Ritual Purification at the Shinto Shrine

I asked my Shinto priest friend living in Nagoya if I could take photos of a Shinto ceremony. She happily agreed, and we met at the Kumanosansha shrine in Nagoya, Japan. After an official ceremony with locals in the main shrine building we did a photo shoot with priests and volunteers. The Shinto priest performs a ritual purification with a wand called Onusa. I'll likely use this photo at the upcoming "Japan Then and Now" exhibition at the Art Ark Gallery in San Jose, California this August.

 

I processed a balanced and a photographic HDR photo from a RAW exposure, blended them selectively, and carefully adjusted the color balance and curves. I welcome and appreciate constructive comments.

 

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-- ƒ/8.0, 16 mm, 1/100 sec, ISO 3200, Sony A6400, SEL-P1650, HDR, 1 RAW exposure, _DSC5110_hdr1bal1pho1j.jpg

-- CC BY-NC-SA 4.0, © 2024 Peter Thoeny, Quality HDR Photography

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