Saturday, July 21, 2007

Harry Potter Book Release


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Originally uploaded by Chris in KC

The final book in the Harry Potter series was released this morning at 12:01. I figured people would be lined up and wearing costumes, which translates into a photo opportunity. I went to two of the local bookstores, Borders and Barnes and Noble. The great thing about events like this is everyone is eager to have their photograph taken. I asked permission several times, but just as often I did not ask for permission. More than once I was told, "Oh, you have to take a picture of my child also." The crowd was very easy to interact with and the general mood of the crowd was upbeat and pleasant.

The challenge was the lighting. I used the flash for most shots, but the ceilings were constantly changing heights and the lighting changed constantly depending on where people were in the stores. This was a good exercise because it forced me to deal very quickly with these changing conditions. I am not completely happy with these photographs, and there is a lot of room for improvement. I was much more comfortable being "the photographer", however, and it was much easier working the crowd and interacting with the people.

The top photograph is one of the winners of the costume contest during the moment he found out he won. I was excited to catch his reaction in this photograph.
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This was one of the volunteers helping out. She put a lot of time and effort into her costume, and I thought the result was great.

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This little girl was the hit of the event. Everywhere she went people were ooohhhhing and aaahhhing. She won the costume event for infant to four years.

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There were LOTS of people dressed up like Harry, but this boy was one of the ones that stood out to me. I was impressed with the detail and quality of the costumes everyone was wearing.

This was a great event from a photographic point of view, and I definitely plan to attend more of these types of events to continue developing my skills.

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