On Saturday, Janice and I headed to our usual haunt on the Forth of July—The Friendswood 4th of July Day Parade. For those of you who have not gone to THE PARADE, you do not know what you have missed. It is a real parade. It is a parade of the people, by the people and for the people. It is an all-American parade.
I photograph the parade every year. I do not consider it a source of great photographic art; rather, I think of it as a throwback to when I was growing-up in Fort Smith, Arkansas. It is all about the community and the people who live in it.
My approach to the parade was simple: Nikon D3, Nikon 70-200 f/2.8 VR with polarizing filter attached. Post processing was just as simple: Lightroom processing only. Almost all of the photographs were taken from the same place--on the median with me either sitting down or kneeling as I was taken the photo. I might have liked a less busy background, but I selected this place because I had no trees in the median that would block my view down the street.
I do not think that the individual photographs are anything special. In fact, I really do not think of them as individual photos. I think of the total of the photographs as summation of what the parade is all about--flags, streamers, people, floats, bands, et al.
Today’s photos are some shots of some of the high fashion fans who aligned the parade route. Most people do not know that Friendswood, Texas is the new fashion capitol of the world. Sorry, Paris. Sorry Milan. Sorry New York. Sorry Tokyo. I wanted these photo to show the people who came to the parade and a little of their enjoyment during the parade.
Enjoy.
Nice grouping of shots Larry. They do a good job of capturing the true spirit of the holiday. Got to love it when patriots do their thing!
ReplyDeleteThe quality of even your grab shots always amazes me. You seem to know when and from where to press the shutter. I think your photos make your point about the fans of the parade. I do indeed enjoy,
ReplyDeleteDebbie
Not all pictures have to be some high form of art intended to be put into some museum. When I went looking for pictures that my parents and grandparents had taken, I enjoyed the images of their homes, activities and faces the most. Over the next year, I plan to post many "fun" shots and I commend you on having some variety in your blog.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of these three is the one with the father and daughter. There is so much good with this photo. Good separation from background. Interesting background of people walking around, yet blurred. Colors that say 4th of July parade.
ReplyDeleteAnne
Larry, although I consider you a mentor and accomplished photographer, you should have been a writer. You bring so much of yourself to your blog! You missed your calling!!
ReplyDelete