Cultural Events

Looking Back: 8th Annual Asian Festival 2011 /  by Todd Henson

Destination Asia, the 8th Annual Asian Festival, held in July 2011 at George Mason University.

July of 2020 is not the best time to visit a crowded cultural festival, but around this time in 2011 it was. My brother and I attended the 8th Annual Asian Festival, held that year on July 23-24 at a new location on the campus of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. We’d visited in past years when it was held, if memory serves, at the Reston Town Center. And though that was a great location, setting up in the parking lots of GMU gave them much more space.

My favorite part of the festival were all the live performances, some on stages and some right in the middle of the crowds. I tried to find locations that let me create pleasing photographs, but many times I was stuck in a location because of the large crowds, so I did the best I could where I was. I also very much enjoyed the food selections, but didn’t end up photographing any, and this time around we didn’t try as much as I’d hoped because it was so very hot that day we mostly just wanted cold drinks. This also means we didn’t stay as long as we’d liked. The heat and humidity had a way of sapping our energy. I’m so very impressed by those who performed in that weather.

One of the first events we stumbled across was a group of young martial artists performing on the ground. They cleared a space in the crowd and began performing. You can see some of the industrial sized fans the event had to help deal with the heat, though the one in the background wasn’t running at the time. These athletes were incredible, performing amazing acrobatic moves with and without weapons of various sorts.

Flipping completely upside down, a young athlete demonstrates her martial arts.

A martial arts display demonstrating the sword.

A martial arts performance with a wooden spear. He was close enough the tip of the spear is out of focus.

Shortly after this we watched a performance on stage with a group of beautifully clothed dancers with these long feathers flaring from their headpieces. Part of the stage was shaded from the sun, but part was in full sunlight. You can see the difference in the photos.

Illuminated by the sun, this dancer stands out against the background which is in shade.

I loved their colorful outfits and those long feathers flowing from the crowns on their heads.

When performing close to the background the dancers were in shade, providing a softer, more even lighting.

About a half hour later we had to move aside as a parade came through the section we were in. It was fun getting to photograph this from up close.

This parade was full of bright red outfits and big smiles.

Later we heard music and made our way to another stage where musicians were playing these incredible traditional stringed instruments. It was a really fascinating sound.

Musicians performed using traditional stringed instruments.

A cropped view showing just the strings and the musician.

Here we get a better view of the stringed instrument.

The final performance we watched was a group of young dancers on stage, wearing bright colors

The final performance was a group of young dancers in bright colors.

The dancers brought big smiles to go with their bright colors.

The final performance we watched at the Asian Festival.

We were only there a couple hours before we grew tired of the heat, humidity and crowds, but I really enjoyed that time, and I think we got to see a nice sampling of the performances. I hope you enjoyed this brief look back at this great cultural event.

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Capturing Candid Moments at a Festival /  by Todd Henson

A member of Embajadores del Folklore after performing a Morenada dance.

This is the third and final post about XXX Festival Boliviano, the 30th annual Bolivian Festival held at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, Virginia, on September 3, 2017. As with the previous posts, be sure to click on any of the photos for a larger view.

Here is an example of a performer looking right at the camera. This performer was with Tinkus Bolivia who performed a Tinkus dance.

Another example of a performer looking right at the camera. In this case I was in a lower position looking up at this performer with Morenada Bolivia USA who had just performed a Morenada dance.

In the first post I shared photographs of several of the dance groups that performed. In the second post I shared many photographs of individual performers. In this post I look at capturing candid moments. These might be interesting moments during a performance, but are more often captured between or after a performance when the performer has relaxed and perhaps taken themselves momentarily out of the persona they portray while dancing.

I love this photograph of two young performers with Tinkus de San Simon USA, who performed a Tinkus dance. One performer is looking down the route they would take towards me, and the other is looking back towards the rest of their group.

In this version I captured a lone young performer from Tinkus de San Simon USA, who had performed a Tinkus dance. She is facing away from me, looking towards the American flag and back towards the rest of her group. I really like the moments captured in these two images.

I like trying to capture these candid moments because I think they help tell the story of the event. They show another layer to the performance and the performers. For example, we see the exhaustion when someone takes the mask off their head, the beads of sweat dripping down their face. And in that moment we can see the effort these performers put into their performance.

In this photo I captured the moment after the performer from Fundacion Socio Cultural Diablada Boliviana removed his mask after their final performance of a Wititi dance. You can see his exhaustion as he lifts his head towards the sun.

And in this photo we see another performer from Fundacion Socio Cultural Diablada Boliviana who had removed their mask after performing a Wititi dance.

As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, I don’t consider myself a people photographer. I rarely photograph people. But I am just as attracted to a stunning portrait or to impactful examples of street photography as I am to photographs of the subjects I most often shoot (nature, wildlife, outdoors). So I really enjoy events like this Festival, where I can practice photographing people in a challenging environment, trying to capture action and movement, but also trying to find and capture those more intimate moments between the dancing, trying to show a little more personality to the performer.

