It was an unusually cool August morning in Jacksonville. The usual would be a morning with the sun beaming down on my back burning a hole on the back of my head casting a deep shadow from my body frame onto the grass causing blindness because the sun is so bright. I was thankful for that because I was in no mood to endure that typical August heat. This August morning was blanketed with the possibility of rain with some instances of sunshine. As I prepared my camera for shooting I observed how busy Jax carnival short handed was.
As the Mas players slowly worked their way down A. Philip Randolph Blvd I counted far less players this year than in the year previous. I counted three bands. The first band was an assembly of youthful chippers flying USVI. Tropical mas band was among them. Fancy indian and their costumes accompanied by a small truck and hitch with a DJ. I got some great images from this band.
Although this was a smaller than expected parade there was some great moments. One of those moments was when playah’s wined up on the police cruiser. At this point in the march to the stage the sun was peaking out through the clouds. One issue most photographers have is when the sun is directly overtop. The cast shadows give a look around the eyes that isn’t flattering. Most photographers prefer overcast. As a painter I like sun with the right cast. This permits great definitions that sculpts forms and folds.
The road march can be long especially whenthe sun is being on a 90 degree day. But even when it’s cool out a long walk is exhausting. I’ve always thought that this particular parade is long. It gets even longer with the paurses in between bands. By the time the bands got to the park they dispurst and took a break. But by then the clouds started to open up and drizzle. As a result not one band paraded by the stage. Then the rain came down.
The stage performers came on and started the line up of entertainment. This was the moment for me to work on images of the attendees. There was a diverse amoint of people at the park. I got some great images which I hope to paint one day. But being that I did the Jouvert the night before I decided to pack it in. I had a great shoot. The highlights was being able to catch a fewbeauties and some youthful fancy indians. I loved one particular Moko Jumbie whos costume was outstanding. So that was it.