Holi Festival Photography Tips pt 1

WARNING: LONGGGG yet Informative Post

Part 1 : Keeping the camera Clean & About Festival

Part 2 : A run down of the events & how to approach as a photographer

RE-Edits
I’m including on this informative post new pictures or new edits on old pictures.
So I guess we can say we get to see some never before seen footage from last year.

Here’s the gallery of all the new and re-edited pics

Well it appears there is enough interest when i posted my last blog
I think Holi: Festival of Colors will be well documented this year.
Please respond to let me know what you think of the information I provide in this Book-Post

Posting earlier than planned

Gordon from Inkley’s in Orem called and we talked for like 45 minutes about the event.
(Incidently I should give a shout out to Gordon. A photographer for 30+ years he’s traveled all over the world. He’s one of the main reasons for me getting into photography. He sold me my first camera years ago. And I’ve gone back to him year after year, not because Inkley’s has the best prices, but because he’s always been there to answer questions and tell me what he knows and listen to my stories. Thanks Gordon. Go in there and ask for Gordon and tell him Scott Jarvie sent you.)

So Gorgon is going to try to make it to the festival this year and so he wanted to find out what to do to prepare and keep the camera safe.
(He knew how to butter me up plenty by saying he hadn’t seen any pictures around better of the event than the ones i had)
I’m saying this so you can all thank him for getting me thinking on the topic and posting this blog post already. In response to previous post where I said if there is enough interest I’ll write something up.

Jarvie Friends

I wish there was some way all you all (reading this post) could buddy up there at the event and get to know eachother and say “Yeah I’m friends with Jarvie too and read his blog” that would be way fun/ny. Maybe you’ll just notice them doing some of the same things. haha

Don’t forget to post links on the facebook group… share with me on Twitter.com username @jarvie
I’ll retweet really good galleries.

Say hi to Caru Das for me. Tell him Scott Jarvie (or just Jarvie) sent you. haha
He’ll love it if you send him your pics afterward or at least a link to a gallery.

Web-Links

Make sure to check out the official website for more info and a better idea of the schedule

The daily herald is running a great piece on this in their saturday paper.
Look for that and see if you can’t recognize some of the pictures
They already ran an article a couple days ago about the schedule and so forth

Check out my blog posts on the subject
Last year
This year-revisited

And of course add yourself to the growing facebook event.

Contest : Best gallery of images

Here’s the thought… to give more incentive to really have fun documenting everything well.
To the best gallery of the night I’ll have the creator of the facebook event that presently has 5000+ definites and over 3000 maybes attending the event.
She will post the link on facebook event.

I will also post a link on my blog and my facebook status and on twitter.
It’s not a huge thing but I’ll help pimp your stuff to whomever wins.

Last year that happened with my gallery of images and massive amounts of people say the pictures… and they were particularly excited because I not only allowed but encouraged people to grab them and use them.

I had a few newspapers use some of the images as well. And I get calls even still about it from newspapers.

I think that will be a pretty fun contest… so be sure to comment back on this blog post so I know and see the pictures. Then I’ll pick the best gallery (not just the best picture)

You can add your link to the event page as you so desire.That can be done anyway.

It’d be really helpful i bet if you had a gallery with a nice low-key watermark on there so that if you allowed people to use them your name would go with them. Just a suggestion. If it’s a big annoying/distractive watermark I happen to have a personal vendetta against those and wouldn’t pick your gallery anyway probably just because of that.

This is low key and should be kept as such, meaning don’t stress over it. And don’t make me stress.

Me and Shawna (the facebook creator follow her on twitter as well @shawnab6 and me @jarvie)
Will decide the winner.

Last year I did a lot of focusing on the people at the event.

I didn’t think I had a lot to share. But…. Enjoy
- On to the meat of the story

My tips are based on DSLR cameras…
you people with little cameras have a much easier job… so don’t complain.

I put a lot of time into this… let me know what you think. If you appreciate it… and if you think it comes in handy.

Keeping It Clean

• I don’t have earth shattering tips to share about keeping the camera clean.
  But I did walk away with a clean camera… so apparently I did something right.
• It’s much more than tricky bags or sneaky tips… it’s good people sense and vigilance.
• I wore a hoodie/sweatshirt that I was able to hit the camera in certain situations under my sweater.
  I tucked it away really fast on several occasions.

