My last post was about shooting political demonstration in Rio de Janeiro. As much as I enjoyed it, there is something I enjoyed even more. Shooting Rio de Janeiro Carnival of course! I got this unique opportunity thanks to my very resourceful Brazilian girlfriend. She managed to get me a back pass to the first leg of the Carnival, so I could take photos all the way right until performers reach Sambodrome. Sambodrome is the main stage where only accredited press professionals from the major worlds newspaper were allowed in.
For those who do not know, Rio Carnival is actually the most important and traditional competition between 8 biggest and best Samba schools, and many smaller schools as well. For the most Cariocas people of the great city of Rio De Janeiro this is very important part of the year. They train hard in their Samba Schools for months in order to give best show when the time of the Carnival comes. For the first time I felt that I would really, and I mean really, love to have a bit better photographic equipment.
It is true that better photo equipment will not make you better photographer, but if you already know what you are doing in certain situations better gear will empower you to make better photos. Still, I guarantee that good photographers will make better photos with IPhone, then people without experience or talent with Canon 1Dx. I am not saying I did not make photos I am extremely happy with, but I did miss many shots just because of my gear.
I needed a F1. I needed camera and lens that can focus in very dark conditions, I needed camera that can go much higher then ISO I needed f2. I needed but I did not have it. So what do we do at those times? We have to forget about the places we cannot make a shot because of the gear or any other limitation. As soon as I realized that I am struggling a lot in darker places of the marching path, and as usually there were many interesting things in the dark : I moved to the areas with more light and looked for photo opportunities there.
At the end I have to say that Brazilians do know how to party, they do know how to dance, they do know how to have good time. But as much as they like all that, they are dead serious when it comes to Samba and Carnival. I was melting myself while dressed only in a t shirt and bermudas. So, this little review and photos from the Carnival in Rio is a bit too late, but it is never too late to enjoy some photography.
