Japan: Maiko in the shadow Photo

Photographer’s Note

"Copyright © – Attila Szili.
The reproduction, publication, modification, transmission or exploitation of any work contained herein for any use, personal or commercial, without my prior written permission is strictly prohibited. All rights reserved."

Taken in Kyoto in front of the entry of a garden, near the district of Gion.
Maiko are apprentice geisha (geiko in Kyoto)and with her white make-up and elaborate kimono and hairstyle, has become the stereotype of a "geisha" to westerners, rather than the true geisha. A woman entering the geisha community does not have to start out as a maiko, having the opportunity to begin her career as a full geisha. In fact, a woman above 21 is considered too old to be a maiko and becomes a full geisha upon her initiation into the geisha community. However, those who do go through the maiko stage enjoy more prestige later in their professional lives.
Maiko are easily recognised by their attire. The Obi and Kimono of a Maiko is brightly coloured and ornately decorated, the Kimono is of the Furisode style with long flapping sleeves that fall to the floor. The Obi of a Maiko is also much longer, and tied in an ornate style rather than the box knots common in the Obi of both Geisha and other Japanese women. The Obi is tied much higher on a Maiko.
Maiko also wear distinctive Okobo, large platformed wooden shoes, which taper to a smaller point on the sole. Okobo usually force a young Maiko to take very small steps, which is considered attractive.
Young girls may become Maiko at 16 and the apprenticeship is usually 5 years, and so at 21 she may become a fully fledged Geisha. Tokyo geisha generally do not follow the ritualized Kyoto maiko apprentice process. The training period can be only six months to a year, notably shorter than a Kyoto maiko, before debuting as a full geisha.

Atousa, alainh, delic, parbo, danos, josepmarin, dragonslayero, vinicio, Tue, Emile, lestans, Clementi, edytungkal, Henryk_Bilor, jhm, Cricri, paololg, alvaraalto, wishlist, AiresSantos, ocskaymarci, axiotea, Vato_Law, bostankorkulugu, charlotte_iona ha puntuado esta nota como útil.

Critiques | Translate

batalay (21074) 2008-05-10 20:24

Hello Attila,

A spectacular composition of the Maiko, augmented with an informative note. The colors are quite wondrous — from the young geisha kimona to the flowers in the background. First class shot, with a first class camera.

Wasrm regards,

Bulent

Atousa (3434) 2008-05-10 20:44

Salam Attila,
What a colourful shot! ..it reminded me of some Japanese paintings n movies..nice framing ..tfs

Regards, Atousa

SergeMtl (286) 2008-05-10 20:51

The background looks surprisingly processed, which I guess is an esthetic decision on your part. The woman looks almost cut and pasted against this backdrop. That being said, the composition is nonetheless very strong with perfect placement of the subject and a real sense of drama.
Serge

alainh (35379) 2008-05-10 21:55

Hello Attila
splendid composition. the colours and the frame are Top.
very nice .
a good sunday for you
alain

delic (6735) 2008-05-10 23:32

Hi Attila,
Love the composition and her shy pose which attaches a certain mood to the picture. Color in the back is a bit too bold for me if they are the result of post-processing. Regards,
Hakan

parbo (11000) 2008-05-11 0:20

Hi Attila,

Wonderful portrait of young Maiko and you perfectly caught her expression in colorful frame. Well contrasted colors and spectacular lights makes your photo a very good one with detailed note as usual. Congratulations.

Friendly Regards,

Ertugrul

danos (32812) 2008-05-11 0:57

Hello Attila,
nice shot from the far-away country.There are a little number of shots of TE members that exists from Japan.I like this capture for it's vivid colors and light.The appearance of the apprentice geisha is fascinating and in combination of your informative and useful note make your photo memorable.

Have a nice day,Danos

josepmarin (33861) 2008-05-11 3:21

Hi Attila,
It is a very interesting photo for the presence of this apprentice of geisha surrounded with a natural really splendid frame. The strong chromatism of the photo and its great light they have a magnificent graphical result, creating a very attractive composition at sight.
Excellent work, my friend.
Best regards,
Josep

jonathan_hart (22580) 2008-05-11 4:49

well done composition, great colours, a good subject with a wonderful BG
regards
jo

dragonslayero (3108) 2008-05-11 7:26

Hello Attila

Now this really is both a striking symbol of Japan and a striking composition.
I must say you have been lucky to capture this Maiko, I tried for several days now in May to find someone to photograph but luck was never on my side...

