Whoo! I’m absolutely knackered and for some strange reason have sandpit in my ears. It was a pretty hot day at Woodley Park where I for the first time was an official event photographer and carrying around my gear, running hither and dither from 9.30 in the morning until 7.30 in the evening really poofed me out. Lanka Fest was an awesome event thrown by a non-profit called Paalama. I was very excited and hugely nervous about having for the first time having to fulfill someone’s expectations in a largely uncontrolled environment and drove to the ground with my stomach churning (my head was spinning a bit as well but that was probably due to waking up at an ungodly hour on a day off).

The day itself was a blast, cricket both softball and leather and some lady’s (cricket that is) thrown in there as well, food stalls, including one thrown by Ruki from the ever dependable Curry Bowl and performances by Dancers for Sri Lanka (I think that’s what they were called) and a lovely young lady called Kavi (oh yeah why you’re reading this click here and vote for the girl on the list!). I spent a lot of time running around, had a run-in with P and G which resulted in an uproarious session of laughter over a slightly inappropriate but unwitting comment I made to an uncle about his (at the time, 3 years ago) 15 year old daughter without knowing the connection between him and her. I also made a few friends, a couple of photographers and some people who are in the in on the local volunteer scene. 

I learnt some valuable lessons. For one never, ever experiment with new technique on a job. I tried to use a bit of fill flash but my inexperience with going full manual (a necessity when using fill flash) made it unfeasible in the completely uncontrolled situations I was in. I still trust my in-camera meter too much and don’t check histograms enough. I also do silly, stupid things like forget to switch the autofocus on my lens back on.

I learnt that in a situation like that be aware of what I am good at and do that. Shoot wide open and concentrate on working the shots. Oh yeah I also really need to interact with people more and give them more direction when asking them to pose. A note to self to bring extra batteries so I can let my subjects ‘chimp’ a bit and help build a dialogue up. Well I guess there’s always another chance, I just hope I got some photographs that will fulfill the organizer’s requirements and I get to do it again soon.

 

A picture of one of my family friend I took on break (the rest of my work belongs to the organizers. Absolutely adorable, adorable kid!