I've covered this pow wow every year of my 11 years at The Shawano Leader. The only difference for me this year is I brought my wife and my two daughters along with ... it was their first time seeing a pow wow as I thought it would be educational for my daughters. It's a culture they'll learn about in school and I believe seeing it in person is a great experience.
My daughters were amazed at the wide-array of bright colors present at the pow wow -- neon bright oranges, yellows, reds, pinks, greens filled the arena located on the Stockbridge-Munsee reservation.
Those bright colors are one of the many reasons I enjoy shooting photos at the event. No where else will you get such vibrant colors and real emotion as the dancers move around the arena and the drum groups bring to life the event.
It helps when the weather is perfect for photography as well -- no bright sunlight, just enough cloud cover to get rid of nasty shadows.
Now, when you are covering a pow wow, there a few things you need to know. There are some times during the pow wow where you cannot take photos -- like the Eagle Feather presentation. It's a great honor for a Native American to receive the Eagle Feather and the ceremony itself is something that you have to watch at some point in your life.
This week it's back to work for me after a week off. Just a few weeks left of summer left and plenty of busy weekends ahead.
Enjoy!
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| A traditional male dancer makes his way around the arena at the Stockbridge-Munsee Pow Wow on Sunday, August 12, 2012. (Photo by Cory Dellenbach) |
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| A traditional female dancer makes her way around the arena. (Photo by Cory Dellenbach) |
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| A young girl dances her way around the arena. (Photo by Cory Dellenbach) |
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| Even though color photos are my favorite, black and white photos, like the one above, are also sharp from pow wows because of the contrast with all the colors. (Photo by Cory Dellenbach) |
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