Here a performer from Tinkus Tiataco pauses during the Tinkus dance, raising her hand to her mouth. What was she thinking? What was she feeling?

Here is a moment when a young performer from Salay Bolivia USA pauses, raising her hand to her head, just after her performance of a Salay dance.

This photo captures a moment from a Tinkus dance performed by Tinkus Bolivia. I believe the girl with the whistle is leading her group within the dance. I like her pose and the positioning of the other people with the image.

Here is a small group of performers from Morenada Revelacion Cocanis VA USA just after performing a Morenada dance.

The next time you find yourself at this sort of event, or just out about town with your camera, consider looking for moments you can capture, moments that help tell a story about the subject. And if, like me, you usually shoot nature, consider occasionally photographing something different, such as people, events, or street photography. It’s a great way to learn. And in the end, light is light, and anything you learn about light in one environment can almost always be applied to a different environment.

A performer with Fraternidad Alma Boliviana raises her hand at the end of, or just after, performing a Tinkus dance.

Another performer from Fraternidad Alma Boliviana after performing a Tinkus dance.

I tried to frame this member of Morenada Bolivia USA amongst the colored feathers of other dancers in his group. They had just performed a Morenada dance.

In a moment captured after her dance, sunlight creates colored reflections on her face from the sequins in her outfit. She is a member of Fraternidad Folklorica Cultural Caporales Universitarios San Simon Filial VA, who performed a Caporales dance.

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Individual Dancers at the 2017 Bolivian Festival in Manassas, VA /  by Todd Henson

A member of Tinkus Bolivia, who performed a Tinkus dance. She saw me photographing and smiled for the camera.

Previously, I shared photographs of some of the dance groups at XXX Festival Boliviano, the 30th annual Bolivian Festival held at the Prince William County Fairgrounds in Manassas, Virginia on September 3, 2017. In this post I share photographs of many of the individual dancers during their performances.

Tinkus Bolivia performing a Tinkus dance.

An energetic move during a Tinkus dance performed by Tinkus Bolivia.

There were performers of all ages, including this young one from Morenada Central VA USA performing a Morenada dance.

Another young performer from Morenada Central VA USA performing a Morenada dance.

I loved watching the large groups perform moves in sync, all jumping or spinning together to the music. I admire the training and skill required to move as a group. But I also loved finding and photographing individuals, trying to capture the moves of a single person, showing their emotion and helping tell their story as a part of the group.

A performer from Embajadores del Folklore wore a beautiful flowing colorful dress while performing a Morenada dance.

Embajadores del Folklore included a lot of color, such as this performer during a Morenada dance.

I love this pose from a member of Fraternidad Alma Boliviana during their performance of a Tinkus dance, raising his arm and lifting his head towards the sun.

This member of Fraternidad Alma Boliviana showed such energy, jumping into the air during their performance of a Tinkus dance. Notice the water droplets to the side, splashed on the performers from folks walking alongside them, helping them cool down on the hot day.

I recall a few times when a performer saw me photographing and turned to smile for the camera. There is at least one photograph in this set like this. But most of these images were created during a performance while the person was focused on the dance.

A member of Embajadores del Folklore performing a Morenada dance.

A young performer from Fundacion Socio Cultural Diablada Boliviana, fully in costume and performing during a Wititi dance.

Some performers had full costumes, from head to toe, such as this member of Morenada Transpeco USA performing a Morenada dance.

It was a hot day and I have to imagine this performer from Embajadores del Folklore was feeling the heat while performing a Morenada dance in a full costume.

Despite the heat, these amazing groups continued to dance, including this performer from Morenada Bolivia USA during a Morenada dance.

The weather changed throughout the day. It began slightly overcast, which was great. It provided a nice soft light on the dancers, creating beautiful soft shadows. But before long the sky cleared resulting in direct sunlight illuminating the performers, casting a more harsh and well defined shadow. The sun stayed out most of the rest of the day, but occasionally a cloud would move in front of the sun and for a brief period we’d have softer light again.

There was such a diversity to the outfits, but they were all beautiful and full of color, including that of this young performer from Centro Cultural Bolivia during a Pujllay dance. Look closely to the right of her hat and you'll see a floating bubble. There were children on the sidelines blowing bubbles throughout the day.

A young member of Morenada Bolivia USA performs his moves during a Morenada dance.

I really don’t consider myself a people photographer. I spend far more time photographing nature: animals, insects, flowers, landscapes. But events like this make me realize I can also enjoy photographing people, especially in such candid, fluid settings, even though it can be challenging. I have much still to learn and that’s perhaps part of why I enjoy it.

The Caporales dance performed by Fraternidad Folklorica Bolivia included energetic jumps and costumes that reflected colored light into their faces when the sun shone on them. Direct sunlight is not always a bad thing.

So much color and so many smiling faces, including this performer from Morenada Bolivia USA performing a Morenada dance.

A performer from Tinkus San Simon USA performing a Tinkus dance.

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