Mas, the central performance art form of Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago, is inherently ephemeral. After months of preparation and anticipation, that moment comes with all its energy and passion, color and fire, and fades away leaving a mark on our memory. And with photos. “As the years go by, the photos Become Our Carnival Memories”: So we responded to the January/February 2007 issue of the magazine. caribbean beatSo, we asked six renowned carnival photographers to select particularly meaningful images from their archives to tell their stories.
To publish a digital-only Carnival issue in January and February 2021, 14 years later (in a year when the COVID-19 pandemic has brought nostalgia to Carnival season), we are partnering with three more We asked our photographer to do the same and were happy to do the following: This feature will first appear in print in the January/February 2025 issue.
Jason C. Ordine, Maria Nunez, and Sean Rambaran independently and completely coincidentally photographed the Moko Jumbee, a traditional mass character from West Africa that has made a huge comeback in the past decade. I chose. It also has a story.
“Photographs are stories”
Jason C. Odin I remember filming Peter Minshall’s Carnival King. dying swan — as told sherry ann inniss
2016 was the first time I photographed the Carnival Kings and Queens contest in Savannah. Without Maria Nunez, this photo would not have been possible. I was taking pictures all night and just before I left I met Maria and she said, dying swan begins. ” I told her that I couldn’t take any more photos because my memory card was full. She took out a card and said, “Use it. Give it back whenever we can meet again.” This is how I ended up taking photos of Minshall. dying swan [portrayed by Jha-whan Thomas].
Almost everything about that night was magical to me because I had never experienced King and Queen before. A friend asked me to take a photo for the contest, so I ended up going to the contest that year. something about swan It was just different. I was taking pictures like crazy. I don’t see how this production couldn’t compete in terms of performance and direction.
Carnival in Trinidad is an art. For me, traditional trout has an artistic side. Every costume I’ve seen isn’t just a costume, it’s art. It’s an exhibition in itself. People see the final product, the costume, but they don’t know the process behind it. It’s the same with photography, people don’t realize the effort that goes into capturing the image.
Ma’s photo shoots are all about waiting processes. Most people just snap, snap, snap. I hold the camera to my eye and wait until I see something special. I have a shot in my head that I plan on taking. I looked at the photo before that happened.
For me, photography is a story. Photos are meaningless if they can’t tell a story. In my opinion, without a story, it’s just a pretty snapshot.
“It’s like a kind of meditation.”
maria nunes I remember a pre-dawn walk through eastern Port of Spain with Alan Vaughan’s depiction of Moko Jumby. The sun rises and overwhelms sinners
This photo was taken at around 5am on Carnival Friday 2019 on Observatory Road in Belmont, eastern Port of Spain. Alan Vaughan, designer of the mass band “Moko Somoku” The sun rises and overwhelms sinnerstold me he was going to walk from Eltig Road to the re-enactment of Cambre in Piccadilly. I thought it would be very special to photograph him as he moved through the quiet streets. I was impressed with Alan’s ability to delve deeply into the profound literary work of Wilson Harris’s novel. peacock palace To inspire Moko Somokufu’s presentation that year. I wanted to document and witness his quiet efforts.
One of the biggest challenges for moko jumbies walking the streets is navigating the constant intersections of telephone lines and other cables strung from lamppost to lamppost. The costume presented an added challenge due to the height of the headgear, so Alan needed the help of his colleague Daniel to guide him safely as he walked. At that time the streets were very desolate. There was a real sense of calm before all the carnival energy was unleashed. The walk felt like a kind of meditation. It was so beautiful that I could feel its majestic presence. the sun rises on the sinners Literally like the sun emerging from the darkness of night. It was so quiet that I could hear the fabric of his costume swishing as he walked. I remember that sound.
I took a lot of photos that morning. It was very difficult to choose what to share. Ultimately, I chose this path because of all the surrounding details: the vines tangled with power lines, the old stone walls topped with barbed wire, the sense that this street is full of history; It was more for the gesture than anything else. Daniel’s arm guiding Alan.
To me, this image reminds me of the deeply spiritual and ritualistic core of Carnival. Many of the images we see of Carnival are rich with the energy of many people bathed in bright sunlight. This photo depicts a very real side of our carnival that is often not seen or noticed.
That morning, I used a mirrorless camera for the first time. This was a bit of an experiment and learning curve for me to see if I could get the results I’m used to with a DSLR. Flash wasn’t involved. Generally, when I go out into town for Carnival, I carry at least two cameras, multiple lenses, and a flash. You must be prepared for all eventualities. There’s a lot going on around you. We are constantly making split-second decisions.
What I aim for in carnival photography is simply to be present in an unobtrusive way, to not be too involved in orchestrating the moment. My favorite photos are when the person is so absorbed in their own business that they don’t even notice the camera. Sometimes magic happens.
“It was a real gift.”
he says he doesn’t quite understand how it happened Sean Rambaran Shinel Brizan’s Moko Jumbee Queen photoshoot Mariela, the shadow of consciousness
2019 was a great year. By the time I took this photo, I had been taking stick-walking photos for dozens of months, starting with Alice Yard’s 1000mokos project and ending with the birth of Alan Vaughan’s band Moko Somoku in 2018. I was ignorant and didn’t know that it was just a prelude to the crescendo that was to come.
Carnival 2019 features surreal theater based on Wilson Harris novel peacock palace Moko Somokufu’s Moko Jumbies was illustrated by the genius of Alan Vaughan. I took photos of the band backstage, witnessed the humble beginnings of each costume, and met principal performers Tekel “Salty” Sylvain, Russell “Rusty” Grant, and the band’s young queen, Chanel.・I gradually came to know about Brizan. Everyone was enthusiastic about making costumes.
Simple resources such as cardboard boxes, recycled bits, natural materials, dead leaves, and scraps of fabric were expertly crafted on Alan’s sewing machine, an artist who paints on fabric like a painter layers oil paint.
Chanel Brizan Mariela, the shadow of consciousness She was a huge trout. It was so large that only a small portion of her costume could be seen at a time inside the band’s mass camp on Artich Road in Belmont.
Eventually, the day came for her to make her debut in the qualifying rounds of the 2019 Carnival Queens competition. To secure a favorable spot in the photographer zone, I did not spend the night with the band and instead used my media pass to go directly to the Savannah Grandstand. While waiting for our queen, I watched the other contestants cross the stage. They were loud, bright, and colorful, occasionally jamming to a cacophony of thunderous soca.
Then the brightness disappeared. The lights went out. Savannah was silent. The air was cold. Quiet. As I stood in the darkness pointing my camera, I could feel the anticipation of the audience around me.
The sound of African drums rang out from the darkness. Once the rhythm was established, a pale blue light appeared. Marielashe glided around the stage like crazy. I fell into a trance. My fingers moved on their own, changing settings to account for the dark stage, timing Chanel’s movements and pressing the shutter, and my mind drifted deeper and deeper into the spell she had cast. . At this moment, when I first saw the entire costume all together floating through my field of vision, I was in awe as I felt my pores open and my hair stand up.
As Shinel floated off the stage, I woke up and found myself kneeling in a hole in front of where she had once stood, a few meters away from where I started. I looked down and found this photo in my camera, but I wasn’t sure how it happened. It was a real gift.
What did this moment tell me about Trinbago Carnival? It demonstrated the power of art to probe deeply into the human soul. Although much of today’s carnivals have become commercial and sterile, it is reassuring to know that true art can still exist. And what’s more, it should be recognized as just that. A week later, Moko Somokufu was overjoyed when Sinel Brizan was officially chosen as the 2019 Carnival Queen.