Singapore Chingay Parade 2014 - One People

I received a very last-minute invitation to watch the Chingay 2014 live on the final day.

It seemed that the ticket was for "VIP" since the seat was in the middle cluster (Three in total) where the real VIPs were sitting at. The president was sitting less than 20 metres away.

It was, however, a lousy sitting for a photographer. During the previous year, I was able to move to the front, sitting on the stairs, happily taking photos without blocking anyone or being blocked. This red zone did not have stairs. It was not easy sitting behind a crowd of photographers holding iPhones, point-and-shoot cameras and DSLRs with on-camera flash.

Framing each photo was a tough job because of the frequently standing or hand-raising crowd. I was using a 17-50mm lens and thus, I was not able to zoom in to capture the energetic expression (which is what I love most about Chingay!) of the participants.

Nevertheless, it was a good perspective from the audience seat.

Credits: Yeo Siew Chin

Photography tips - Shooting parade at audience seat