Photo by myself in Chinatown, around Chrystie and Grand Streets.
Happy Year of the Tiger! Celebrations marking the Lunar New Year took place Saturday afternoon in Chinatown.
As customary, dancers dressed in dragon costumes went to each store, to chase out spirits lingering from the last year. The group went quickly, collecting red packets of money from store owners. A drum and gong accompanied the parade.
I've been in a little photography slump recently, because of the cold weather and short days. So it was a real treat to use my camera Saturday afternoon. Fortunately it wasn't too cold and we had some sun.
Just about everyone I saw had a cameras and cellphones out, taking photos. Does anybody use their eyeballs to see things anymore? I have to say I'm guilty of this too, and it scares me a little.
There were lots of little kids following the parade. Funny, because I remember seeing one of these parades when I was little and being scared silly by the costumes and noise.
The Dragon Parade on Mott Street, The Taiwanese Festival in Union Square and A Careful Choice, in Chinatown.
13 comments:
superbes fetes avec de belles couleurs
Nice pictures !
I was at the parade in Lyon (France) and it was exotic !
Nice shots. Very colorful.
What luck i would have loved to see this!
Awesome shots of the lion dance. The last time I went to Flushing for Chinese New Year, I was only able to catch a few shot of the dancers because of the crowd.
And I totally understand the slump feeling. It's difficult to be inspired and enthusiastic about photography all the time when we have jobs and datelines.
a) great photos, kitty! you really captured the color and motion of the event.
b) "Just about everyone I saw had a cameras and cellphones out, taking photos. Does anybody use their eyeballs to see things anymore? I have to say I'm guilty of this too, and it scares me a little." you know, it's so funny you should mention this. watching the olympics opening ceremonies friday night, as the athletes were entering the stadium, country by country, I was struck by how many were not really looking directly AT the moment, but were, instead, watching it through the lens of a video camera. i know you'd want a record of it, but really...isn't that something you should experience and relish IN the moment??
I think the same thing watching people hurrying down the streets, talking on their cell phones. their missing the world! and the worst (in my mind), people at dog park...their dogs enjoying the day and their friends, and their owners missing the joy of it all, standing in one spot the entire time, talking on their cell phones.
i'm not anti-cell phone or technology or anything, I LOVE my gadgets...but i think we have to rememeber to just enjoy the here and now while we can....
sorry so long :-)
Wow! I saw the parade only in movies, and you were inside! Is a Tiger a lucky sign?:)
Thanks Olivier
Yes I loved the colors they used. Red is a popular color for luck. There were many red flags and lanterns out.
Hi Petitbobun
I'd love to see such an event in Lyon. That must have been fun!
Thanks Luis!
Hi Joanne
Yes indeed, it was complete luck. Mark was driving, we saw the parade and I just jumped out of the car.
Fortunately if you want to see such a celebration you know when it is! It's always some time in February.
Thanks Ming!
Oooh, I'd love to go to Flushing. I'd devour everything.
It's also great to commiserate with other daily photographers!
Hi MissB
Deep thoughts, I know! We noticed the camera thing from the games, too, and found it distracting. Wouldn't seeing the footage on TV later be better than their blurry photos? I don't understand.
Hi Emanuela!
It was funny, what you can't see from the photos are the cars along the street and mounds of snow. As the parade went down the street, people had to run around the snow mounds to get a good view.
I think all the chinese astrological signs are considered lucky. If there were unlucky ones, 1/12 the population would be upset! I did a little reading online about this year and it had mixed reviews.
Kitty, these are brilliant! I didn't realise it was the year of the tiger!
When i get my own place i may have to pay you for copies of your prints so i can have brilliant pictures of NYC all over my house!
:)
As you might expect with the large population of Chinese in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Oakland and San Francisco Chinatowns were bustling with Year of the Tiger festivities, similarly colorful to what you show here.
This is so colourful and exotic!
Hallo :-) nice blog e nice shots . I take a pic in front at the same fishmongher shpo last summer in NY city. Ciao :-)
Nice shot :D
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