Stephen Sheridan

Today was the final day of the 2011 Peoples Photography Exhibition on Stephen’s Green Dublin. I was positioned in a quite spot yesterday and didn’t get that much interest in my prints. However, today the organisers kindly moved me to a much better spot right across from the Shelbourne Hotel. There was lots of passersby and lots of people stopped to look at my work. I even managed to sell two mounted prints, which was good going because not many people made sales over the two days. Needless to say I was very happy. I would definitely recommend taking part in this annual exhibition if you get the chance. Regardless of whether you make any sales, its a great opportunity to view other photogs work, chat to some really knowledgable people and get some great ideas.

So to todays shot. Well as chance would have it, today was annual Hare Krishna festival day. To celebrate this day there was a ‘Festival of Chariots’ or Ratha Yatra. Festival-goers, pilgrims, and faith leaders hand-pulled a 40-foot high colourful chariot carrying the sacred deities of Lord Jagannatha, Lady Subhadra and Lord Balarama from the Garden of Remembrance to St. Stephen’s Green.

I was lucky enough to be positioned right at the junction where the chariot turned on to Stephen’s Green so I grabbed a couple of shots with my Leica. The photo doesn’t do the chariot justice. The colours where amazing and the sounds of chanting and singing made everyone stop and look. The turret on the chariot even moved up and down as it moved up the street to avoiding overhanging cables.

Shot details :- ISO 500, 35mm, 0 ev, f/4, 1/4000