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Photo Breakdown #7 with Scott Wyden Kivowitz – Part 2

Hi, it’s your host Scott Wyden Kivowitz back with another episode sharing the story behind one of my favorite photographs in my collection. This photograph is 1 of 20,000 photographs I made for a client (and then Karate instructor) for a book that was published.

See the photo from this episode here.

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Transcription was done by Descript or Rev’s automated transcription services which means it’s an AI-generated transcript. The transcript may contain spelling, grammar, and other errors, and is not a substitute for listening to the episode.

This is going to be a special episode of photo breakdown. Photo breakdown is a podcast where I talk with the photographer, sharing the story of a specific photograph technique or business when I’m your host, Scott Wyden Kivowitz and this is the photo breakdown. Let’s break it down. I don’t have a guest today.

This is just me. Your host, Scott Wyden giveaways. And I am talking about a flood. That is from a series a that I did years ago on my personal blog at scottwyden.com. And this photo is actually part of a series that I did for a client, a client at the time. Now this client went on to being one of my instructors.

Here’s what I mean. So years ago when I was dating my now wife, before we were married. I was asked by my now father-in-law to, to photograph some karate stuff that was going on some events and some tests and things like that. And over time, I got to know everybody in the, in the karate school, the instructors, and they kept asking me, what am I going to join?

What am I going to join now at the time I mentally with. Ready for joining karate. Now, if you know me, if you follow me over the years, you know that I am currently a purple belt at a karate school here in New Jersey, and it’s a very traditional martial arts. It’s a Goju Ru style school. Very true. It’s not TaeKwonDo.

It’s not MMA. It’s not BJJ. It’s extremely, extremely traditional. And, and really everything that we do goes back to the beginnings of and in Japan, and even trace back to China. Right. So, if you ever watched karate kid and you offer, you’re aware of. The school that I’m a student at is based on the style that it actual person named Miyagi, you know, started teaching many, many, many years ago.

So, Mr. Miyagi is actually based on a real karate master named. Okay, children, Miyagi to be exact, before we dive in, in this episode is sponsored by my lead generation course for photographers called more leads more clients. Yes. If you would like to increase the leads you’re generating on your photography site, you can use the strategies I teach in my course.

Access it at Scott widen.com/leads.

Here’s a story. Here’s a story. The photo that we’re talking about right now is two people. These are two instructors of mine, and at the time they were not my instructors, as I just said. But it’s a photo of one instructor. One of the guys is on the right side. In a sort of what’s called stance.

He’s in a ready stance for a fight. And the guy in the left is in the air doing a flying psychic. Okay. So here is what is going on. I did all these photos, these, these photo sessions, I photograph tests. As I mentioned, I photograph some other special events. And then the patriarch of the school who sadly this past year during the pandemic, not from the virus, but the patriarch of the school who started our school in the seventies passed away.

But he years ago he asked me to eventually photograph all the photos for the book. Second book, he was. So he became a paid client of mine. He hired me to photograph hundreds and hundreds of photos. I think there was 20,000 photos in the end that we then had a coal through and pick the 700 out of, for the various pages of his book.

And so, we did that and this photo is actually one of those photos that wound up being in the book. And of course, it’s talking about the flying sidekick. And how to do it and things like that. But here’s the interesting thing. So two people did this flying psychic in photos, the person you see in this photo, his name he’s a Ranchi is there is his rank.

So he, we actually call him by Ranchi and his last name. And she on is actually on the right. And he’s the one who owns our school now and also rent. Shianne is another rink and she own is actually right above a wrenching. With that said another instructor who goes by the rank of Kiyoshi he was doing it and he was unhappy with his stance.

No, I say stance. But he’s actually in the air, so he’s not standing, he’s not standing. So, he was unhappy with how he looked. I looked the stance in the air for his flying side. So we didn’t, that did not get used in the book. I mean, of course I’ve shared it. I’ve shared it. I’ve showed it to people.

It’s fantastic. If you don’t know the intricacies of where your foot’s supposed to be and how much, how bent your knees and where your fists are supposed to be and how your foot supposed to be on an angle. If you don’t know all that, it looks perfect. But if you are someone who’s deep into martial arts deep into this specific style, then you know, it’s not correct.

So he did not want it shared. So it was not picked for the book. Instead, the photo that you see here was actually picked for the book and now wrenching the guy who’s in the air is very short. I think he’s. Just about five feet tall, somewhere around there. The low fives where she on is more, my height is about five nine or so.

And so, so rentees actually, you can tell wrench is way above Sheehan, right? Wrench is higher. And the way that we had accomplished this, first of all, I’m actually at borrowed. I think it was at the time a Nikon D five. Or a D six. I can’t remember exactly which camera has the double-check, but it’s one of those larger high speed Nikon bodies.

And I use my 24 to 72, 8 lens. And but I borrowed the body. And so I was basically rapid firing and I had strobes that I had pretty low power so that I can get faster speeds out of, and basically I was photographing. Click click, click, click, click, click, click, click, rapid fire with the strobes to get him perfectly still.

