The 2024 Oamaru Christmas Parade happened to coincide with our visit to Oamaru during our recent trip to New Zealand. This article shares some of the images I captured as the Oamaru Christmas Parade progressed through the town.
NOTE: Click on images to enlarge.
Having a lens like the M.Zuiko PRO 12-100 mm f/4 IS mounted on my camera was ideal.
It provided a very practical focal length range which allowed me to quickly adjust my compositions as various participants in the Oamaru Christmas Parade passed by.
These kinds of events are sometimes a challenge to photograph as things tend to happen pretty quickly. All of the images in this article were captured in less than 25 minutes.
When photographing an event like this one, it’s important to quickly assess the parade route, the speed and spacing of the parade participants, as well as the size and positioning of the crowd.
This can help identify a good, unobstructed vantage point from which the various equipment, mobile displays and vehicles can be photographed as they move past.
I shot in Manual mode, set my aperture to f/8, and my shutter to 1/640, along with using Auto-ISO.
Using these ‘set it and forget it’ camera settings allowed me to focus my attention on quickly framing and composing my images.
I situated myself on a section of the sidewalk that was sparsely populated with onlookers… so I was not blocked or interrupted by people stepping in front of me.
My vantage point was at a T intersection, which afforded me good sightlines to my left and right… as well as looking up the street towards the oncoming parade.
This physical positioning was important as a reasonable number of vehicles turned to their left, rather than following most of the Oamaru Christmas Parade participants who veered to their right.
As many of our long term readers know, I cut my photographic teeth in the community newspaper business some 5 decades ago.
It was that initial foray into the media business that taught me the importance of capturing my images quickly. This was necessary when photographing parade participants.
The Oamaru Christmas Parade had the friendliness and personal connectedness often seen in smaller town events.
Folks in the parade and those watching in the crowd… smiled… waved… and called out to each other.
Fire and ambulance services were represented, as well as area businesses.
Having spent a number of years working in the agricultural equipment business, I enjoyed seeing the older tractors in the Oamaru Christmas Parade.
We had costumed visitors…
And ponies in their Christmas garb…
As the Oamaru Christmas Parade drew to a close there were a number of displays on trailers.
Even the occasional one propelled by ‘people power’.
The pipers were out…
And of course… Santa made the Oamaru Christmas Parade complete.
It’s always good to remember that our cameras serve many purposes. Capturing a small town Christmas Parade with its warm, sharing, community spirit can remind us what is important in life.
Technical Note
Photographs were captured handheld using camera equipment noted in the EXIF data. All images were created from RAW files using my standard process in post. This is the 1,437 article published on this website since its original inception in 2015.
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