Coming of Age Photography

Press Kit

Unique Properties

Coming of age day is a ceremony celebrated in Japan when they turn 20 years old, they are officially considered adults in the society and have more rights, responsibilities and liberties. It is a formal event held once in a lifetime which is held on every second Monday of January each year where girls wear Kimono's and boys wear suit and tie or a traditional men's kimono. It is also a spiritual event where many go to a Shrine to pray for health and prosperity.

Dimensions & Packaging

Nikon D4
1/100 sec f2.8
14mm
ISO 160

Tags

japan, culture, traditional, kimono, bamboo

Production Technology

Nikon D4 DSLR
AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED

Design Challenge

The most difficult part of this project was the crowd of tourists visiting the Bamboo garden. I had to make sure that no one was on the frame. Even then the background had people which had to be removed in the post production stage.

Project Duration

It was a day project starting and ending on 22 November 2015. The location was Hokokuji Temple, Kamakura, Japan

Operation Flow

I took a full day to do this shoot as there were many factors involved in this project like Hair and makeup, kimono fitting, traveling etc. One of the biggest challenge was the crowd. I spent a lot of time waiting for the people to pass and to clear the area and had to do post processing to remove unwanted objects from the frame later.

Research

Bamboo has a lot of significance in the Japanese culture relating to human character. Bamboo is hollow inside how a young adult should ideally be when they leave their teens: leaving behind all the negativity of the teen years behind and receive knowledge and wisdom for the growth, and find wisdom in emptiness. The hard body of the bamboo firmly sways with the wind with harmony which is a symbol of humility. It is also a very strong tree which survives in in the harshest climates from extreme winters to hot summers. These characteristics are important in human life.

Inspiration

The photo shoot was taken in a Temple called Hokokuji in Kamakura. I chose this location because of the Bamboo Garden inside the temple.
Bamboo is a very strong plant and it is a symbol of prosperity and it is also a symbol of purity and innocence and good luck in Japanese culture. Bamboo trees are the fastest growing plants in the world and it is important to the culture and tradition of Japan.

Image Credits

Ismail Niyaz Mohamed (Photographer)

Colors of Coming of Age Photography