This is another float we saw first in the Conde parade.
Background: My daughter saw a discovery channel special on giant squid when she was 2. 2 days old that is. Ever since then, squid are the most awesome thing to her. We watched her drawing on scrap paper and thought it was meaningly scribbles, until we noticed it was the depth chart that showed the hunting behaviors of whales after the squid. We haven’t played that show to her in quite a while now….
So, you’ll note the beasty at the front of the float, and understand the reason this became a favorite. When it came through in the Conde parade, I didn’t get a good shot of the front, so when we noticed that the floats were repeating during the Pharoh’s, I made sure that I got a good picture.
Oh, and just because I’m shooting from the room with a tripod doesn’t actually make this any easier. I’m pretty stable holding my gear, but in these cases, I’ve got to get the shutter speed up just to make sure that the subject I’m shooting doesn’t blur out from it’s own movement. The floats might not be moving as fast as a F1 car, but the people on the floats aren’t standing still, and neither are the people on the sides of the street.
A couple of things about this picture:
A> Our hotel was RIGHT on the parade route, and we overlooked Government Street. It ROCKED. We could watch the parades go by at street level for the beginning, and then head up to the room, and watch them again, from the comfort of the room. (which considering the number of people we squeezed into the room, wasn’t very comfortable).
B> The Societies reuse floats. It makes sense, but I never considered it. This is the Pharoh’s Mystic Society parade. That is the same Harry Potter float from the Conde Cavaliers.
Yes, I cheated. I setup a tripod in the room, mounted the big lens and just snapped using a remote release on the camera. But it does give a better view and understanding of the floats. It’s pretty hard to see what’s involved in one of those from the ground level. It’s also quite nice to see the rows of people lined up on the ground to see the parades.
Taken late December, I love the colors of this sunset. I almost printed and matted this to put on display. It will almost certainly make the next one.
Well, it appears that my time is almost up. January 12th will be the last day that my pictures are on display at the Williamson County Library. Originally it was supposed to be the end of the year, but with the holidays, the Director of the Library system decided to give me a bit more time, due to the closings during that time.
It’s been an interesting experience. I have left a notebook out, and have definitely gotten comments. Some of them were from people over the age of 5. That’s always a plus.
I’ve learned a bit about my own presentation as well.
Originally, I did several of my ‘better’ shots on Gatorboard, printed large. That was a mistake. The remainder of the pictures were matted and framed. In the Library presentation, those shots simply displayed much better. However, if all were framed, there wouldn’t have been enough space.
Don’t mix framed and gatorboard prints in the same exhibit.
A fair number of business cards were taken. Restock often.
Turns out, when I configured the email address for this domain, it didn’t actually SAVE.
ARGH!
Email sent should be delivered now.
Sorry about that.
Greg
