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Associated Press
28-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
A photographer captures the magic of a Uruguayan carnival parade in light and movement
MONTEVIEDO, Uruguay (AP) — Matilde Campodonico is a photographer based in Montevideo, Uruguay, who has been working for The Associated Press as a contractor for more than 20 years. Here is what Campodonico had to say about this extraordinary photo. Why this photo? This year, instead of going to the traditional Carnival parades, I decided to attend a small parade in a neighborhood of Montevideo. During the 40 days of Carnival in Uruguay, the city organizes neighborhood corsos (carnival parades). They simply block off four or five blocks of a street, hang some decorative lights, and people come out to celebrate. That's why this photo stands out: It captures a small event, less illuminated, less professional, but filled with people who bring their folding chairs to their doorsteps to have fun and dance; grandparents with their grandchildren sitting in front of their houses. I know that at AP, my Carnival coverage will be featured alongside that of the entire region, and it is important to highlight what makes Uruguay's Carnival unique compared to other countries. Candombe, with its three drums, is one of those distinct elements. How I made this photo This photo was taken with a Sony A1 camera and a 35mm f/1.4 lens - a small camera with a highly luminous lens. Choosing the right gear is crucial for this type of coverage, because in these smaller parades, beyond some decorative lights, the only illumination comes from the street itself. That makes it challenging to work with anything other than fast lenses. For these events, which feel almost like family gatherings, I try to be as discreet as possible, using unobtrusive lenses and minimizing the presence of a professional photographer at work and allowing myself to be surprised by whatever unfolds. For me, among all the Carnival groups, the comparsas (groups of singers) that perform candombe are the most interesting both visually and sonically. The candombe music has African roots but was developed in Uruguay and, for these reasons, it is unique in the region. There are usually dozens of drummers, and these human ensembles create a deeply moving experience in both sound and image. In this case, I was especially drawn to the colors and patterns of the costumes and drums - everything seemed to glow in shades of red. Why this photo works I think the photo works because there's something truly special in the combination of movement and color. The moment I took it I already knew something magical was happening. It always emerges like that - there's an instant when something catches your eye, you start moving closer and, at some point, you just know that what you're seeing is different from everything else. The little light in the scene seemed to reflect off the red of the costumes, making everything look red - the drummers' skin, even the air itself. I also loved that the drums were painted. I've spent a lot of time thinking about color. Black and white photography is beautiful, but it has a certain simplicity. Making things work in color is much more complex—it adds another layer of meaning. And when it does work, it feels like a kind of victory.
Associated Press
21-02-2025
- General
- Associated Press
AP photographer captures a bagpiper emerging from surreal green smoke during military exercises
SMARDAN, Romania (AP) — Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Vadim Ghirda has been working for The Associated Press since 1990. Based in Bucharest, Romania, he has covered the breakup of Yugoslavia, conflicts in Serbia and Bosnia, and wars in the Middle East and Ukraine among his many assignments. Here's what he said about this extraordinary photo. Why this photo? I always look for a fresh view on assignments I've done many times. This time it was easy: The image is very different from what one would expect during live-fire military training. It was a striking moment, right after British troops stormed an 'enemy' trench, part of the exercise scenario. The noise of machine gun fire and explosions, the smoke and fast movements of the servicemen transitioned abruptly to an absolute stillness of the landscape. The only sign of life was the eerie sound of the bagpipe carried by the bitter cold wind across the vast fields of the training range. I couldn't tell where it was coming from, until Lance Corporal Jamie Killorn, of the 4SCOTS The Highlanders Company, emerged like a ghost from the green smoke walking slowly and playing his bag on the hypothetical battlefield. How I made this photo The photograph was taken with a Sony A1 camera on a Sony 400mm 2.8 lens. This gear is so effective that, as much as I'd like to, I can't claim much personal credit in this case. Having said that, I've been taking photos for AP for the past 35 years, so experience might have had a role. Another underestimated technique for getting this photo is that I drove the 300 km (186 miles) east of my base in Bucharest, brought the equipment to the chilly Smardan range and paid close attention to what happened in front of me. Why this photo works This scene has a timeless element to it. If I squint, with the green smoke from the flares, it could be shot through plumes of poisonous gas during World War I. The British had bagpipers attached to the troops fighting in the Great War and WWII, meant to comfort soldiers or boost their morale before or during battles. I wish viewers could also hear the sound in this photograph. There's no greater contrast than that between a man playing the famous 'March of the Cameron Men' while calmly walking away from a trench that would have been the stage of gruesome scenes and unimaginable terror, had this not been an exercise. The extremes of human nature, seen in a quick succession. Killing and art. Understanding how beings capable of art still engage in mass killing of their peers, after millennia of evolution and so many well documented horrors of war, will forever elude me.
