Mardi Gras

Recently I was invited to photograph a festival drumming band called Wasamaba, at this year’s Sydney lGBTI Mardi Gras. My first reaction to this request was to say no, as it was completely out of my comfort zone.  I wasn't really comfortable taking this on if I could do it to a standard I would be happy with.  Even though these thoughts were running through my head I still said yes, as I knew this was a great opportunity and didn't know when I would get that chance again. 

For the next few weeks leading to the coming up to the actual day I had a lot of mixed feelings some of worry, happy, excited. So I this time I went and did my research as to what are some of things that I may be encountering. I did research into the Wasamaba group to see how they perform, their style and the type of atmosphere that they give off so I could help relate that in my photos. I also had a look at their webpage and facebook page to see what photos they have up there to get a idea of what others have done for them, this made it a little more confinement as some of the photos on there were rubbish to say the least. The next step was to as much research as I could on the LGBTI Mardi Gras and media photography of the parade.  After all that, I sent my contact with the Wasamba group an email asking them what they are looking for and their expectations as well as any special requirements they wanted. They came back to me with a very vague description and pretty much let do whatever I wanted, which both good and bad.

When the day finally arrived I was to meet them at their hotel room prior to the march, as it would be easier to all go to the parade at the same time.  When I arrived at the hotel I meet the Wasamba group, all forty plus of them, and got a quick brief of what they wanted which was good. I began photographing them in the final stages of getting ready for the parade and documented their day. This was good as it gave me some one on one time with them and helped me build a rapport with some of the band members, which helped me settle any nerves I had. Once it was time to leave, we then had to meet at a point at Hyde Park were we received our media access pass and were surrounded by hundreds of on lookers wanting to get their photos taken. While we were in the holding section before the parade starts, I was taking a few quick group and individual photos and other members looking at getting some photos taken, but most seem to not really want their photos taken.

While waiting around for the parade to start, I noticed that there were only so many photos I could take of people getting ready and prepared. The energy slowly starts to rise as the parade start time draws nearer, where everyone is waiting to get outside and start. Once the parade starts I began by taking a few test photos to check my settings and then they are ready to start. This is where it becomes tricky and difficult for a photograph as you are contending with many conditions and situations, such as weather, lighting as the band all had flashing lights on their costumes and also having to contend with the lights of the vehicles behind the group and the flood lights, street lights lighting the parade and the crowd. I also had to be able to keep up with the band while they were performing and having to focus in low light conditions on moving subjects and waiting for the flash of the speed light to recharge makes more interesting and challenging conditions for me to work under.

However, all in all, it was a great experience and I am glad I did go. I believe that I learnt a lot from the experience and that  I came out with some great photos for the group.