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Joshua | profile | all galleries >> Galleries >> Mask Carnival in Venice 2013 tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

Mask Carnival in Venice 2013

This is my third time capturing images of masks in Venice during the carnival. Not that the first two events, in 2010 and 2011, didn't deliver any useable images at all. But the whole event is so mystique and addicting plus somehow, I feel that this will be most likely my last time to photographically capture this magical event. There are other places to visit in the world that I have never been to and so many other things to photograph but still, I am not ruling anything out at this point.

This time around we also had the opportunity to take images of three masks in a more personal setting. Anna, Solange and Anne-Sophie, you guys were great and thank you very much for your time. Your friendship is greatly appreciated.

Three fellow photographers from California, Bobby, Luz and Aravind, Sarah from Philadelphia, Alec from Singapore and Werner from Germany were there as well. On and off for a few wonderful days, we captured images of people in masks together. I definitely enjoyed their company. Thanks, guys!

At sunrise or shortly before sunrise a group of dedicated masks gather near the water front at San Marco. The weather did not cooperate on Saturday; it rained practically the entire day. Thankfully, the weather changed for the better in the following few days. Yes, it was cold but both sunrise and sunset during the next few days were spectacular and most importantly, it was dry. When more and more crowd started to assemble, a group of masks and photographers moved quietly to a different location further inside the "labyrinth" of Venice to get away from the crowd. The "program" was flexible and communicated right there and then on the spot. Other popular shooting locations that I visited included Arsenale, San Giorgio and Burano or just about anywhere else less crowded.

The masks love their pictures being taken and you can ask them to pose as you please. In return, they would like you to send their images to them. Most masks are well prepared; they give you cards that show them in their masks and costumes. However, I managed to miss some of them since it could be quite hectic. If you happen to know the masks that I didn't identify on the images below, or if I misidentified some masks, please let me know. I would be more than happy to send some of their images to them.

I kept in contact with quite a few masks and recognized them right away and they recognized me. Despite the language barrier, we somehow managed to communicate and it was really a wonderful feeling, similar to that of good friends that have not seen each other for a year.

Photography tidbits:
I was using two camera bodies to minimize lens changing needs. In 2010 and 2011, I used more longish lenses but to my surprise, I used my 24-70mm Mark II a lot, more so than I previously anticipated this time around. As before, the shallow depth-of-field and bokeh rendition of the 85mm lens at f/1.2-f/1.8 are really gorgeous and made me use this lens quite often as well for my short tele needs. Please note that the time on the EXIF data is Pacific Daylight time, which is 9 hours behind the local time.


Thank you for visiting this gallery. I hope you enjoy the images of this wonderful, colorful, photogenic and yet mysterious world of masks. Please feel free to leave comments on the images themselves or on the gallery itself as you see fit. Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

Florine
Florine
Masked Couple
Masked Couple
Florine
Florine
Twirling Joelle
Twirling Joelle
Joelle
Joelle
Joelle and Florine
Joelle and Florine
Pierrots in B&W
Pierrots in B&W
Monika or Peter Gowitzke
Monika or Peter Gowitzke
Masked Couple
Masked Couple
Pinocchio Couple
Pinocchio Couple
Sylvette
Sylvette
Sylvette
Sylvette
Danielle
Danielle
Cristina as Venexiana
Cristina as Venexiana
Reflection
Reflection
Joelle and Florine
Joelle and Florine
Swan Venezia
Swan Venezia
Swan Venezia and Danielle
Swan Venezia and Danielle
Solange and Swan Venezia Conversing
Solange and Swan Venezia Conversing
Solange
Solange
Masked Couple at Sunset
Masked Couple at Sunset
Brigitte
Brigitte
Mask with White Bird/Peacock
Mask with White Bird/Peacock
Eve and Solange
Eve and Solange
Eve
Eve
The Christian - Chris Marie
The Christian - Chris Marie
Solange
Solange
Ute as Papagallo
Ute as Papagallo
Ute as Papagallo
Ute as Papagallo
Else
Else
Masked Couple
Masked Couple
Gigi and Gege
Gigi and Gege
Gerard
Gerard
Peter as Il Spettro Solare
Peter as Il Spettro Solare
Red-White Mask
Red-White Mask
Florine
Florine
Back Side Details of Patrice's Costume
Back Side Details of Patrice's Costume
Posing at Arsenale
Posing at Arsenale
Giusy
Giusy
Golden Mask
Golden Mask
Solange
Solange
Solange
Solange
Muriel (?)
Muriel (?)
Muriel (?)
Muriel (?)
Solange
Solange
Solange
Solange
Gege and Gigi
Gege and Gigi
Solange
Solange
Solange in a Unique Bookstore
Solange in a Unique Bookstore
Solange
Solange
Solange
Solange
Anna
Anna
Anna
Anna
Chantal
Chantal
Florine and Giusy
Florine and Giusy
Renate
Renate
Half Masked Young Lady
Half Masked Young Lady
Anna
Anna
Red Mask
Red Mask
Nadia, Loris and Giusy
Nadia, Loris and Giusy
Ketj
Ketj
Eric and Christine
Eric and Christine
Florine
Florine
Joelle Wattre - Reflection in the Mirror
Joelle Wattre - Reflection in the Mirror
Swan Venezia
Swan Venezia
Patrice
Patrice
Red Mask
Red Mask
Colorful Houses in Burano
Colorful Houses in Burano
Francoise
Francoise
Masked Couple
Masked Couple
Solange
Solange
Masked Couple
Masked Couple
Solange
Solange
Gerard
Gerard
Christine and Eric
Christine and Eric
Nicole
Nicole
Nadine
Nadine
Dadine
Dadine
Pretty in Red
Pretty in Red
Brigitte
Brigitte
Patrice
Patrice
Anna
Anna
Anna
Anna
Anna as the Princess in Red
Anna as the Princess in Red
Solange
Solange
Solange
Solange
Right Before Sunrise from Ponte Accademia
Right Before Sunrise from Ponte Accademia
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anne-Sophie
Anna and Sarah
Anna and Sarah
Sarah
Sarah
Anna
Anna
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah
Sarah