Photo of the Week: Ladies with Umbrellas at Chiang Mai’s Flower Festival

March 4, 2011 · 28 comments

Photo of the Week: Umbrellas at Chiang Mai's Flower Festival

Thai parades are a very interactive affair. The procession will move along for about fifty feet, then stop and dozens of families will charge into the street to have their photos taken with the floats, bands and marchers. After dodging and dancing with a handful of other photographers, I managed to grab this shot of several lovely women in traditional dress.

{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }

Dalene March 4, 2011 at 9:28 pm

BEAUTIFUL shot!!

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wes March 5, 2011 at 10:08 am

Thanks!

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Nick Laborde March 4, 2011 at 11:39 pm

Nice… they don’t seem to thrilled about it though.

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wes March 5, 2011 at 10:08 am

Ha, you shoulda have seen some of the others. Keep in mind that they’re all walking a couple of miles or more in high heels ;)

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Christy @ Technosyncratic March 5, 2011 at 2:19 am

I don’t think they look too “unthrilled” about it. I really like the girl’s expression on the left.

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Micah March 8, 2011 at 6:56 am

Not “unthrilled” just intense…exactly the right attitude for a flower festival :)

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wes March 9, 2011 at 10:11 am

Those ladies had a long day. The parade must have lasted 4 hours or more…

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Jeremy B March 5, 2011 at 2:33 am

I can’t comment on their psychological and emotional state during this moment in the parade! :) I will see it’s a great shot and love the variety of colors. I love the variety of colors in photos.

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wes March 5, 2011 at 10:11 am

Thanks, Jeremy. Much appreciated :)

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Andi of My Beautiful Adventures March 5, 2011 at 2:42 am

Gorgeous!!!!!!!

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Amy March 5, 2011 at 10:00 am

Fantastic shot!!! :) I love the girl’s timid smiles!

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Thomas - Waist Hips and Thighs March 7, 2011 at 8:09 pm

Very beautiful women and a wonderful shot. Nice photo of the week.

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Jodi March 9, 2011 at 6:39 pm

Of course I had to leave Chiang Mai just before the flower festival. Sigh. Great photo and I’ll have to experience it through you since I missed out. Looking forward to seeing the rest of the gallery!

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wes March 12, 2011 at 8:15 am

Thanks for the comment, Jodi. You did miss a lot of eye candy :)

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Shelby March 10, 2011 at 10:33 pm

Warm colours in the photo – Great photo!

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Shelby March 10, 2011 at 10:34 pm

Love the photos

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joshywashington March 11, 2011 at 1:51 am

The way the light diffuses through the umbrella is magical. Do you have more shots from the parade?

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wes March 11, 2011 at 7:59 am

I’ve got a ton of shots but very few good ones, alas. I’m still digging through them. Parades are tough to shoot — the light is too bright and the interactive element made it really tricky. I’ll be doing a Chiang Mai photo post and will hopefully include a few there.

Thanks for the kudos!

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Serena March 11, 2011 at 10:11 pm

WOW! they look like some lovely porcelain dolls! Great pic!
thanks for sharing and have a nice day!

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wes March 12, 2011 at 8:14 am

Thank you, Serena.

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Wandering Trader March 12, 2011 at 11:41 pm

Thailand and its people’s efforts to retain their culture is really admirable :) Those umbrellas look really traditional. And just look at what those girls are wearing! The jewelry, the clothes… all in tune with the Thai culture :) Was this the only shot you managed to grab from the Chiang Mai Flower Festival, Wes? Would love to see more :)

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wes March 14, 2011 at 9:20 am

I’ve got a few more — precious few keepers, alas. My favorite moment of the parade was watching a young man in full traditional dress check his emails on his iPhone ;)

Thanks for the comment.

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Wandering Trader March 15, 2011 at 9:34 pm

LOL. That’s a really funny image. A man in traditional dress checking out his iPhone :D

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Anthony March 14, 2011 at 12:55 am

Lovely photo Wes.

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Jérémy March 14, 2011 at 9:51 pm

It makes me think that I have a pile of photos taken during my last trip to Beijing that I need to sort and post online.

I’ve never been to Thailand but that’s definitely a place where I’d like to go.

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Jilianne @ Cotswold Cottages March 14, 2011 at 11:23 pm

Fascinating! Truly fascinating :)

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TheGourmetCoffeeGuy March 17, 2011 at 10:00 am

Great photo, very colorful and ornate attire, must be beautiful to see up-close. Nice post as usual!

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tripgirl6 March 17, 2011 at 4:11 pm

This is a great shot! I can imagine how difficult it was to capture. With all the people walking around…it must have been hot too! But it does look like a lot of fun.

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