One more thing that I find very facinatiing about his photo is the great balance of colour in the photo. Not only does the frame enhance the presence of both the colours of the background and her magnificent Kimono, but it remains very subtle and gives a great balanec to the overall impression.
Thank you for sharing.

Odd Jarle

vinicio (22416) 2008-05-11 7:38

Bella foto, con colori e soggetto forti, lo sfondo sembra addirittura finto schiacciato dal teleobiettivo, non amo molto queste tradizioni ma indubbuamente hanno il loro fascino e importanza, a te i complimenti per la bella riuscita della foto.
Ciao
Vinicio

Tue (25608) 2008-05-11 8:55

Hi Attila,
A very good portrait of the maiko. The colours are really beautiful, vivid and appealing and are nicely brought out by the sunlight. Good composition too.
Regards,
Lars

Emile (20017) 2008-05-11 9:01

Hola Attila.
Magnificent portrait of the geisha with a colorful kimona. Very good way to capture this shot with the geisha in perfect definition and the blurred DOF. Your composition is great. Good colors and POV.
Well done. TFS.
Best regards.

lestans (15474) 2008-05-11 10:45

Ciao Attila!!
così sei arrivato anche in Giappone!! Complimenti sei irrefrenabile.
La foto è ottima, la ragazza è catturata in un elegante atteggiamento e mi piace lo sfondo delle azalee.
Nota interessante, complimenti!

Livia

Jakab (3472) 2008-05-11 11:37

Szia Attila!
Hát, nehéz eldöntenem, melyik a valószínűtlenebb, a kép vagy a jegyzet. Az ember olvas ezt-azt, de látni egy élő porcelánbabát napjainkban, egészen meghökkentő. Azt hiszem, a színorgia teljesen helyén való ehhez a témához. Belegondolva az előző képeidbe, azt kell mondjam, mégiscsak nagy ez a világ, ha ekkora különbségek elférnek benne.
Üdv
Laci

babakale (165) 2008-05-11 13:08

Very nice photo. Topic, colors and lights are all well composed. Congratulations!

But When I saw where places you went in your intro, I noticed. You have almos seen al over the earth but not Turkey yet:) So whne will you come to our nice contry Turkey:)

Best regards.

gilou530 (35422) 2008-05-11 13:27

salut attila
une photo pleine de sensibilité de cette geisha au regard absent au milieu d'un tel paysage, belle réalisationa
amitiés
gilbert

Gerrit (35937) 2008-05-11 15:47

Hi Attila,
excellent composition and fantastic colour composition. The flowers and thewhite face are great.
Regards, gerrit

manada (6237) 2008-05-11 17:12

Ciao Attila
è sempre un piacere gustarsi una tua foto e leggerne le curiosità.
La geisha ha una postura affascinante in un tripudio di colori molto belli, caldi.
Una compo molto curata, complimenti.
Hai letto del ns prossimo raduno il 6 luglio a Castelluccio? Vieni a fare un salto.

Ti auguro una buona settimana
Freddy

edytungkal (4519) 2008-05-11 22:54

Hello Attila friend,
A beautiful portrait to represent one of the interesting Japanese civilization, almost like a perfect painting and of course with beautiful colours. Well done and tfs :-)

daniel

izmirli (3223) 2008-05-11 23:11

merhaba dear attila
welcome my friend.
wonderful interesting picture.excellent model and colours.good composition.well done my friend.
best regards.
gürkan akçakır.

Graal (58267) 2008-05-11 23:53

Jó napot Attila,
unusual image, like as from good post-card. Beautiful colours and amazing portrait. Good note and Your work. I like it.
Gr., Aleksander

Henryk_Bilor (20367) 2008-05-12 0:55

Hi Attila
Beautiful picture. I like the scene and the great colours and depth of field.
Regards

jhm (82879) 2008-05-12 4:07

Hello Attila,

You placed your model very well to the right.
Also the hair decoration gives a excellent subject.
The light blurred background make the colours very attractive.
Very well done, thanks for sharing.

Best regard,
John.

