Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Rose Parade

Finally, after 20 years out West, I got to shoot the Rose Parade. I've been watching it since I was a kid and was fun to get to go to after all these years. What they don't tell you while you're sitting in your nice, warm home, eating breakfast and watching the floats go by, is the traffic. Holy shit! It reminded me, as I was sitting for 2 hours on the off-ramp into Pasadena, about those contests back in the 60's where you'd see how many people could shove into a phone booth or VW Bug.
So as I got there and the light was coming up, I walked down Colorado Drive(The parade route), and saw all the folks camping out with their blow up mattresses, portable heaters, coolers and bundled up and all after a hard night camping on a hard sidewalk. It looked kind of miserable and fun at the same time(didn't get to shoot it as was rushing to get to where I had to be). You then pass through a few ticketed areas and the scene changes quite drastically. These are the folks who purchase bleacher seating so no over nighters, no beer cans, people sleeping all over each other, no boom boxes. It becomes a bit more proper and the spectators have assigned seating. And, as you might imagine, this is where all the camera folk like myself are whisked to. Wouldn't want the World to see Pasadena looking like Calcutta.
So then the parade starts and everything seems to go just perfect. 8 am on the dot and they train takes off. Floats make a slow Saunter down Colorado Dr intermingled with a marching band in between, the sun comes out, it all seems a bit surreal. L.A. is just kinda like that though. Everything seems to be perfectly choreographed for TV out here.

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