https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmQsa5Zf1ZHWbt9cN5zfDyJUyx6vF9qHS3mqemNHTh4oru/DA5C85CC-2ADF-4E86-AE0F-16C2087675E7.png
My Wu Xing Dao Kung Fu school is getting their website revamped and were in need for new photographs, so I decided to dust my old camera gear and help them out. This is the third photo session with Grant Mundy our master and some of the brothers and sisters in arms doing some Qi Gong by the sea in Terrigal Haven.
Firstly, I wanted to do some shots of Grant doing some martial arts poses on the rocky platform at sunrise. The day before, I went to the location to scout out spots where I'd like Grant to stand, this would save us some times on the actual day. Bad luck, on the shoot day, the weather completely changed and the sea was angry and we almost lost our gear to a freak wave that sent a lot of water which went sliding on top of the rock platform. It was impressive as that platform is very large. Luckily, I managed to save my camera equipment from the salt water but we got some of the swords submerged, no loss though. After choosing another spot in a safe area, I started setting the flashguns on their lightstand and colored them with a CTO (orange) gel. This would give some color contrast with the blueish sunrise sky. Another unlucky thing is the sky was totally overcasted but with some color balance trickeries, I can turn them blue. Before the sun started to rise, I took some black and white shots against the dark sky.
As the sun was rising bringing light to the background, I started to expose for the background by adjusting the shutter speed and then exposed for the foreground by adjusting the flash power. I only touched the aperture to get the depth of field (blurry background) that I wanted.
Shooting with the sea in the background was getting a bit boring with this overcast sky, I was really hoping for some dramatic clouds but not a sky full of cloud. Luckily, we were at the bottom of a cliff and all the rocks were making an awesome backdrop.
So after we got some great shots of Grant with his weapons and doing Taijiquan and Meihuaquan poses, it was about time to take a break and take the students up the cliff to do some Qigong training. It was a bit windy and cold but after a couple of minute getting the energy flow the jackets became unnecessary. The training done, it was time to get some group shots of us doing our Qigong moves.
What is Qigong anyway? For thousands of years, Chinese people believe that the Universe is powered by a force/energy, the Qi (or Chi). It is believed that our human body can store that Qi in a location inside our abdomen called the Dantian, it can then be extracted and use for health and healing purposes. I see the Qi as that invisible force or energy that gives us life, makes the earth turns around the earth etc... Our body is made of networks of fibres, blood vessels, nerves etc... Blood brings oxygen and nutrient to muscles and organs, bio-electricity are navigating our nerve system powering our whole body. By practicing proper breathing and eating we are maintaining a healthy system, by practicing the moves we are training ourselves to listen to our body, notice tension and try to release that tension that is the cause of many type of blockages. Once we manage to relax and remove the blockages, blood and electricity and other energies can flow through freely in our entire body. There is nothing mystical or magical behind the Qi, it is just something that naturally occurs but were were blind to it.
After the shoot, we decided to do some more shots of Grants as the sky was clearing out . Time for some Baguazhang and Meihuaquan moves.
We then ended with some breathing and meditation on a rock, a seagull also wanted to model for me 😄.
The remaining of the group then were invited (thank you Grant) for a nice breakfast at the Cove Cafe. The food was great and I surely did enjoy by Egg Benedict.
Until next time.
### Technical info For those interested in the technical aspect of this photoshoot. I was shooting with an old Nikon D300. I used a SB-900 and SB-600 flashguns. The light were either at opposing sides or both from the same side when trying to overpower the sun that is becoming my second rim light. I also used a full CTO (Tungsten) color gel to simulate a sunrise and give that blue/orange contrast when adjusting the white balance later on in post-processing. The camera and the flashes were set in Manual mode for full control and the flashes were remotely triggered by a set of the original Phottix Odin. [//]:# (!steemitworldmap -33.449488 lat 151.450668 long Terrigal Haven d3scr) --- ## Previously on my blog: - [Wu Xing Dao Internal Kung Fu - Adult Classes Photoshoot](https://steemit.com/@quochuy/wu-xing-dao-internal-kung-fu-adult-classes-photoshoot) - [Wu Xing Dao Kung Fu - The Little Dragons](https://steemit.com/@quochuy/wu-xing-dao-kung-fu-the-little-dragons) - [Visiting the Australian Reptile Park in Somersby, NSW.](https://steemit.com/@quochuy/visiting-the-australian-reptile-park-in-somersby-nsw) --- **Vote for my witness** On Steem, Witnesses are playing the important role of providing a performant and safe network for all of us. You have the power to choose 30 trusty witnesses to package transactions and sign the blocks that will go in the Steem blockchain. [Vote for me via SteemConnect](https://steemconnect.com/sign/account-witness-vote?witness=quochuy&approve=1) to help me do more useful projects for the communities. --- I'm a member of|these communities -|-
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--- ## Credits - The image at the top has been generated with the [Canva app](https://www.canva.com/) using my own photo. ---
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Originally posted here: https://steemit.com/photography/@quochuy/wu-xing-dao-kung-fu-qigong-and-photoshoot-in-terrigal-nsw
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