I didn’t just let the camera hang down at my side like I almost always do anywhere else.

I had it close to me and was vigilant at all times.

I would not only tuck it under my clothes but I would kinda hold with my right hand under my left arm/armpit a lot of the time.

If you’re worried about clothes getting ruined… well… don’t go.

I would whip it out real fast in a split second when I saw a good shot.

When in what I deemed safe positions I would keep it out for more extended periods of time but again be vigilant to avoid anything from happening.

I looked at people and if i thought they were the type to throw dust I made eye contact and tried to say in my eyes I’m a nice guy and I do have a camera… so please consider not throwing dust at me. Haha

I did have a camera bag around my neck. And I think if anything that told people behind me that this person probably has an expensive piece of machinery on his person.

But the back will get color on it and you will go away with a very colorful bag and shirt.

I don’t suggest the need to even have a bag.

It has been suggested frequently that a bag might be a good option.
You can think of it this way… anything that you would do to keep a camera dry in a rainstorm might be a good option for this situation.
One solution given to me is to take a big ziplock bag and cut a hole for the lens to pop out a bit and then use nice tape (maybe gaffers tape) to tape the bag to the lens and seal it up. Then you just stick your hands into said bag and shoot away.

Just keep in mind if you have a bag you’ll probably get thrown at much more often… they’ll probably even find enjoyment in doing so.

Remember that you do need a clean face and working eyes to shoot.
And so if you get hit a bunch it will get all over your face and you might not want to be putting that face up next to your fancy camera.

If you’re thrashed all over and covered with colored dust,
people will take that as a sign that you’re a target!
Don’t CRY or Bitch about how you have an expensive camera in your hand… you need to be smart and take responsibility. Don’t expect all 8000 other people to stop the world to revolve around you!
Meaning keep your camera clean, and stay clean yourself (to what extent you can) and they won’t regard you as much of a target.

CLEAN: It’s about who you are and what you do… more than what tricks I give you.

• Think about who you are perceived to be.
• The majority don’t want to throw at a nice kind helpful person.
• But if you’re a jerk heck I’d probably throw at you… because you deserve it.
• If you seem pompous I’d do the same.
• If you are rude I’d probably throw tons at you.
• If you’re there to party… well then I’ll party and throw stuff at you.
• Don’t be too stuck on yourself and don’t be a party animal.
• Be a good blend of in between.
• Business but not too business.
• People will see this and they’ll for the most part respect this.

• But remember this is a festival where people are completely free to throw dust everywhere. They’re just being nice not throwing at you. So be appreciative when they don’t… don’t expect the world to revolve around what you want

It’s much more than tricky bags or sneaky tips… it’s good people sense and vigilance

Main Philosophy: Be vigilant, Be quick, Be smart

EQUIPMENT

• One camera. I wouldn’t try bringing two… keeping one safe is enough work
• One lens. I say this and yet I used 3 lenses last year. I was just really safe/lucky that I didn’t get the camera dirty inside when i changed the lenses.
  I think I walked a few hundred yards from the action and the dust before I changed lenses.
  I used a telephoto when on top of the Temple for the first shots.
  Most of the rest of the evening I used the 50mm to get a lot of “fast”/action shots and low light stuff.
• Clothes. Consider carefully what you wear. What will tell people you’re not really part of the “Action”
  And you don’t mind getting thrashed in if it comes down to it.
  Also what you can use to hide and protect your gear.
  It also might be a bit chilly
• Bag. Many people talk about protecting the gear with a bag.
  I Would think something that protects from water could also help in this situation.
  Or a big ziplock bag with a hole for the lens opening and gaffer tape to tape the bag to the lens.
• Another Lens suggestion: Try to stay away from lenses that have zoom in and out, as in they extend when they zoom. (internal zoom is better) Those seem to have more possibility of letting in dust.
• Must Have: A lens cloth… or two. Not just to keep lens clean… but to keep camera clean so the dust isn’t migrating towards cracks. Maybe even a washcloth or something like that.
  I used my cloths for a while until they got to the point they were a bit dirty to be cleaning things with.

A dirty camera says hit me more… a clean camera says please help keep me clean.