Every year the Borough of Bristol here in Bucks County hosts an Annual Puerto Rican Day Festival. This year was no different except it was the 50th one! As the sponsors say “Join us for a trip to Puerto Rico without the airfare” and so I did! The festival gods must have been watching over Bristol because it was supposed to rain most of Saturday, but it didn’t. Instead we had the incredibly sweltering weather that has made July the hottest month on record. But things can always be worse … instead of 97 degrees it could have been 100.
I attended the event several years ago and had a good time. Even got a nice picture out of the deal. Things were pretty much the same this time around. Interesting people, good food, great music and plenty of kitsch to buy.
One of the first things that happened was literally bumping into someone with a large Nikon digital camera and an even larger zoom lens while about to make a picture. That led to a lengthy and somewhat painful conversation about his amusement at seeing my Plaubel Makina film camera and how he used to have a darkroom. He gave it up when the first digital cameras came out and has never looked back … all those chemicals and other inconveniences. I found a nice way to end the conversation and was able to move on.
One of the things I do is try to keep up with things going on nearby. Bristol is on the Delaware River, about a 25 mile drive from home, so that works out nicely. But wait, there’s more action coming up soon! In August I have the Grange Fair I always go to and new this year is the Philly Naked Bike Ride. Should be interesting! Of course I don’t limit myself to photographing at local events and neither should you. But they do provide photographic and other entertaining opportunities. I particularly enjoy going to ones that have potential for the somewhat weird and out there. Asbury Park’s annual Zombie Walk comes to mind. And I’m determined to get to Coney Island’s annual Mermaid Parade. I was supposed to go this year but something I thought was important came up that I couldn’t get out of … I wish I had gone to the Mermaid Parade.
So I had a good time at the Puerto Rican Day Festival. An hour or so of meandering around and roll of 120 film was just about right. 6X7 yields ten frames which was all I needed, although I had three more rolls with in my camera bag just to be on the safe side. NOTE: While there’s something to be said about the discipline of restricting yourself to one roll of film for an outing (although 10 pictures may not be very much), there’s nothing worse than missing a great picture because you ran out of film! So don’t be a bozo and be prepared.
Summer is a great time for outdoor events that can yield some great photographic opportunities. Check some out … you might have some fun and get a few keepers along the way.
Stay well,
Michael