Pageant on the Streets "Sagala"

A small marching band leads the way and as the sound of the beating drums drew closer. People from their homes tend to go out and watch as the sound of the drums is an indication of a parade.

This shoot was actually unplanned as we were out supporting my uncle on his campaign for barangay election a month ago. If you are interested you could read more about it here

Campaign Day.

The moment I heard the drums I was compelled to break away from the campaign group and decided to go rouge and take some shots of the parade. At this time I was not sure if I would ever get another chance to capture the events of May. Due to my day job it is really hard to plan ahead for events like this and most of the time there are a lot of missed opportunities.

The parade starts out with the children all dressed up and with full support from their parents. If you could see I am still struggling when shooting moving subjects. The Sigma prime lens that I have which was a hand me down lens is very sharp. But when it comes to moving subject manual focusing is a struggle. You may ask, "Why not go on auto?" Well with the lens that I have, I had to use a dumb adapter to connect it with the micro four thirds mount. No electronic connection, no aperture adjustment and fixed to 1.4 which explains the blurry image of one of the subjects.

Aside from that my eyes has gotten blurry and was told I would need progressive lens. Quite hard to get the focus spot on with your struggling eyesight. Still I am thankful that I could get some decent shots. Maybe will get those progressive lens once we have the budget for that as I was told they are expensive. Price ranges from 15,000 pesos above or around $300, well for now will just make use of what I have.

Sometimes I think and I guess my greatest fear is losing sight as photography is something that is a part of me already. Some of you might find it ridiculous but I would consider it as like air that I breath. I'm still new at photography and still have so much to learn. During college days got a chance to use the film camera and with the digital camera have just been using it for less than a year now.

I always wonder what would be considered as a perfect shot. I always check photos from professionals here and draw inspiration from their works. Checking the angles and lighting wondering about the settings, some of them do include the settings of their photos.

One of the inspirations I had here in this community in my earlier months was David Hive account@bescouted. We had a couple of exchanges back then and gave me little tips in photography. He also has a site called Bescouted connected to the blockchain which showcases photographers and models around the world. The site takes out the middle man and gives direct access to models so they could be better compensated. The site just shows how selfless David is in helping out models and photographers alike. It's been a long while since we last chatted.

On occasions like this it pleases me when the people interacts with you. Giving you a smile or a pose which brings out the best of the subjects.

Although some are unresponsive and simply just move along but still there are ways to bring out the best side.

Stolen shots often captures true emotion and could tell a lot of stories. Laughter, a glance, a certain look, facial expressions all plays a part in telling a story.

All beautifully dressed they walk the streets proudly. To learn more how this parade came about please do read the link that I provided earlier. The word Sagala is also known as the Santacruzan a month when beautiful young ladies put on their gowns and makeup. There are those who rents the dresses but there are those who has them tailor made specifically for this occasion.

There are simple yet beautiful dresses, others are extravagant with long trains, there are those with beads and intricate detail to the clothing.

Some of the ladies are escorted by young gentlemen but still the main focus of the parade is the lovely ladies.

I think this is the best smile I captured in this parade. Very sincere and authentic that matches her lovely red dress.

At the end of the parade is the Reina Elena a tribute to Queen Helena. Chosen and has been said that the Reina Elena is the most beautiful of them all.

Well it seem that our Reina Elena was a bit shy and was unable to get her to smile. Maybe she was already a bit tired of the walking.

This ends our parade and thanks for visiting. How would you like to join that parade? Please leave some comments and let me know what your thoughts are. What do you think about my photography any tips are most welcome as that is how we grow and learn.

Have a good evening Steemians.