I know this is a bit different so I hope no one minds my posting these here!
Saturday I took the wife and our 3 dogs to Cleveland's "Parade on the Circle". Parade on the Circle is a annual event here in the N.E. that's put together by the local museums and educational institutions as a celebration of art, dance, music, culture, etc.. It's really unlike any other parade I've ever seen...no prom queens, no pathetic high school marching bands and no idiot politicians riding around in borrowed convertibles waving at people in vein hopes of re-election! LOL!!! This one is "all about the art". There's all kinds of food, crafts and activities, 3 stages of music and dancing, more food, art displays...and did I mention there was food too? LOL!!! The main event though is the parade itself...it's really almost like a mini Mardi Gras...lots of people in colorful costumes, stilt walkers, floats, performers, music....a little of everything really. It was without a doubt, the BEST parade I have ever seen!
Now as always, I would like some honest, objective criticism here but there are a few things to keep in mind. First, I'm still working with a new camera here...on the day of the parade, I had only had my 40D for a whopping 11 days and I'm still wrestling with it. Secondly, despite the NOAA's forecast of "mostly cloudy with 40% chance of thunder storms" it turned out to be quite sunny so the lighting is a bit harsh here and there. Also, the number of people at this event was simply staggering. Estimates put the crowd at well over 50,000 people so it was virtually impossible to get ANY shots without having the background littered with people. In other words, there were some things that were well beyond my control. Lastly as most of you know, this isn't my usual cup of tea as it were. I'm sure most of you know that my usual subjects are critters and while I have been getting more into "people photography", I'm still on a bit of a learning curve and I have certainly never shot a parade before.
So with all of that said, I would like to know what people think! I'm going to be shooting at a Ren Fair next month so any tips or suggestions would certainly be appreciated! I know there's quite a few shots here so I don't expect any specific feedback on individual images (unless you want to of course) as much as just any generalizations or suggestions.
All images where shot with the new Canon 40D and my Tamron 70-300mm and all were physically abused in Photoshop as usual. I may go back later if I get some time and try to tone down the backgrounds just a bit on a few of these (some selective DOF as it were). I was shooting wide open with the Tamron which is only f/5.6 but considering the distance I was shooting at, I'm not even sure an f/2.8 lens really would have made too much of a difference with the DOF.
Anyways, I'll stop rambling now. Again comments are quite welcomed and encouraged! Please let me know what you think and again any tips or suggestions you may have for similar up coming events!
Peace,
Jim