Africa Day — held on 25 May each year to mark the founding of the Organisation of African Unity — has been celebrated in Brisbane for years with a festival that brings together music, food, dance, and community from across the continent. The 2015 edition was held in one of Brisbane’s inner-western suburbs, and by mid-morning the park was full.
I came with a single prime lens and no particular agenda, which is how I prefer to work at community festivals. The combination of bright southern hemisphere winter light and the extraordinary colour of the clothing and costumes gave me more opportunities per hour than almost any other kind of event I photograph.
On the performers: The opening drum performance set the tone for the day. The drummer on stage was playing hard and smiling harder — entirely present, entirely committed. That kind of energy is easy to photograph because it does not require you to manufacture anything. You just point the camera at it.
On portraits in the crowd: I spent more time in the crowd than at the stage, which is usually where the better photographs are. People watching music, talking to friends, eating — these are the images that make a festival feel like a place rather than a spectacle. The woman in the headwrap and sunglasses turned and looked directly at me at exactly the right moment. I had two frames.
On the unexpected: There are always details at festivals that you cannot predict. A white Maltese terrier with pink-dyed fur, held up over the crowd by a woman in sunglasses, looking out at the field with an expression of studied neutrality. That image did not make any editorial point. It just made me happy.
This is one of the festivals I look forward to most each year. The community is generous with the camera, and the colour is extraordinary.