Foto

Amsterdam - Canal Parade 2017.
Last year I missed the Canal Parade because I was sick, this year I was there again but for most of if I almost wished I had missed it. Trying to get away from the ever-increasing and incredibly annoying party groups who occupy long stretches of the canals with tents and tables blocking the access to the water, I ended up on the Hortus bridge next to a group of protesters with drums, megaphones and banners. I think it was the spirit of their protest that kept me there in spite of the location not being really conducive to taking pictures - one of their banners said "Pride not Profit", targeting the increasing commercialization of the Canal Parade and in general all those companies and institutions which have been taking over much of the Pride events since a few years.
I took hundreds of photographs of the boats but if I am honest, I could chuck most of them into the bin. They are colourful, sharp, well composed - but they are almost all a pale repetition of the previous Pride pictures. I didn't see much imagination in the costumes of the few interesting boats, and the rest were just sponsored vehicles of one big name or the other. So I guess my best shot of the day is indeed of the people on the bridge, and not on the boats.