photography

Mardi Gras Moments: Muses

The Bathing Muses, an overflowing bubble bath float, holds members of the all-female krewe as they throw beads and other trinkets, including their famous glitter shoes.

Here are a few images taken at one of my favorite parades, the Krewe of Muses, last Thursday night. The Muses were the first all-female organization to parade at night in the Uptown neighborhood of New Orleans, a coveted time slot and location for parading. The Muses are famous for their “glitter shoes” which they hand out as prize throws to adoring fans along the parade route. If you are ever visiting a house in New Orleans and see a lovingly adorned, sparkly shoe on display you’ll know the owner scored it at a Muses parade. I was lucky enough to catch one myself!

Parades in Uptown are truly family events. I became instant friends with the families around me, checking out the fun “throws” they were collecting and feeding of their giddy energy.

: The Bathing Muses, an overflowing bubble bath float, holds members of the all-female krewe as they throw beads and other trinkets, including their famous glitter shoes.

: Glowing high heels and butterflies swarm down the street as the Krewe of Muses parade begins to roll.

: Marching bands, such as this one from Edna Karr High School, alternate with floats during the Mardi Gras parades and keep the energy up with their amazing musical talent.

: Parades during Mardi Gras are often family events and kids get special treatment. Strangers will give them special “throws” and they get hoisted onto shoulders and special perches built on ladders.

It’s Carnival Time

It’s that time of year again, y’all! Carnival time! As I’ve been spending my evenings and weekends prepping for my fourth Mardi Gras trip, I’ve been thinking back to five years ago when my colleague and friend, Janelle Nanos, asked me if I wanted to go with her to New Orleans while she was writing a feature story on Mardi Gras. She enticed me, “It is going to be a great time, and after all, they are going to need photos for the story!” While I’ve always have had a strange attraction to New Orleans–even before I ever stepped foot in the city–I’ve never had the actual desire to go to Mardi Gras. Of course, I was a victim of believing the stereotypes of booze, boobs, and beads.

I went along with Janelle for a purple, green, and gold colored ride and have never quite been the same since. I discovered kindred spirits in the people who live in or make yearly pilgrimages to the Big Easy. Many of the people who I met on that first trip, including lovely Jenny (pictured above), have been friends ever since. Our bond is no less strong even if we only see each other once a year. We smile, we hug, we compliment attire, and we weave our way through the magic of Mardi Gras day, knowing we will see each other next time around.

New Orleans is a photographer’s dream at any time of the year, but during Carnival season, it is visual overload. I rubbed elbows with families, college kids, and all kinds of parade lovers while snapping photos with one hand and catching beads with the other. I prowled the quiet early morning streets with my new friends in search of a flash of feathers from a Mardi Gras Indian. And then I fell down the rabbit hole when I arrived at the beginning of the St. Anne’s Parade. I was told to bring a costume, but the costumes I saw were no Halloween-grade costumes, they were visual splendor. Riotous convergences of fabric, glitter, quirk, and creativity. I was hooked.

This Mardi Gras sceptic returned to DC with a changed mind. I know the experience can take many shapes and forms, but what I really learned is that Mardi Gras is what you make it. As the Rebirth Brass Bad sings, “Do whatcha wanna!” And if you want to go and aren’t sure where to start, perhaps our story that was published in the January/February 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler is a good place to start. I hope that it inspires people to see beyond Bourbon Street and find out what Mardi Gras is really about. Take a look at the layouts below and go to National Geographic’s website to read Janelle’s full article and see more of my photos. Clearly, it converted me!

: “Parading Around New Orleans” in the January/February 2010 issue of National Geographic Traveler magazine. Elaborate costumes are the norm at St. Anne’s parade on Mardi Gras day (left). The Krewe of Bacchus pays homage to the god of wine and is ample with their bead “throws” (right).

: Handmade masks are sold by local artists (left). Jenny Singsaas, a Mardi Gras regular, touches up her make-up before the St. Anne’s Parade begins on Mardi Gras morning (upper right). Creatively costumed locals march in the fringe Box of Wine parade the Sunday before Mardi Gras (lower right).

: Female Mardi Gras Indians make their way onto the streets (upper left). A chaos of color and excitement fills the streets of the Marigny as the St. Anne’s Parade makes its way toward the French Quarter (lower left). Bead greed takes over as Carnival winds up to the big day (right).

Taking the Leap: Welcome to Bloglandia

Self-portrait playing in the sand dunes on the Oregon Coast

I’ve taken the leap into Bloglandia! Welcome to my Krista Rossow Photography blog where you can keep up to date on work-in-progress, published stories, and other news. As I greet you in this new virtual home, I thought it only appropriate to start with a self-portrait taken on a beautiful summer day in my home state of Oregon.

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