Holi Colour Splash.
A messy event, but one worth celebrating.
While Holi is a Hindu festival, it is celebrated locally by people from many different cultures and beliefs. Holi is a celebration of spring and signifies the triumph of good over evil. People throw joyful, coloured powder to represent new life, let go of past grievances, reset relationships, and share love.
Here in the South Pacific, due to the global difference in seasons, Holi is celebrated in Autumn rather than spring, but the message and the celebration are just as vibrant.
Back in March, I attended my second Holi Colour Splash. Having learned a few lessons from the previous year’s event, I felt more prepared this time around.
At the first event, I naively turned up with my camera expecting to take images in a relatively controlled environment. I don’t know why that is what I thought, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The event is a riot of music, dance, laughter and colour. The paint powder gets everywhere, and the more you look like you are trying to avoid getting involved, the bigger target you appear to be. By the end of the event, I was covered head to toe in paint dust of all colours, and my camera was sporting a body style reminiscent of a high-viz Jackson Pollock artwork. Thankfully, as it wasn’t wet, the coloured dust could be removed with an air blower and a paintbrush, although the strap and the camera bag still show signs of the event.
As I left the event, I knew I wanted to return to this annual celebration, but there would have to be a few changes in my approach.
Lesson 1. Don’t wear clothes that you don’t want to get covered in paint. While most of the paint washes out, the clothes will always exhibit a reminder of the event. From now on, it is a cheap white t-shirt, some cheap shorts and sandals on my feet.
Lesson 2. Cover your camera. The paint dust is going to get everywhere. Last year, I was so worried about protecting the gear that I missed opportunities for great shots. This year, I put my camera in a bread bag with a hole cut in the end for my lens, held in place with a rubber band. It didn’t stop all the paint, but it stopped most of it, and I wasn’t constantly worried about it.
Lesson 3. Don’t spend all your time on the sidelines. I ventured well into the crowd and managed to get many more quality shots than I did the previous year. Yes, you will get paint thrown directly at you and your camera.
Lesson 4. If you can, talk to the organisers. Get an idea of the timeline of events. At this latest one, there were moments in the schedule where the organisers had countdowns to hype up the crowd. Knowing ahead of time can help you get into a position to better capture the moment.
One of the surprising things I have encountered at this and other festivals are the number of people who ask to pose, often with their family, for a photo. Perhaps they think that they might be featured in any coverage of the event, and I always clarify that this isn’t the case if I am not there as part of the official media team. Rather than asking people for their contact details, I have recently started carrying business cards with my contact details on, to hand out to people. I tell them that if they contact me, I can send them a copy of the picture. Curiously, everyone takes the card enthusiastically, but I only ever hear from about 1 in 10 of them.
For me, the experience of photographing this event was a vast improvement on the previous one. This may have been partly due to my having upgraded my camera from an EOS R7 to an EOS R5 mkII, with improved autofocus speed and faster target acquisition, but I think most of the improvements came from knowing what to expect and from the lessons learned after my first Holi event.
This time, I managed to network with some other photographers, as well as the event organiser. The organiser is also behind a Diwali event later in the year, so I am looking forward to the colour and light of that celebration.
“Colour is a power which directly influences the soul.” - Warily Kandinsky
Wishing you good light, open eyes, and moments worth noticing.
Steve.
Thanks for reading.
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