A walk on the Pride side

June 29, 2008: hands on at the Pride Parade

This is the second time Paulette and I wandered down to Lakeview for the annual Pride Parade. This year Kati just moved into the neighborhood so she came with us and we met up with Joe at the end of the parade.

With over two hundred groups participating and about 450,000 people in attendance there is a little bit of everything in this parade. Anything goes out there and if you are offended by shirtless men in underwear it is best you stay home.

I was caught between shooting photos and hanging out, my problem is that when I am working an event I get in a zone and lose track of the people around me. I wandered off a few times but it was good that Kati was there so I was not abandoning Paulette. I really like to sit back with long glass everything was so crowded it was hard to get off much from the street with my 300. As it turns out all three in this triptych are shot wide.

We camped out at Halsted and Brompton for most of the parade. When everything came to a stop for about 45 minutes and the rain rolled in so we retreated to Las Mananitas Mexican Restaurant for a few margaritas and a window seat.

My original goal was to find 3 photos that I could never get published in the paper. I just did not see that much that was crazy over the top or maybe I did not look hard enough or maybe I just was not in the right place.

I always shoot for the best moments and edit for what something unique about the event. The one thing that struck me Sunday was how close the people were to the parade. Every ten minutes or so a police officer would stroll by on a 4-wheeler, a Segway or even on horseback to push the crowd back but as soon as they passed the crowd just moved back into the street.

The crowd is as big a part of the event as the floats and walkers. People run into the street for hugs, beads, condoms or whatever is being handed out. Others run out to take photos with friends and characters in the parade. We even ran across a guy with his leather whip giving everyone a little slap here and there. I shot a couple cards and have a ton of fun photos. These are the three that give me the feel of the blending of the parade and the people.

-jk