Wet Wet Carnival!

Sunday was the finale of the Jamaica Carnival season, the anticipated Road March, a parade of a kaleidoscope of colours, infiltrating music, and the scantily clad women dancing as they make their way down to the streets of Kingston city. I got up at approximately 10:00am and after a few rounds of consultations with other photographers, I decided to meet the Road March at Trafalgar Road in New Kingston, which did not happen until about 1:00pm. However, before I could hear the music and see the the big trucks and colourful costumes I beheld an ominous sign!

I looked up at the sky towards the Blue Mountains and the sky was mean, a striking contrast to what I woke up to earlier in the day! The hot, bright sunny skies was replaced with shades of gray and huge heavy clouds which began to burst over the mountain range. By the time I saw the marching band and the first of the big trucks, I had already experienced a short drizzle, but yet I was still hoping for the best. So I readied my camera and my trigger finger and as the procession came down the road I started to shoot. I got in a few photographs, trying to compose my shots instead of just shooting wildly. But only a few photographs I got before it happened.

I had just crossed of from Trafalgar Road unto Waterloo Road when the first few drops started to fall, but I was still hoping for the best and continued to shoot selectively and then it happened! The skies burst open and unleashed a torrential downpour! I had only a few seconds to throw my camera in my backpack as well as my flash and cellphone, as the rain came down with a vengeance! There was nowhere on Waterloo road to find cover from the onslaught of water, not a shelter in sight. All I could do is walk along the street helplessly as me and my fellow photographers tried to navigate through the crown to the safety of the car, not for our own good, but for the survival of our expensive gears! However, while we walked along the already flooded streets, the revelers did not seem to mind at all! The harder the rain poured the more the danced, the more they wined and grind to the music of the big trucks. For all those who missed being soaked while the party at the Water Party, the Road March certainly made up for it and more!

Despite betting soaked down to my draws (underwear) and only getting a handful of useful photographs, I am happy that my waterproof camera bag stood up to the elements and my gears are still functional. So without further ado, here are some of the photos I got of the Jamaican Carnival 2010 Road March.