With these portraits of the carnaval, we start heading into the night. Only had the pop-up flash but I think it worked out ok.
More photos of Noumea's (New Caledonia) 30th Carnaval. Portraits galore.
More portraits of the Noumea (New Caledonia) Carnaval held on the 16th September.
A follow up to my last post. More portraits taken at the Noumea Carnaval.
Noumea (New Caledonia) celebrated 30 years of carnaval last weekend (Sat. 16 Sept.). I had friends participating in the event and so thought it was a great opportunity to practice some portrait photography. Here are just a few to start with. Many more to come.
Walking through La Place Des Cocotiers (Noumea, New Caledonia) on carnival day, I heard these guys playing music. So I went over to listen and take some portrait shots. I love those those traditional instruments. A big shoutout to Christopher Schyle who asked if I could tag him, Yvan Vaquijot and Xango Capoeira Caledonia. It's a pleasure to do so. I'm not sure if they're all members of the martial arts but they do play beautiful music together. Thanks guys.
Copying one of my favoutire photographers here, Paul Zizka. He often posts landscape photos with himself in them to show the scale of things. That's not me in the photos though but a friend that I invited to tag along. I may do more of these kind of photos with someone in them to show thw scale of things. What do you think?
I went up to a lookout tower in Mont Koghi (Dumbea, New Caledonia). I think it used to be a bush fires observation tower for fire brigades. It's just before you arrive at the Auberge du Mont Koghi. At this time of the year, the sun sets at the end of the valley of Dumbea. To the left is a gorgeous view of Noumea and the lagoon in the distance. You get a great view as well from the Auberge. A must for a sunset drink and a meal aftewards.
First off, I have to apologies for not catching the name of this group. This was the last performance of the day and unfortunately the other dance videos of this group didn't turn out at all. They were very jumpy and choppy. Don't know what happened there but the videos weren't usable.
This is another Wallisian, and I think Futunan, dance group. Very different dances compared to Pacifika. You'll notice at the bottom of this video, on the ground, some wood-carved weapons. They used them in their previous dances but, as I mentioned above, those videos aren't available. Just like Tahiti Nui, this group had their own musicians.
Here's the second video from last weeks post, Fête Paroissiale. I have one more that I'll post in the next couple of days.
Pacifika is a Wallisian dance group. Male and female dancers of all ages here unlike the Tahiti Nui group. Some of the male dances are very powerful and can even seem aggressive. One of the dances seem to depict a confrontation of two groups. It also reminds me of Kata in martial arts. Looking at the female dances, you'd be mistaken to think there's only upper body movement. But pay close attention to the feet movement in some of the standing dances. They're small and subtle but have quite an impact on the dance. Pacifica dance to traditional and more modern music. An impressive group to watch.
In last week's post, Fête Paroissiale, I said I was going to share a couple of compilation videos of the dance groups.
This first of three videos is of Tahiti Nui. A Tahitian dance group with their own musicians. You'll see that they have very young musicians and dancers, as young as four years old. An all female dance group with beautiful costumes
LANTERN RETREAT
This event happens on the eve of Bastille Day (French National Day). In the last couple of years the parade has started from Place Bir Hakeim and ends at Place Des Cocotiers, as always (Noumea, New Caledonia). Lanterns are distributed at the beginning of the evening around 6:30 p.m.. At 7 p.m. we had the Royal Australian Air Force band perform with a couple of dancers. There fantastic! Straight after that we start the parade down Avenue Victoire Henry Lafleure onto Avenue Marichal Foch to Place Des Cocotiers. An leisurely half hour walk. The parade ends with fireworks at 7:45 p.m.. An excellent evening for young and old but kids, especially, love it.
PARISH FAIR
A small fair was organised to raise funds for the parish of Église Du Vœu (Noumea, New Caledonia). I arrived a little early, toward the end of the preparations, to take some photos. Which is why you don't see many people but in the end there was a good turn out. As you can see from the photos there were plants, clothes, fresh produce, homemade dishes, books, barbecued skewers and even games for the kids. But that wasn't all. They had a show of Tahitian and Walisian dances of all ages, starting as young as four (4) years old. Adorable! I didn't photograph the dances because I was too busy filming them. I'll put them into a couple of small videos to share.
In last weeks blog post La Maison Célières à l'Époque Médiévale, I mentioned people were able to participate in medieval dances. Here's a short video of those dances. As you can see, people from the Sci - Fi Club were there to help the crowd participate. Kids as well.
The Célières House In Medieval Times
The Sci-Fi Club in Noumea (New Caledonia) organised a medieval day in the Maison Du Livre (Book House). Also known as Maison Célières, named after the original owners of this beautiful colonial house. It's now on the heritage listing and owned by the Municipality. It was a beautiful, warm, winter day (no, that's not a typo). They had people in clothes from the era, food, dishes and cutlery from that time, spiced wines (an acquired taste). Weapons, armour and flags. You could also learn and participate in dances from back then too. They even had a corner for kids to create their own coat of arms. I went with a friend and her two daughters and the kids absolutely loved it.
The "Goue Collection" was taken at the hotel Le Méridien (Noumea, New Caledonia). I was there for my cousin's wedding. We were all in the hall where a small bar was set up to greet the guests before heading into the reception. This was one of the lights hanging from the ceiling. Just a small dedication to the couple.
The Coming Of Goue
Encounter Of Goue
The Goue Effect
Not a very good morning for spectacular sunrise photos but the video make you see things in a whole different light. I wasn't very impressed when I got up that morning and saw the sky overcast. Since I was already up, I convinced myself to head out anyway. I'm not an early morning kind of person so it wasn't an easy decision to take, you know. Glad I did though. Came back with this time-lapse and a photo I like very much that I titled Searching Mont Dore.
I stumbled upon these gorgeous stained glass windows while walking around Ettalong (Central Coast, Australia). I saw an entrance to quite a large complex that includes the Cinema Paradiso and the Ettalong Boutique Markets. Restaurants, bars, boutiques and even a tourist resort can also be found there. These stained glass windows were along a corridor leading to a reception or conference room of some sort (if my memory serves me right). It's a beautiful building to wander around. With small alleys leading in different directions, small open courtyards and tiny foot bridges. My first impression walking through I felt I was in a little Italian village. I was there mid afternoon thus very quiet and secluded. I'm sure it gets very busy in the evenings and weekends. A must visit if ever on the Central Coast.
A lazy afternoon under the shade at the Kou-Bugny bar/restaurant in Kuto, Isle Of Pines (New caledonia). Situated on the beach of Kuto Bay, the view is just magnificent. Sunsets are magic. A must visit if you ever get the chance. You can get there either by boat (2 1/2 hrs) or plane (30 mins) from Noumea. Both offering a unique view of New Caledonia.
I was heading out to dinner when I noticed how gorgeous the light against the flowers and the wood was. I turned around to take a photo with my phone and was stunned how beautiful this pathway I had just walked down was. This is the hotel Kou-Bugny in Kuto, Isle Of Pines (New Caledonia). It's situated very, very close to the beach and it's bar & restaurant is, well, on the beach. With gorgeous views of sunsets and Kuto Bay. A paradisal spot. A must visit. You can get there either by boat (2 1/2 hrs) or plane (30 mins) from Noumea. Both offering a unique view of New Caledonia.