These photos are from the indoor version of the 2018 Mummers Parade. The Fancy Brigades, which are like four-minute Broadway producions, with elaborate sets, costumes and choregraphed dancers. My coworkers were photographing the actual parade outside in temperatures that were in the single digits when it started (in covering over a dozen Mummer Parades, this was my first time indoors). There were four of us covering the parade today. That is not a change from previous years. For an event that starts in the pre-dawn and goes on well into the night, it takes at least that many photographers to cover it well. Just like covering an Eagles game. But with real feathers.
Working on the floor of the Convention Center, I had prepared captions the night before for each one of the twelve Fancy Brigade clubs performing. I was then able to upload all the photos on my laptop, right there in front of the "stage." from each club into a separate folder - with captions including the name of each captain and their theme - between each performance. I was even able to edit and transmit photos back to the newspaper, and add a couple to the image gallery that was on the philly.com homepage. The bulk of the editing was done afterwards though, when I could go through each folder and pick images to present a varied view of the show. While sitting at a table in the Panera acrosss the street. I selected the most interesting from each club, trying not to replicate my choices, picking some tight faces, some wide views and a few that were unusual angles. I tried a blurring a few dancers using a slow shutter speed as they waved flags, twirled or threw objects into the air. It wasn't until the second to the last club came up - with lighted costumes on a darkened stage - that I knew the blur had found the right moment. That's the photo at the very top.
Click on the photos, or here, for the gallery of our staff photos of the day.
And as long as I am catching up, here is a gallery of the Inquirer's Year in Pictures:
And... our photo staff's favorites of 2017.