Jude!

I captured this moment as a 'Royal Photographer' during the Krewe of Southdowns Mardi Gras Parade.  It was taken during the "King's Pee", when the parade stops rolling and the dignitaries take care of themselves properly.  During the 15 minute break, I had enough time to run into a friend's house on the same street for a quick drink and bathroom visit myself, and on the way back to the floats, I truly stumbled over this beautiful moment and young man in the middle of the road.  It was nothing even close to quiet as parade marchers socialized and danced in the street.  The scene was fantastic, and I took just two shots as he rested and his friends started cheering him on as I photographed from the ground.  I'm happy to have gotten his name and shared my contact info with him.  He emailed me as promised, and I'll be sending this image his way.  Enjoy, Jude!!  I really appreciate that we crossed paths.  :))


#MardiGras, #bike, #Southdowns, #parade

Fire Man

And he stopped.  Right in front of me.  Fire Man took a big swig of his special fire starter drink, spout it out of him like a whale, and ignited it with his torch.  Right in front of me.

Last night the Southdowns Mardi Gras parade rolled through our neighborhood.  Every year there are our usual favorites, and this time around Fire Man made his appearance again.  As he approached our group, I thought it would be very cool if did his fire breathing for us.  When he slowed down and stopped, my heart started to race because I was thinking, "Irene - don't screw up this shot." It was almost as if he and I were reading one another.  As I was lifting the camera, he was lifting his bottle to his mouth.  As I kicked into taking the shots, he created the spectacle of light.  Yes, it was very cool, and it was even better when I saw the images.