That was what we needed for the book. So, and you can imagine 20,000 photos give or take all like this. A lot of strobes, a lot of frames. Sometimes they came out black because the strobe wasn’t fast enough for the camera, but it was what it was. And I was tethered by the way, a hundred percent of the time tethered to a MacBook pro.

So. This photo came out the way he, we did this is instead of him, him running towards Sheehan and then jumping up and actually kicking him, which we didn’t want anybody getting hurt. This was on a, on a hard slab. We just throw down, you know, photo background and stuff like that. Background, paper, Savage paper on the floor.

Instead we had him, you know, do sort of like a Superman. And then get into the stance in the air. So he’s not jumping and leaping towards Sheehan. He’s actually jumping straight up, getting into that stance in the air and then landing back on his feet. So it wasn’t a forward momentum. It was an up that’s it momentum.

So it looked like he’s flying towards him. He’s really not. And that’s the magic of photography and stills and using strobes and really having someone super athletic, very flexible and really. Talented at doing exactly what you see in this photo. So it was completely stage. It’s not a real fight. It was for a book.

If you want to see that you can, of course go to photo breakdown.com, click on the show notes, show notes. For this episode, I will link to this photo in that, in the show notes. And if you want, I even have a free ebook that actually has even more photographs from the series. And actually some words written by the patriarch of the school.

So, and again, originally I was there photographing different things for as a, as a, as a courtesy to be nice to my father-in-law. And then eventually the patriarch of the school became my client and I did a whole bunch of brand sessions for him and things like that. I did this book for him that took like a, a long time.

I think it was like six full day sessions total. And and then eventually I joined the school as a student. So. He, he is always referred to me as the black belt of karate when he’s a 10th degree who was, again, sadly he passed, but he, I think he was a 10th degree or something like that. Black belt.

So anyway if you want the free book it’s available as well it’s called when photography and karate merge. It’s a variety of photographs from over the years. And also some, some of my words and some of his words together, talk about how karate and photography sort of are connected in many ways.

So with that said, thank you for listening to this special episode of photo breakdown. Again, if you’d like to see this photo that I’m talking about, that I shared the story about go to photo breakdown.com. Be sure to subscribe to the show it’s available on Spotify, on Google podcasts, on apple podcasts.

Of course it’s available on anchor and you can always subscribe by email also at photo breakdown dot. And of course, if you’d like to be a guest, just scroll to the bottom of foot of breakdown.com and you can learn all about how to become a guest on the show and share the story of one of your photographs.

Thank you again for listening and we’ll see you. Well, you’ll I guess you’ll hear me and my guest in the next episode.

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The Workflows Photography Podcast

Workflows is a photography podcast about saving you time and money in your photography business. Tune in to hear stories, strategies, and tools that can be your rock.

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Ever wondered what photographers really think about the latest gear, trends, and the stories behind their favorite shots? Photo Breakdown takes you behind the lens and into the minds of today’s top photographers, offering bite-sized episodes packed with insider insights, gear debates, and industry buzz.

Comments

15 responses to “Photo Breakdown #7 with Scott Wyden Kivowitz – Part 2”

  1. Gray Sasha Avatar
    Gray Sasha

    OMG this is amazin! love the history behind the photo. Can’t wait to see more!

  2. I found the behind-the-scenes process of capturing that moment captivating. It highlights the meticulous nature of photography and the beauty of staged action.

  3. Roberts Isabella Avatar
    Roberts Isabella

    I love photo breakdown! Scott always tell the best stories. Karate sounds so interesting.

    1. Oedwards Avatar
      Oedwards

      Yes yes! Scott makes photography so fun. I want to join karate too!

    2. Kyle07 Avatar

      Totally agree with you, Isabella! Scott is the best!

  4. This episode brilliantly showcases how technical skill in photography can be paired with physical artistry in martial arts. A true testament to creativity!

  5. Evans Andy Avatar

    Wow! this story is so cool. Karate is awesome and photography!

  6. Vanessa White Avatar
    Vanessa White

    This is so neat! Never knew about the real Miyagi. Scott’s stories are always so cool!

  7. Charlotte99 Avatar
    Charlotte99

    Great episode! Karate and photo is interesting. Scott is nice guy!

  8. Tobias Avatar

    ‘When photography and karate merge’ is such a profound concept! It illustrates the harmony between two disciplines that require precision and dedication.

    1. (…) such a unique perspective on an art form that often goes unnoticed in the context of martial arts!

    2. ‘Precision’ indeed! This podcast serves as a reminder that every frame tells a story, especially when combined with personal narratives.

  9. Scott’s insights into the intersection of photography and martial arts are truly enlightening. His storytelling brings an artistic depth to each photograph.

    1. Delilah Avatar

      I agree, Kayla! It’s fascinating how his passion for karate complements his photography skills.

    2. Holden Avatar

      Absolutely! The way he connects personal experiences with professional achievements is inspiring.

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