Photography

Family fun time at Riverside’s Artnival Part1

My buddy fellow photographer Carlos Puma photographed his youngest son for this banner which greeted visitors to the first “Artnival” at Riverside’s White Park.

Artnival, a concatenation of the words “Art” and “Carnival,” materialized as a family fun event in Riverside’s White Park this afternoon.

For its debut, this event put together by Cosme Cordova owner of Division 9 Gallery, showed it’s not all gloom for the arts even in bad economic times.

When budget woes force an austere mentality to glom on to everything in sight  like a hot humid cloud that follows us around everywhere, sometimes all it takes is for one person to have a vision.

Cynthia Huerta, another vendor, had a few moments to spare after setting up, so I got her sister Heaven to pose for this picture. Compare this with the image below. Exposure 1/100 sec @ f11 ISO 200 17 mm lens. Speedlight 580EX was held on the left off-camera because picture frame would have cast a shadow if placed on the right of camera.
This image was made at 1/40 sec @f11 ISO 200. The longer shutter speed let in more light so the background is lighter and more distracting? You may not agree but this is mostly a matter of taste.

Cordova reached out via Kickstarter and social media and was able to raise the $2K from 52 backers.

It’s good to know there is no shortage of dedicated artists and volunteers who believe in the importance of the arts to lend a hand to make this happen.

I hope the hard work and momentum from this year’s efforts will carry through to next year. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Here’s another portrait of another vendor who made floral decorations for ladies’ hair. Off-camera flash on the left. 1/160 @f11 ISO 200 17mm lens.
Erica Kayondo, face painter and owner of Okidoki Face Painting, was one of the vendors. She sat patiently as I made this portrait of her. Speedlight 580EX set to High Shutter Speed sync on off-camera sync cord on manual power 1/8th power 1/500sec @f8 50mm lens Canon 40D ISO 200

The Light

As with most outdoor events, you have to pick when to actually take your pictures.

If time is not an issue, waiting till the sun isn’t overhead is your best bet.

As it gets later in the day, the sun gets more directional and there are more possibilities because everything under the sun isn’t lit the same way.

You’ll suddenly notice the vendors in their EZ Popups (tent-like shades) because you can see their faces and they aren’t silhouettes under their respective canopy’s shadow against a bright background.

Distracting backgrounds can be hidden by being placed in the shadows and the warmer evening tones make your color pop.

If you don’t have the luxury of waiting around for the light to change, and you happen to arrive when the sun is still overhead, you will need to use your Speedlight to tame the background and control the contrast.

Next: Part 2 Fun and Games

Peter Phun Photography

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