This weekend, I will be finishing up the editing of my Colorado Dragon Boat Festival shots. Kit Williams, the festival photo coordinator, is a celebrated portrait photographer and she was very fun to work with. Because I joined the voluteer shooting team from the Denver Darkroom so late, most of the assignments covering the boat races themselves were already assigned. So Kit told asked me to concentrate on the details that seem to get lost in this kind of event coverage -- namely, shots of families enjoying their quality time together, the voluteers and sponsor booths, the police and paramedics on hand to help, and the crowds of people cheering the racers on.
Kit explained that it was easy for photographers to get caught up in the action shots, either of the boats racing or the special performances taking place in some of the tents. But there were other things going on throughout the day that were equally just as important, and she wanted me to use some of my journalistic photos to tell the "story of the day." I shot people vying for shade under the trees or drenching themselves in the "Misting Tent" to emphasize how incredibly hot it was outside. I loved photographing children getting their faces and arms painted with Chinese symbols. And one of my favorite shots of the day was of a woman waving both an American and Phillippines flag, displaying the unity and heritage inherent in this Asian cultural festival.
I passed out a ton of business cards, especially to those people I took candid shots of, and someone asked if I could shoot a Quinceañera! I hope this four hour shoot will net some new clients for me.
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