Mardi Gras 2012

It's Friday but no "Tech Friday" Post this week. Although I have a pretty great idea for my next Tech Friday post, I have some new photos from a New Orleans tradition that I want to share.

 

Mardi Gras 2012

Another year of Mardi Gras in New Orleans is over. Besides one full day of rain and a few scattered showers, we enjoyed some spectacular weather during this carnival season. It's always a treat every year when I get to capture one of New Orleans' biggest celebrations and be a part of a tradition that surpasses cultural, ethnic, economic, and racial boundaries.

 

Muses (Thursday)

This Thursday night all-female parade was incredible this year! It’s fast becoming one of my favorite parades and a solid contender with Bacchus (my favorite). 

 

Gear:

It was a night parade and the weather was a bit iffy so all I brought was my 50mm f1.4 prime.  Even shooting at f1.4, I was still cranking the ISO way up to 4000 and 5000 to get the shots, so some of the pictures might be slightly grainy. But still, being able to shoot when it’s that dark without a flash is pretty great (Man I love my prime lens' low aperature). I would still love to rent a 1Dx or a D4 next Mardi Gras for shooting at night.

 

 

Above: Muses Parade

 

Above: Muses Parade

 

The parade stalled for a while throughout the night; during one of the stalls the Edna Karr Marching Band was stopped in front of us for what seemed like 30 minutes. They played for about the first 10 minutes of the stop and their drum major just got down. I'll post that footage and some other video from the different days at a later date or you can see some of the night footage on my Google+ Page.

 

Above: Edna Karr Marching Band

 

 

Thoth and then Bacchus (Sunday)

The weather was gorgeous the entire day (long sleeves during the day, jacket at night). This is my favorite day of Carnival bar none. On a nomal Sunday before Mardi Gras, there are three parades during the day in Uptown New Orleans (Except this year two of the parades that were rained out from the previous day rolled before the already scheduled three parades – which made traffic pretty horrible that morning) and then Bacchus that night. Will Ferrell reigned as King of Bacchus this year which was very cool.

 

Gear:

Since most of the parades were during the day I left the 50mm home and brought my 70-200mm, 15-85mm and my flash (for that night).

 

Above: Hellen Cox High School Air Force Junior ROTC

 

Above: Krewe of Thoth

 

The 610 stompers "Ordinary Men. Extraordinary Moves." have recently become famous when they walked in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  They are fast becoming an essential part of any great parade.

 

Above: The 610 Stompers

 

Above: The 610 Stompers

 

Above: The 610 Stompers

 

Above: Kipp Renaissance High School Marching Band

 

Above: Lafayette Academy Marching Band

 

Above: Biggest pair of beads I have ever seen

 

Above: Bacchus' King William (Will Ferrell)

 

Above: Bacchus' King William (Will Ferrell)

 

Above: St Augustine Marching 100 (A Mardi Gras Tradition)

 

Above: St Augustine Marching 100

 

Above: Flambeaux in Krewe of Bacchus (Quick note – Flambeauxs were originally used to light floats before floats had electricity.  Now each float has its own generator to supplly all of its energy needs).

 

Above: Krewe of Bacchus

 

Above: Flambeaux in Krewe of Bacchus

 

 

Rex (Fat Tuesday)

On Fat Tuesday the last parade in Uptown New Orleans is Rex (not including the truck float parades). By the time Tuesday comes around a good chunk of the tourists visiting for Mardi Gras are already gone. The crowds are alot less intense which is nice so you can spread out a bit more.

 

Gear:

I brought the same gear as Sunday minus the flash.

 

Above: U.S. Marine Corps Marching Band

 

Above: King of Rex, aka the King of Carnival

 

It was awesome to see my Alma Mater, LSU's "Golden Band from Tigerland" back marching in Rex. They hadn't marched in Rex since 2008.

 

Above: The Golden Band from Tigerland

 

Above: The Golden Band from Tigerland

 

Above: Krewe of Rex

 

Above: Byhalia High School Indian Band – From Byhalia, Mississippi

 

Above: University of Tulane Marching Band

 

Note: All photos processed in Lightroom 4 Beta (which is awesome, can't wait till Adobe releases the live version).

 

This is only a select few of all the shots I posted. To check out the entire album go to my Google+ Page or my Facebook Page. Don't forget to like me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

 

 

 

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