La Fiesta ~ Santa Barbara

Nine photographers took the train from Guadalupe to Santa Barbara to see what opportunities could be found at "La Fiesta" on Saturday. What we found was an overcast morning, a parade, music, dance, and a myriad of other festive and informative activities. Overall, I give the event a thumbs up.

Harsh, mid-day light was not ideal for photographing the stage dancers. Light of the overcast morning was nicer, but we're pretty much stuck with what the weather delivers. I can often find ways to mitigate the adverse affects of harsh light, but those chairs! The stage background was overwhelmed by about thirty of the whitest and brightest folding chairs of the decade. They were very distracting, and limited stage photography to a one small corner comprising about one-eighth of the performance area. With such colorful dancers, a black cloth backdrop - in front of the chairs - would have significantly improved presentations. I think that this could have been easily and inexpensively done by hanging the backdrop from the same cables that supported the lights. Look how nicely the dancers stand out against the green foliage, and think of what a background clutter of bright white chairs would do.

On the other hand, since the chairs weren't needed for the afternoon performances, leave them off the stage. Easy.