Cricri (43304) 2008-05-12 4:17

Hi Attila,
Un joli pays que vous visiter...
Belle compositon avec la jeune geisha trés jolie dans son kimono de couleurs sur un joli fond printanier
Have a nice day for you
cricri

Clementi (44565) 2008-05-12 6:35

Ciao Attila ,
bellissimo ritratto dai colori perfetti e con una nitidezza direi eccelsa ,molto ben gestita la profodinta' di campo .
insomma un capolavoro
complimenti
Giorgio

vincz (19043) 2008-05-12 12:31

Incredible colours, Fantastic posture. i love what you did here. This is so unusual, so well done.

paololg (13895) 2008-05-12 15:42

Bellissima Attila, una stupenda testimonianza di questo Paese, tanto lontano da noi, ma sempre suggestivo, con le loro tradizioni millenarie e le loro importanti culture. Un lavoro fotografico eccellente, bravo.
Ciao
Paolo.

davide (1144) 2008-05-13 13:46

Hello Attila,
very great portrait of Maiko, and interesting & complete description. Very well done!
Regards,
Davide

toto (18731) 2008-05-13 16:48

Bonsoir,
belle photo de cette Geisha qui comme tout le monde le sait font tout a la perfection et sous certains rituel comme servire le thé.
Jolies couleurs et bonne netteté de ce portrait superbe que vous avez pris la.
Merci du partage.

Amitiés Thomas

alvaraalto (5245) 2008-05-14 13:03

Hi Attila,

Lovely colourful image of the traditional Japan. The expression of the geisha is remarkable and the out of focus background of the pink rhododendron? Very fitting.

Groet Rob

maximage (13490) 2008-05-16 1:05

Bonjour Attila,
Une belle compo typiquement japonnaise et originale. Les couleurs sont magnifiques et rutilantes.
Amitiés.
max

wishlist (4133) 2008-05-19 12:46

Ciao Attila,
spettacolare rappresentazione di questa esplosione di colori, accompagnata dalla modella perfettamente posizionata nel quadro. La nota e' dettagliatissima e completa in maniera esemplare un lavoro eccellente, come tuo solito.
Ciao e buona serata.

Igor

p.s: ad ottobre saro' ancora in Italia con la possibilita' di passare per spilimbergo..se sei nei paraggi si potrebbe organizzare un incontro con bevuta e mangiata annesse!! e magari coinvolgere ache altri TE members

Scharan (13955) 2008-05-20 21:18

Um cenário encantador Attila!
Cores e contrastes maravilhosos...parabéns pelo belo trabalho.
GA
Vera

AiresSantos (42440) 2008-05-25 23:26

Hi dear Attila
Amazing portrait with nice colours and POV. Excellent focus, DOF and imformative note
TFs and have a nice week
Aires

ocskaymarci (2508) 2008-05-27 13:55

Aa, szoval sikerult Neked is eljutnod Japanba! Ugy ecsodalatos hely?
...mint ahogy a keped is! :) Hihetetlenul jok a szinek, remek a kep melysege es a kompozicio is elso osztalyu! Erdekes a keretezes, Toled szokatlan, de jol mutat! ;)
Marci

axiotea (16171) 2008-06-16 12:23

Hello Atus
It looks like the Maiko is acting and I like very much here shy attitude...her traditional clothes, make up, the complicated hairstyle. She is well positioned allowing to enjoy the garden with its vivid colored flowers. I'll add this photo in my 'more fav.pic.2'theme. Thanks for the note as well!
Cheers
Marilyn

Vato_Law (11682) 2008-06-22 11:29

Hello Attila,
In the thumbnail it looks like a coloured paiting with this Geisha apprentice in its middle.
She has such a steady look that life seems not to be present in her body.
The patch of colours of this photo is amazing.
Cheers.
Paulo

bostankorkulugu (33714) 2008-06-29 14:11

...and this one... like the pics on one of those calendars of fuji film:)... beautiful portrait in vivid colours, so cool attila...

korkut

Photo Information

Copyright: Attila Szili (atus) (15476)
Genre: Gente
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2008-04-29
Categories: Vida cotidiana, Momento Irrepetible
Camera: Nikon D80, Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G ED AF-S VR, Hoya 72mm SuperHMC Pro 1 UV
Exposición: f/5.6, 1/400 segundos
More Photo Info: view
Versión de la foto: Versión original
Tema(s): More favorites 2 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2008-05-10 20:05
Favoritos: 1 [Ver]