Heian Shrine Setsubun Burn, 2017: Lackluster Photos of a Visually-Exciting Event

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
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Chucking Another Onto the Fire

Heian Shrine (平安神宮)

Today was the Setsubun festival at the Heian Shrine (and many shrines around Japan).
I've written about the overall festival earlier, such as
“Setsubun and Mamemaki: Driving out the Demons”
nine years ago, and
“Attack (and Repulsion) of the Evil Spirits” five years ago.

Today I went only to watch the final bonfire event. I explain it in some detail in
“Intense Burn: Shinto Rite at the Heian Shrine” from nine years ago,
and so like this post from five years ago, this time are just some photos.

I wandered over to the shrine about half an hour before the fires were to start, only to find that they were almost done already! )-:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Scene When I Arrived

That was a bummer.

I broke out my Nikkor 300mm f/2 and started shooting as best I could without having done the prep I should have (camera settings, etc.). My photography mojo has gone downhill since cycling has taken my attention.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Grabbing Some Stacks









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
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One By One Into the Fire

(Again, what's going on during this festival is explained in this blog post.)

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Chanting








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I'm having the hardest time with the white balance for these shots. The scenes include any number of things that are
ostensibly “white”, such as parts of the red/white striped banners in the background, and the shirts/collars of the chanting priests,
but using them with Lightroom's white-balance tool yields wildly crazy results that are just all over the map.

On top of that, they feel washed out and dull, and the focus is off. I dunno. Gotta get my mojo back.

300mm seems to be a bit tight for this event. I used Lightroom to stitch together a few shots to make this:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1600 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
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Multi-Shot Stitch

not very “panorama” like when the source is 300mm

Check out the ripples in the upper-right corner:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

(close up from the previous shot)










Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1600 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Chanters








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Hot








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

From a Safe Distance









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ripply








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1250 sec, f/2, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

(close up from previous shot)

It was over pretty quickly, and that was that. I've got to use this lens more than once a year to get used to it.

While things were winding down, I chatted with a group of students on summer break from their university in Australia.
They posed for a photo:

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Kyoto for the Summer

(this chilly place is where they spend their summer?