#J'ouvert

[portraits-of-afrikan-beauty]

📽 : DeAndre Wilson @dvndre

[mymusicbias]

[cristinazar]

BUZZING

[whodonthear]

1 word🥳🍑

[echoland]

who remembers brockhampton

[biillys]

BILLY WEEK → DAY TWO

sensitive, abrasive, stab you in the face keep a blade, heaven sakes, had to raise the stakes

better days, follow me like the saddest song

brockhampton; love me for life

[scyaxe]

how are there still discrepancies in lyrics in this day and age? especially newer, popular songs.

[magnificentmicrowave]

songtember day 13: BROCKHAMPTON - J'OUVERT

[cordspaghetti]

Pics from my first time at J'ouvert in Brooklyn yesterday! My aunt, my cousin and I played Jab covered in charcoal & oil (Grenadian tradition) with horns that we decorated to match while my step aunt paraded in costume with a band! We started around 4 am and went until 10 am before the West Indian Day Parade took place. I had an amazing time!! Not art related but wanted to share :)

[doingfilmthings]

Portraits, J'ouvert 2024

Brooklyn, NY; Yashica Mat 124G, Kodak Portra 160 and Gold 200

[cristinazar]

I attended the Notting Hill Carnival (27 Aug 2023 – 28 Aug 2023) for the second time and high expectations were met. It was a great time, but I must admit, my interaction with the carnival isn't quite like most people's. I go there to photograph and document the event, but I do it as part of my “artistic expression” (sorry for the fake highbrow). While others revel with friends to party, I'm more of a memory hoarder and archivist for the carnival. A girl with a hump and cap looking through a camera.

Don't get me wrong; I dance, admire the stunning costumes, and have fun, but not quite in the typical way it's intended. It's my way of enjoying the carnival, and I can't imagine going and not photographing it. That's my main desire at the carnival—to be a mirror for it, a tiny grain looking outward into that vast sea of energy.

For the past two years, I've focused on a photojournalism style because the event itself and the people within it are fascinating to me. I want to reflect the carnival as it is, but even in this approach, it's still very subjective photography. I choose who to photograph, under what circumstances, how to frame the image, and later, I select and edit the pictures. So, it's not reality, but it's the carnival through my experience.

Btw I welcome any notes or comments on this series :)

I observed numerous photographers and videographers on-site and had the pleasure of discovering their work on social media. It's a joy to see their personal reflections of the carnival. Capturing this incredible party filled with culture and people who open their hearts and identities for the camera is like a gift for a photographer. They reveal themselves in all their euphoria, and it's an unforgettable experience to be a part of.

One of the reasons I feel very fortunate to be living in London (or more like surviving London) is the opportunity to attend this J'ouvert. It's one of the few parties where I have an absolute blast.

This year, it took me a while to process my own work and edit it. Part of the reason is that I took more pictures and spent more hours at the carnival than last year. However, this doesn't necessarily mean the pictures are better; there were just more to go through, and I needed to take my time. To be honest, I'm a little disappointed with this year's photos compared to last. I'm not sure if it's because the novelty has worn off a bit or if I wasn't at the top of my game those two days. I'm quite rusty since I hardly take my camera out anymore and I really should do it more since even the camera's batteries die on me from lack of use!

My success depends on finding stories and interesting individuals at the carnival and being able to react quickly to capture the moment. Many times, I've seen something worth photographing and fumbled the opportunity. I hate when that happens, but it's bound to occur.

Additionally, while editing the pictures, I quickly realized that I had used the wrong camera settings (What a delight!). The pictures were noisy and looked of low quality. They seemed fine on the tiny camera screen, but on the computer, they resembled images taken with a 2000s Nokia. Lesson learned, or maybe not so much, as it seems I did worse than last year. But I'll certainly be more cautious in the future, ensuring I set the right parameters on the camera and invest in a better lens for fast-paced events. There should be no excuses, but as I mentioned last year, I often have mere seconds to capture a shot, dealing with whatever light conditions the sun or tree shadows throw at me and the speed at which my subjects move. So, it's not easy.

The AI noise reduction tool in Photoshop has helped salvage some of these photos that might otherwise have been discarded due to cases of "this person looks amazing, but the picture is shit". So, if you notice unreal smooth skin or odd lines in shadows, it's probably the AI at work.

As I write this text, I'm using an AI to assist me (hi chat), and it will be processed and grammatically corrected by it. Thus, both the images and text in this series bear the touch of artificial intelligence. Part of it is due to my mistakes, lack of time and skill, but it's also because AI is a valuable collaborator. I appreciate the style it adds to the photographs (and the grammar haha), making it a great creative partner for now. Let's see how it evolves in the future…

Another noteworthy aspect is that I've been sharing a lot about my experiences at the Notting Hill Carnival with a close friend, Carmen (too humble/shy to share last name). She always provides interesting interpretations and insightful comments on everything I tell her. She seemed amused by my stories and photos of the carnival, so I asked her if she'd be interested in creating some text based on the photographs.

Carmen has done some great work to accompany one of these series, the LOVE series (the text is in Spanish btw). She has never attended the Notting Hill carnival, so she based the experience on these pics. I really like how she writes, so I was very happy to have her included here.

I hope you enjoy the photographs and the information I tried to dig up on the culture behind the costumes and the traditions I saw. Of course, if you want to know more do your research and don't stop here, as there's lots to discover. Also, I want to make a disclaimer that the specific meaning of these scenes at the Notting Hill Carnival can vary widely among participants. Carnival costumes and symbols are highly individualistic and can be influenced by a person's cultural background, personal beliefs, or creative inspirations.

Thank you for reading!

Cris