On Tue, Oct 06, 2009 at 06:02:03AM -0700, Theodore Beilby wrote: > My opinion, the first shot really it. I realize that it doesn't show much > action, but to me, it is right visually. I like the composition of the > background. > > Ted Beilby
Thanks a bunch for noticing. That is one of the shots that I took with the aim of photographic composition rather than capturing action. I wanted to capture the picture of O Sensei (the founder of Aikido), the calligraphy and the students. I had to position myself carefully so that I wouldn't get too much reflection on the portrait or the calligraphy. After that, it was a case of waiting for the action to happen in a place fortuitous to the composition. And, yes Boris, knowing how to take a fall is critical. It's pretty much the first thing you learn, and something you practice as much, or more than throwing. It's also the one part of Aikido that I've ever really needed. Years ago, I had a get-off where I parted company with my motorcycle at probably 40-50 MPH. A few months later the guy that was in the car in front of me recognized me at a trade show. He watched the incident in the mirror. Traffic had suddenly come to a stop. I hit the brakes, the front end went out from under the bike and I was launched six or eight feet in the air. He said that the roll I did was very impressive. lrc -- The first step is learning to take great photos, the second step is learning to throw away ones that are merely good. Larry Colen [email protected] http://www.red4est.com/lrc -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
