February was the month of Mardi Gras and basketball and they were definitely my best photos.
Before moving to Galveston, I never understood Mardi Gras because I never understood it. The first night I shot a parade, I fell in love. I was smiling the entire time I was shooting, dancing to the bands and just enjoying everyone’s experiences. I was feeling pretty nervous about properly lighting a night parade, but I think I finally got the hang of it. Overall it was an amazing two weeks of just pure entertainment and joy. Capturing excitement and happiness is a blessing. I love being able to feel people’s energy through photos and I really tried to accomplish that.
Basketball was almost the opposite of Mardi Gras. We had multiple schools get to the playoffs, but I was not able to take a celebratory photo I was hoping for. Capturing sadness is not as fulfilling as joy, however, you feel so much more from a melancholy photo. I finally got a photo of a player crying after losing a game. I felt bad, but his emotion was so telling of the game. The poor team lost 61-59 and they played so well. Besides taking photos of emotion, I was able to really hone in my skills in basketball. I played with framing, tightened up my frames and tried more artistic, action photos. I absolutely love shooting sports so this was a enjoyable month for me.
The last two photos are just two of my favorites I took this month. Volunteers came to Clear Creek to pick up trash. There were so many people and even more trash, so I wanted to get a clean photo that showed these volunteers working and I think I did well with the frame below. The other is pure aesthetic. Apparently, Galveston has a fog season and I got to play with that a lot. This photo was a happy find as I was on a bridge at the right moment.
Kelsey Walling 