Thursday, March 6, 2014

A Bit Forlorn

Mardi Gras Parade 2014-03-04 4 BW

It's hard to say why the organizers of our Mardi Gras events keep up the Tuesday night parade. I'm pretty sure it's run by a for-profit business (the website is mardigrasinc.com) so there has to be a commercial reason. There's nobody out on the street downtown on a winter week night. The attendance was so small that the occasion had a certain pathos.

On the other hand, Washington Avenue has gotten so many bars, restaurants and entertainment venues in the last 10 or 20 years that it has created a destination.  A lot of young people are attracted to it but in the warm months the spillover into the street can get, um, let's say, intimidating. That's city life.                             

Mardi Gras Parade 2014-03-04 5 BW

10 comments:

cieldequimper said...

A parade with no one to watch it is rather sad indeed. The black and white worka a treat though!

Olivier said...

heureusement que la parade a rechauffee le public. superbe b&w, surtout la deuxieme

Nathalie H.D. said...

Your top photo is pathetic indeed. Mardi means Tuesday so it makes sense that Mardi Gras be on a Tuesday but honestly, such events should be held at weekends!
The only benefit at least is that as a photographer you have no problem accessing your subjects !)

Dave-CostaRicaDailyPhoto.com said...

If we can have most holidays on Mondays, it would seem that the Mardi Gras parade could be moved to the weekend.

Luis Gomez said...

Bob, gorgeous shots. Love the atmosphere.

William Kendall said...

These shots work well in black and white.

We don't have a mardi gras thing going on here, but in a few days we'll have the St. Pats parade, and that tends to draw people.

Norma said...

I always assumed anybody out on the streets downtown after dark was more than a little nuts!

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Looked like there was a bigger crowd in the second shot Bob.. Your crisp b&w images stand alone however successful the parade was, they are totally fab!

Stefan Jansson said...

Sounds a bit sad, but I'm glad you were there.

Unknown said...

I'm in awe at the bottom shot, it's fantastic! You are a great photographer no matter it's b&w or colours, Bob.