Mariachis

Mariachis
Originally uploaded by BillieS.

For the last year and a half, I've been trying to capture the "fun" of the mariachis in the jardin at night. There are lots of groups of them who stand around in the park waiting for a gig. It is always fun when someone comes along and pays them to play.

Photographically it isn't easy to photograph them. The lights are crazy. Many different kinds of lighting and at such terrible angles that it seems like it is impossible to avoid getting them in any image that you make. Then of course there is the fact that the light is dim, you are shooting at 800 or 1600 ISO so the images are grainy. Nevertheless, I haven't given up.

One of the first nights I shot them was a rainy night and there were not a lot of people in the jardin that night. At first they were playing under the trees but soon moved under the arches of the portico to escape the drizzle. There was a group of Mexicans who were having such a good time dancing to the Mariachi music. I keep hoping that I'll find the Mariachis again on an off night but with another group dancing to their music.

Today when I put some of these images on Flickr.com, I was blogged on Flickrzen. This is the second time they have chosen one of my images for the day. Fun!

Take a look at the whole Mariachi set. I'll be adding some more so check back from time to time.