Caribbean Carnival

Carnival is a big inspiration to me. On the page, Portrait Photographer in Trinidad, I describe its importance on my path to becoming a professional photographer.

The vibrance of the carnival makes me feel intensely alive. I guess that this is the case for many other people. Just look at how famous the carnivals of the Americas are worldwide.

A little more about Trinidad & Tobago Carnival:

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is a colorful and exuberant cultural event that is celebrated annually on the Monday and Tuesday before Ash Wednesday . The festival is known for its processions, music, dancing, and the use of masquerade . The event is preceded by numerous cultural events such as “band launch fetes’ . The festival is associated with calypso music, which has its origins formulated in the midst of hardship for enslaved West and Central Africans . Costumes (sometimes called “mas”), stick-fighting, and limbo competitions are also important components of the festival .

The Mas tradition started in the late 18th century with French plantation owners organizing masquerades and balls before enduring the fasting of Lent. The slaves, who could not take part in Carnival, formed their own, parallel celebration called “Canboulay” . Canboulay is a precursor to Trinidad and Tobago Carnival, and has played an important role in the development of the music of Trinidad and Tobago . Calypso music was developed in Trinidad in the 17th century from the West African Kaiso and canboulay music brought by African slaves imported to that Caribbean island to work on sugar plantations . These slaves, brought to toil on sugar plantations, were stripped of all connections to their homeland and family and not allowed to talk to each other. They used calypso to mock the slave masters and to communicate with each other. Many early calypsos were sung in French Creole by an individual called a griot. As calypso developed, the role of the griot became known as a chantuelle and eventually, calypsonian .

Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago is also celebrated in several cities worldwide, including Toronto’s Caribana, Miami’s Miami Carnival, Houston Carifest, London’s Notting Hill Carnival, as well as New York City’s Labor Day Carnival .

I also enjoy Carnival in Grenada, especially their Jouvert and you will see a lot of Grenada’s captures mixed in with the Carnival albums.

I am available for carnival and street photography internationally, I am willing to travel. Likewise for other kinds of events.