Drum beats and colorful dancers. Add a gorgeous day to the mix and this would sum up the San Francisco Carnaval parade this year. I chose to drive and got to the parade bright and early and walked to where the participants were warming up, getting ready for the parade. Along the way, met a photographer friend and we walked some ways together, ready for a long day taking pictures.
I always want to shoot portraits but then, I am also interested in action portraits of the beautiful people dancing. Ofcourse, it's another story that I end up liking the posed portraits much more. Maybe, next year, if I am around to photograph the parade, I'll shoot more portraits instead of action. Or maybe not. I am too fickle, maybe too moody.
I met the three musketeers warming up next to the gray wall.
Yuyi, my friend, is an accomplished artist. You can see some of her illustration work on
Yuyi's site.
I met Nina with her friends at the Carnaval wall in Mission district. This was her first time participating in the parade.
Monique is the reigning queen of SF Carnaval 2006. Dressed in bright fluorescent green feathers, apparently her creation, flashes me her brilliant smile.
Christy has a beautiful smile with dimples. Dancing with her contingent, Mara Reggae, she stopped briefly, to allow me to compose the picture.
Kim Anderson sashayed down the Mission street with the Mara Reggae troupe. She has has an infectious personality with a ready smile, makes you want to take a picture of her.
Throughout the day, my senses have an overload of visual and auditory stimulations. And, I keep on shooting. At the end of the day, after I am back home, I feel dehydrated, sunburnt, yet happy with a long day's shoot. It energizes my spirits. Does photography energize you too?
