My trigger [shutter] finger had a serious itch when I woke up this morning. My buddy Pete of Denim Spot invited me down to to come enjoy Brazilian Day festivities. This worked out well as we needed to catch up on some business. I did not stick around for the entire day’s scheduled events, but I managed to capture some of the color. I’m always game, when people take the time to be creative and make any kind of art that is visually appealing. Unfortunately there would be no carnival/samba dancers this time, however I did meet some of the folks from the Brazilian Center who gave me the scoop on future performances. I’m looking forward to capturing those colors for sure. Most of what I captured was of the Mexican Folkloric Dance studio performance. I suppose it was more of a latin american cultural day. Still they put on a very visually appealing performance. Below are some of my favorite shots:
As for the technical details, I shot these with the Canon 5D Mark III using the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II. Because I was shooting over a very dynamic range I put the camera in AV mode. My Aperture was set to f/2.8 for maximum bokeh and subject isolation. My ISO was set to 400-800 to give me a fast enough shutter to stop the motion. AF was set to AI-SERVO to track the fast moving subjects. Selected my AF point based on how I wished to frame each shot. I also used partial or spot metering to help the camera ignore the over exposed spots not covered by tree shadows. This was further aided by the fact that I was tracking my moving subject and keeping my focus point on them at all times. I also used High speed shutter mode to take my shots in bursts of 2-4 shots. Even though the 5D Mark-III is fast enough for most cases, I found myself missing a few key shots because of the “fast-but-not-fast-enough” shutter speed. This is another area where my 7D has never had a problem.
Overall it made for a fun, casual Saturday out and about.
PhotoSnob 
Reblogged this on gomommynow and commented:
Here is an amazing blog entry from a local photographer. I did not attend the Brazilian Festival but based on these photos I wish I had. I would have loved the cultural experience. I can only hope you enjoy this as much as I did.
Always happy to share. Check back again from time to time for new exploits. Keep me posted if you know of any local events/subjects that might make for good photography.
Cheers!
Will do 🙂
I highly doubt that the Polish Festival will be as colorful, but here’s the info: http://www.polish-club.org – The 24rd annual Polish Festival begins at noon on Saturday, September 14, at the Polish American Club,327 Main Street in Roseville.
That’s a great idea. I’ve known of that festival for a while now. I’m gonna put that on my calendar. Traveling this week, so it might be a tight fit. Thanks for the tip!