort of relay race.

It was hilarious watching some of the stuff they had to do in the competition.

They raced around the stage on toy scooters and with tennis rackets.

There was one part where they ran with a volleyball stuck in their crotch.

nd, an event where they blew up a balloon while running around the stage.

Then, they had to bust it with their fanny, at the end !

From the north district of Kin, came the Nakagawa Eisa Group.

And, I'd rather watch them perform than, see fireworks, anywhere.

That's because, one of them happens to be an 18 year old sweetheart, of mine !

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Never Ending Matsuri Season

 

 

It seems like there are too many activities going on to keep tract of, during the summer months.

 In a rush today, preparing for this weekend's nightly events, I discovered something.

A pile of photos from this time, last year, had never been developed.

So, I thought it would be a good idea to show them and explain the rational behind the shots.

Smart photographers, are on the scene, way before the fireworks begin.

The woman, silhouetted in the lower right, of this image, was shooting the setting sun.

Yours truly, got back a little farther and included the moon, in a wide angle composition.

Then, zoomed in to give you a better view.

With, about an hour to kill, before showtime, I decided to take a hike.

The plan was, to get far enough away, to catch fireworks reflecting over water.

The technique, I used, could use some improvement and, I'm working on it this year.

Now, I'm wondering, how that girl in the silhouette (with no tripod) made out !

Related Post: Fireworks Photo: Ogimi Okinawa Japan