Colourful people

There were two different festivals close to home last weekend and I managed to get along to both of them. I really enjoy the annual Multicultural Festival where people who came from other countries show off their dress, dance, food and customs. There were many stalls - small tents - that offered such a wonderful variety of different foods that it would be easy to spend all one's time eating! My choice was something from the Indian cuisine, spicy and delicious! but that did not stop me from wandering around and enjoying the smells that emanated from the other stalls and their sweet or savoury offerings.

f/5.6  1/200 ISO 650

This group of colourful characters were posing for a photo for the local newspaper (didn't get in the paper though) and I happened to be right there! The tall young man on the right is an Australian Surf Lifesaver. So even people who have a long line of Australians in their ancestry were represented. The three girls are Australians too but they are "first generation Australians".

To see more of my photographs taken at this festival click on this link and you will be able to view them.

The other festival I attended was called a Body Painting Expo. This was inside a very dark pavilion at the show-grounds and I was unable to take any photos inside without the flash. I tried increasing the ISO but if I wanted blurred photos that would have been OK - but I didn't!

I had a flash diffuser in my handbag (I have one of those "everything but the kitchen sink"bags) so was able to make use of the pop up flash. The outdoor shots were taken without the flash even though the sky was covered with cloud and so made the light weak.

f/5.3  1/100  ISO 650   with flash + diffuser

Again, if you would like to see the photos I took at the Body Painting Expo, click on this link and you will be taken there. Incidentally, all the pictures in this blog and earlier blogs, react to a left mouse click!

There are always interesting activities happening in this part of the world. The Gold Coast is a tourist destination and those of us who live here are very fortunate in that we can participate in all these special activities too!

AJ

Skin Colour

When I went to Noosa for the Video Convention there were two festivals in the locality in the weekend preceding the event. Although I principally used my still camera, I did manage to grab a few shots of the happenings in Eumundi - a country town just up the road a few klicks from Noosa. I do apologise for the wobbly nature of the shots, I used always to use a tripod and to see such lurching of the images makes me cringe - but when in crowds it is impossible and dangerous to try and use a tripod. So even though I know I should have used one (didn't take it out of the car) I know I could not. So hang on to your seat and enjoy the body painting competition at Eumundi.

AJ

Festival in Noosa

There were two festivals happening in this part of the world today and I greedily went along to both of them. Rather than send you pictures of fire trucks taking part in a parade or people eating hot sausages I am including a picture of one of the participants in the parade that marched up and down Gympie Terrace, a piper who played most beautifully while standing on the edge of the Noosa River, I have heard many pipers playing and have cringed at the sound but this fellow was really talented and really made the bagpipes sing.

The Noosa River festival probably included more than just the parade but after watching that I moved on to another small town a few kilometres further inland, called Eumundi. When we checked into our accommodation we picked up a copy of the local paper and discovered there was a body painting competition (among other things) happening over the weekend. The camera was brought into use for that! Actually I have more video shots of the event than still picture. I was using a little Panasonic mini DV camcorder and attached the gorillapod to it to give more stability for my hand held shots. Video seemed more informative for this event than still images. Here is one of the girls "almost" painted.

Returning to Noosa I made a detour and called into Tewantin Craft Market and there found this fellow with a snake casually draped around his shoulders. He was promoting himself as a speaker for schools and clubs but I managed to catch his attention and ask if he minded if I took a photo of him.

The snake is a Carpet Snake and a constricting snake. This snake is found in Queensland - I have seen one that was so large it almost reached from one side of a two lane road to the other. A couple of council workers came across it on its way and became impromptu policemen and held up the traffic until the snake was safely off the road! That was pre-digital camera era so I didn't travel with a camera in my bag!

AJ