It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that I wanted to go out and shoot something tonight. It has been a long time since my last “travel” photo-walk and I had the opportunity tonight as the kids won’t have school tomorrow and they went to bed early.
It’s the end of October and Hindus celebrate their colorful Deepavali festival, also known as “Festival of Lights”. While the event can be celebrated anywhere, it is in the heart of Little India where everyone is headed for the past few nights.
I invited my friend, Mike to shoot with me as we met up at around 7PM and went on our way.
The subway ride to Little India is already an indication of the scale of the event. I’ve never seen the subway this jam-packed on a Sunday!
Everyone in Little India was in a festive mood. Smiles were everywhere and folks were just happy to have their photos taken.
We were tired after the 3-hour crowded walk, but we had a blast. Hope you enjoy the gallery.
I’ve used Mike’s Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 lens for the most part of the event. I’ll provide a review of that lens in my review site in a few days, watch out for it.
Hi David,
Great shots and very brave – to brave the crowd on such a night. Like esp the shot of guy posing and smiling at the camera. I have been shooting at Chinatown alone and no one seems wanna to pose. That shooed me away or turn away. Hmm. Planning to go Chinatown area soon? I thought of shooting there again.
Hi Mac,
Although I’m Chinese myself, the folks in Little India are A LOT more friendly and easier to approach. There are a lot more smiles in Little India than Chinatown. I find Chinatown a bit too fake these days, the “culture” parts are just commercialized facades.
There are so many people during Deepavali, there’s no reason to be scared or worried, everyone’s just having a blast.