First Tae Kwon Do’s recent grading examination in Perth saw eight members promoted to the rank of 1st Dan black belt. I only had a limited time to shoot at this event, but the first action photograph I decided to keep turned out to be the best. Below we see one of the candidates, a Junior Black Belt member, executing a jumping kick during free sparring.
Shooting with a telephoto lens somewhat limits the ability to take pictures that give a broader sense of the event, but when sparring partners line up, it’s easy to frame something suitable; the same strategy applies to tree-lined avenues, promenades, and other scenes where a long, straight visual pathway exists. In the picture below, Master Vernon Low writes notes at the examiner’s table as he assesses the candidates’ performances. Note the compression of perspective: the sparring partners within each column are at least a few metres away from each other, but appear to be much closer from this angle and with this focal length.
Destruction forms a key part of the 1st Dan grading, and below are pictures of two Junior Black Belt members executing breaking techniques.
Upon passing the 1st Dan grading, successful candidates receive their new 1st Dan black belts personally from Master Low. The three pictures below are just a few of those that I shot on the day. Even in these low-resolution versions, the shallow depth of field obtainable with a short telephoto lens (in this case, an 85 mm prime) is clearly visible. The effect would be stronger with a longer focal length. If you look carefully, you can see some image quality degradation due to the compression applied by WordPress (which I use to host this blog). The actual images that I produced have less compression applied, and the improvement in quality is noticeable to any trained eye.
In First Tae Kwon Do, successful candidates also receive a formal certificate of rank, and below we see one of the new 1st Dan members receiving her certificate from the Chief Instructor of Western Australia.
Naturally, there were several group portraits shot after the grading was over, and the one below shows Master Vernon Low, Chief Instructor John O’Brien, WA Chief Instructor Dane Meade, Branch Instructors (of the branches who had candidates promoted), and the eight new 1st Dan members.
Congratulations to all new 1st Dan members, who have worked hard over the years to make it to this stage in their martial art training.