Regional festival

[Akira]

From Tsukiji, Tokyo.  I like the immersing effect of a fiseye.

_1020757 by Akira, on Flickr

[armando_m]

great shot, so... what color were you dressed on red or blue?

[Olivier]

It looks like it is a joyful event. Can you elaborate on the meaning?

[Frank Fremerey]

Yes. What is the cause? What are the rules?

[Akira]

Thank you, Armando, Olivier and Frank!

I changed the title from "Local" to "Regional" because it is more appropriate.

The regional festivals are fairly common among many communities throughout Japan, are based on the Shintoism and are held mostly between May and September.  The people carries a sacred palanquin which is owned by each regional community, which can be seen at virtually all festivals held by the communities in Japan.

The numen or divinity who lives in the region usually rests in the temple, but at one time in the festival, the numen moves into the sacred palanquin to parade through the region or the community.

Tsukiji in Tokyo is famous for the fish market, and the numen there is for the safety of fishing.  Its Temple is called "Namiyoke Jinja".  "Namiyoke" means to protect the fishers from the (big) wave, and "Jinja", temple.

I was just a passer-by, and thus didn't participate in the festival.  Fortunately I had a Samyang 7.5mm fisheye on Panasonic GF5, a small and fun combo.

[Anthony]

Great - you make me feel as if I am right in there!

[David Paterson]

Great image - reminds me of the only time I have been at a typical festival in Japan - Sanjamatsuri, in Asakusa (in January 1975!!).

[Mikes]

I missed this one. Immersive indeed - great idea to use the fisheye. Excellent.

I wondered what these festivals were about - thanks for the explanation.

[Akira]

Anthony, Dave and Mike, thank you for kind comments.

I wasn't sure how long my interest in the fisheye would last, but it tuned out to be much longer than I had expected, which is a pleasant surprise!  My Samyang 7.5mm fisheye is virtually glued to my Panasonic GF5 for more than a year.

Good thing about Samyang is its unusual optical design.  The stereographic fisheye doesn't compress the image in the peripherals as much as the equidistant fisheye which is more common among the camera lenses.  So, the peopole in all image areas are rendered pretty much properly, which makes the lens more suitable for snapshots.

[Gary]

I like this shot. Your image makes me wish I was there. I have the Rokinon/Samyang 8mm fish. Like yourself, I found the lens to be a lot less fishy than other fisheyes. 

[Akira]

Hi, Gary, thanks for stopping by and commenting.

Apparently all Samyang fisheyes are of the stereographic type.

[Gary]

I do appreciate your expertise with the lens, if I had taken the shot, you'd see my feet at the bottom of the image.

[Akira]

Gary, it will take more time to develop my "expertice" with the lens.  My feet may be covered by the people. 

[Erik Lund]

Great shot! good colors and PP.

Shooting a 16mm on DX crop camera makes for a less fishi look and even more pleasing for the look of people in the corners, or use a TC with it on FX cameras.

[Akira]

Erik, thanks for kind comments!

A 16mm fish on an APS-C sensor or the one combined with a TC will surely milden the fishy look, but the angle of view is significantly narrowed.  Also, the atmosphere and the immersive feel that a fisheye is capable of capture will be less in effect.

One wins, another loses...