waiting for dragons
Sunday was the big Chinese New Year parade down in Chinatown. I’d never been before so when my friend Ellie Ericson asked me if I’d like to join her, I jumped at the chance. Photographing events are not really my thing and to be honest this was the first parade I had photographed (if you don’t count the Kinetic Sculpture Race in PT). I did however go with something in mind, an idea to shoot not so much the parade but the people who came to watch (more on that in another post). These two kids were beside us from the very beginning and they were eagerly anticipating the arrival of the dragons. Funny how when they show up, it can be scary and exciting all at once!
One of things I keep in mind when photographing is a post Ray wrote when I first started to follow him on Twitter. It’s entitled “Do you see stories?” I do see stories but I must admit that since meeting Ray they’ve become much richer and I have engaged my imagination and stretched the boundaries of what I can photograph to tell a story. Even if you are photographing something as “ordinary” as a parade in your hometown, you can find a story. Try it!
Sabrina on
I love the idea of watching the spectators, especially the little ones. While parades can come to seem ho-hum to us (sad to say), kids feel the magic and it is reflected on their faces. And, in turn, we can get excited again just looking at them. I love the grown-ups’ expressions in that last image. Looks like you had fun, Sabrina!
Ellie laughs when I’m around kids, Dorothy. I fall under a spell and get all excited and giddy as if I am a completely different person. Kids and pinball do that to me
That top photo says so much about the kids’ anticipation. I remember being that excited waiting for the lion dance troupe to arrive every Chinese New Year Eve, when my mum’s extended family would gather at her cousin’s house for reunion dinner, playing with sparklers after the lion dancers had done their bit, gambling and drinking of fine brandy, usually in that order (with gambling and drinking reserved for adults only). Ahhh nostalgia. I was nowhere near family or friends during Chinese New Year this year, and missed it very much.
Don’t you just hate it when you spend two hours waiting for the dragons and only the lion shows up?
Chinese New Year wasn’t a big thing in my immediate family growing up but mostly because we had no extended family near by. Coming to Canada things changed a little bit but not that much. We have the food and gambling but no crackers or drinkin’…we must be a boring bunch!
Sabrina…it’s always so fun to shoot and spend time together with you…especially when there are kids involved – it makes my day – i’m inviting you to everything like that from here on in!
Likewise Ellie! I feel really comfortable going out with you because I don’t worry what you will think when I let go and be me. Thank you!
Love those shots – there is a sense of abandon and freedom in kids and pets that you capture to perfection
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Thanks Julie. I get kind of giddy around kids and pets and that probably has something to do what/how I photograph them.