carnival night

pdh

Legend
Carnival season is arriving in the West of England ... as I understand things, in Dorset (part of the Wessex Circuit) the tradition dates mostly to WW1, but in Somerset things go back a bit further, to the Gunpowder Plot (and probably beyond that, knowing Somerset ...)
God knows what shenanigans went on a few hundred years ago, but even in recent memory the huge Bridgwater event was a venue for settling up old scores amongst families ...
However, today in Dorset there is altogether a more refined and peaceable (and smaller) affair ... last year on mu43 I asked for (and got) advice about night shooting with the E-P2+17mm, but wasn't that confident ... perhaps today will be different (there'll be a lovely warm light evening for a start - it was pissing down last year) ... at the children's parade in the afternoon I took the 35mm Summicron to (it seemd right for the length I'm seeing and the light we have today) ... but I spoiled my best shot because I accidentally moved the focus-assist box with my thumb and ended up with a compromised composition ... it's my one real bugbear with my otherwise well-loved E-P2 - the ease with which I end up changing ISO or WB or anything really by accident and so losing shots (the DP2s by comparison has nice clicky controls that require a positive effort to use) ...

... for tonight I'm torn between the E-P2 + 17 @ 1600 or the DP2s @1600 ... either way I'll go mono I reckon ... or the E-P2+20/1.7? .. decisions decisions ... the 20 and the DP2 are easy to use hyperfocal but it's again all too easy to give the focus ring a nudge on the 17 ...

anyhoo, here's a couple or four to begin with ...
 
this is the one that I cocked up ... it's perhaps 10% of the original image ... her costume and makeup were simply gorgeous and I'm annoyed to have missed th opportunity to record it (we need Briar for occasions like this)

6200185089_39737fb394_b.jpg

20111001-2 by _loupe, on Flickr
 
I kept trying to get this guy with his pink headgear (and glowing knob) but it never quite worked out ... so a conversion to BW ...

6201694330_cd3ca18a1e_b.jpg

20111001-8 by _loupe, on Flickr

E-P2, Lumix 20/1.7, 1/50s, f/1.8, ISO1600
 
conclusions -
don't try and use a DP2s for this sort of job after dark (well, quelle surprise);
do use iAuto mode on the E-P2 for this sort of job after dark (none ofthe results are here because they were uninteresting shots, but the IQ was the best of the night);

there were some lovely shots to be made of little kids ... however in the UK in 2011, a single middle-aged guy taking photos of little kids ... never going to happen I'm afraid ...

might post a few more when I''ve had a look at the rest in the cold light of day.
 
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