A trip around Shikoku

October 12, 2020 / Shikoku

Photographer / Takashi Sato

This time, I went to Shikoku to attend a photo exhibition held at Gallery Okita in Kagawa Prefecture and to meet members of the local photography club Photo Sho. I wanted to take pictures of the four prefectures of Shikoku efficiently during my stay.

On my first morning in Shikoku, I headed for Suiha Plateau. It is a famous spot for cosmos flowers, but when I arrived and checked, they were not in bloom, probably because they had been cut. It was cloudy even when I went down to the lower reaches that day, so I decided not to rush and stay near the top of the mountain in the deep fog. I took pictures of the red pine forest from a distance using a telephoto lens to achieve a compression effect. By moving away from the trees, the image becomes simple and organized. A strong wind sometimes blew. I placed the tripod's legs firmly on the ground, placed the camera on the head, and tightened the knob to ensure a blur-free shot.

I drove up to Mt. Shippo on a narrow forest road. There was an open area on the way and the view was clear, but after a little while there was no place to stop or make a U-turn, so I ended up going all the way to the top and turning back, and I missed the sunrise, and the morning sun was already shining on the earth. At times like this, I calmed down. Don't think about unnecessary things like if I had arrived earlier. Concentrate on the scenery in front of you.

I pulled out the tripod, attached the camera to the head, and took the first shot in less than 10 seconds. The light changes, so I changed the camera angle while taking pictures. I carried the camera on the tripod on my shoulder and ran down the road to take a picture from a different place in a different direction. I ran back and took another picture. I was lucky to have a shower of light from the sky. I had wanted to take a picture of the reservoir scenery of the Sanuki Plain from this mountain for a long time. The camera can be attached to the tripod head quickly, and even if you run with the camera attached there is no need to worry about it falling off, making it an incredibly mobile tripod head.

I decided to sleep in my car at the shooting location for the next morning's shoot. After eating dinner and going to bed for the next day, I noticed the night fog. I quickly grabbed my tripod and camera and started shooting. I'm used to fixing the camera to the quick shoe even in pitch black. Simply put, you can attach the camera to the tripod head with one turn of a knob, and fix the angle you've set with one turn of another knob, so it's easy to do even in the dark. I carefully focused the camera. Since you can't narrow the aperture when shooting night scenes, you need to concentrate the most on focusing. Even so, it probably took less than a minute to take the first shot. I was lucky that it wasn't pitch black, but there was moonlight, which made the fog stand out.

As I drove and arrived at Tachiwari Rice Terraces, I saw some beautifully shaped clouds floating in the sky. Before stopping the car to take a picture, I checked the clouds above and saw that a large cloud was hiding the sun and casting a shadow on the rice terraces at any moment. Also, I didn't know when the beautiful cloud shape would be ruined. It seemed I had to hurry to take the picture. Even at times like this, it was better to minimize the steps required to take the picture. I set up my tripod and started shooting right away. That's right, I always leave my tripod extended in the car. Because I know how important it is to be able to load the camera immediately.

One of the advantages of Markins heads is that they are lightweight and compact. Another advantage is the quick shooting speed that comes from their easy-to-use functions. Being able to take a picture quickly is important in photography. On the other hand, it is also an advantage on the shooting site that you can quickly remove the camera from the head and switch to handheld shooting while waiting to shoot.

Takashi Sato

Born in Fukui Prefecture in 1963, currently living in Toda City, Saitama Prefecture. Spent his childhood in Peru, South America. After graduating from Tokyo College of Photography in 1984, he studied under mountain photographer Takehide Kazami. Became a freelancer in 1990. He continues to photograph rural areas and nature in all 47 prefectures, and has made Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, and Minuma rice fields, Saitama Prefecture, his life's work. In recent years, he has been creating works with the theme of nostalgic and comforting Japanese landscapes. He mainly publishes his works in magazines, trade journals, calendars, etc., and judges photo contests and gives lectures at events. He also runs a photography workshop called "Sato Hotto" in his hometown of Minuma rice fields, Saitama Prefecture. Member of the Japan Landscape Photographers Association
FUJIFILM Academy X lecturer
Guiding member of the Japan Student Photography Club Federation