All photos were shot with Kodak VR35 K4a camera on Kodak Pro Image 100 film.
Parade of love and human rights
Helsinki Pride is a human rights NGO to promote the rights and well-being of sexual and gender minorities. Every year they organise a huge parade in Helsinki city center with up to 100 000(!) people participating, making it one of the biggest events in Finland.
Pride is always a fun event to go to, and especially great from the point of photography. People come from very diverse backgrounds and are not afraid to be who they are. Many people dress colorfully and wear very interesting styles. There's simply so much to see and experience that it's a real visual feast.
What makes it so fun is that the mood is very upbeat and you can really feel to joy and freedom of expression around you. From a photographers point of view, it makes it very easy to approach people and most are very eager to throw a pose for a photo.
The parade ends in a park, where everyone continues to party and dance and enjoy a good time.
The weather proved to be somewhat quirky, changing between rain and mild sunshine. But rain often makes for great photos, the droplets of water shimmering and people trying their best to not get wet. And people certainly didn't seem to mind the weather much at all.
This time I had a simple film camera with me, a Kodak VR35 K4a that I bought for few euros in a flea market. It's a super simple camera really. There's only 3 aperture settings (f8, f11, f16) depending on the film used (ISO 100, 200 or 400) and the focus is fixed, so just load the film and focus on the moment. It comes with flash as well, which I thought would work well to brighten up the day. When the flash is used, the aperture becomes f5.6.
I don't know how, but the Pride seems to always have really good DJs. There was just the right kind of vibe for the occasion, mixing hits from the past with some new favourites. I had a great time just enjoying the music and dancing in the rain.
I think this kind of simple camera lends itself quite well for party snapshots. No need to think of the settings or exposure, as there is none. Just pray for the best and focus on the moment. 😁
All in all, I enjoyed this year's Pride. The happy mood is infectious when you see everyone is having a good time. And I came home with some nice pictures!