Monday, February 19, 2007

Moko Jumbies 2007
















I am back from Trinidad editing my images of the Moko Jumbies in the Junior Carnival Parade from last Saturday. It was not easy to shoot different pictures of an event that I have shot annually for 10 years now and published a book on the subject, but I must say I was getting excited all over again as soon as the students of the Dragon Keylemanjahro School of Arts & Culture put on their stilts und got going. This year was particularly difficult for them because many of the costumes were not ready or simply not there because the band's designer, Laura Anderson Barbata, could not get out of New York due to a snowstorm. But the kids really made the best of it and a fabulous fire blowing Red Devil cleared the way through downtown Port of Spain and up to the Savannah.













































Shooting digital in the Caribbean isn't all that easy, the light is brutal except for right after sunrise and right before sunset. Or dark clouds race across the sky, creating a dramatic light change of up to 5 f-stops in a matter of split seconds and just when I adjust my camera settings it is back to the normal super bright. In any event you get very dark shadows and I don't like to use fill in flash, which would make sense here and there, but I am stubborn with that. Not that it was any easier shooting slides on good old Fuji Provia 100, which seems like 100 years ago.















































I am glad I found a way to show vertical pictures here without destroying the design of the page...anyway, I am happy with the result of this years Moko Jumbies images and it was really good to be back in Trinidad & Tobago. Thanks to an invitation from Wendell Manwarren of 3canal I got to see The 3canal Bacchanal Show 2007 Carnival Show and it was fabulous ! Thanks, Wendell ! And thank you Laura for sending me here !

















































3 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:03 AM

    Hallo Stefan,
    bei den Bildern kommt wieder Freude auf. Aber in Deiner Heimatstadt gibt es nun seit Jahren auch einen Karnevalsumzug:
    http://news.willig-web.de/?m=200702
    und das Fotografieren ist da auch leichter. Es ist eben immer das gleiche Licht im Winter.
    Gruß, Rudolf

    ReplyDelete
  2. these are great. esp the yellow horizontal one. wow.

    and the kneeling girl with mask - very cool!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey Mr Stefan hope all is well and warm with you this is Barrow

    ReplyDelete