Mini Challenge #356: Celebrations

sapphire73

For this challenge, let's look at celebrations one might enjoy with family, friends, and/or community. Times like these can help us put our busy lives on hold to focus on our friends, families, community or nation. Photos may include people or suggest a celebration by focusing on something like a birthday cake, patriotic flag, etc. Since this topic is rather broad, here are few examples of the kinds of events or holidays I would love to see here (but it is not limited to these).

• Events and holidays families might celebrate such as birthdays, graduations, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Children's Day
• National holidays such as Canada Day, Belgium National Day, Independence Day, Australia Day and days people honor veterans
• Local festivals or celebrations (which could include celebrating a national sports championship)

Please give each of your entries a title indicating something about the event or cause for celebration. This mini-challenge will end on Sunday, August 13th at 10pm EST.

Here are some visual examples:

1) The Birthday Boy

2) Riders in a Rice Festival in Arles, France

3) Handing Out Packets of Rice at the Festival

4) Fourth of July Parade (led by military veterans including my father, taken 29 years ago)

5) Friends Celebrating 47 years of Marriage

6) At a Graduation from Basic Military Training

7) Children's Day in South Korea
This was taken on a Saturday when families converged on a place we were visiting. The children were given toys, special treats, and rides. Since I avoided taking photos of the children, this is one of the few I took there.

(If you are new to the Dgrin challenges, you may find it helpful to read the Unofficial Guidelines and Rules.)

slpollett

1. Celebrating Family, Christmas, and a Wedding!
   A friend asked me to take some family pictures for another dear friend of hers. The adult children were all going to be visiting the parents on this particular weekend. One of the couples had recently eloped, so the Mom decided that she also wanted some "wedding" pictures since they didn't get any. I showed up at this house and they had prepared a spread of wonderful foods and wines to celebrate the family being together, the wedding, and of course it was almost Christmas so that added to the festivities. This client treated me like one of the family and insisted that I eat and drink and celebrate with them. It was a really fun afternoon. While I was set up to take some pics of the guys on the stairs, my husband whispered in my ear to "look behind you". This is what I saw when I turned around and I think it's one of my favorite pics of the day, mainly because it was rather accidental.
   

2. Master's Graduation!
   We have other images that show the full regalia and spraying champagne, but to me this is one that really shows the relief and joy at finishing the ordeal of defending a thesis and knowing you are DONE.
   

3. Happy Birthday - Celebrating with friends at a local restaurant.
   

This one is not for judging. I have a small tabletop tripod and remote for my phone for selfies. It's great for traveling. However, so many times on this trip, I'd be set up for a selfie, but our server would stop by and say "oh let me take that for you". It happened so much this trip, I don't remember which ones were selfies and which ones were taken by someone else with my phone. This was in 2021. My husband and I celebrated our 40th with a trip to Yellowstone National Park. It was August and it was COLD! But the folks at the Mammoth Dining Room really took care of us.

Sherry P.

PS: I'll look for some better ones. Often times when we are celebrating, I am in the moment with a cell phone instead of my 'big' camera.

sapphire73

@slpollett Thanks for getting us off to a great start with your entries!

@slpollett said: Often times when we are celebrating, I am in the moment with a cell phone instead of my 'big' camera.

I totally get that! And in our family, there is usually someone else getting a few photos.

Cavalier

1) Marriage Celebration/Reception

2) Birthday with Gusto

3) Just Married - after the ceremony.

sapphire73

@Cavalier - Great to see some more celebrations! Thank you!

redleash

1. July 4th celebration in Eastport, Maine. This is the start of the rubber ducky race!
   

2. Setting the course for the rubber ducky race.
   

3. First time reading a book with grandfather ("Papa")
   

sapphire73

@redleash - Thank you for the great entries! Fun to see a photo of first time reading a book with grandfather. Those moments are well worth celebrating (and documenting) as well! On the day our most recent grandbaby arrived (a few months ago), we gathered with her older siblings and the other grandparents to have a little dessert party and drink a toast ( sparkling fruit juice with berries in the glass) to the new member of the family.

redleash

@sapphire73 That sounds like a lovely way to celebrate your newest grandbaby! We were able to see our grandkids in June when both girls were baptized and the baby turned 1. It was a fun weekend.

lynnma

Celebrate America.

4th!!

The Day After the Celebration!

redleash

@lynnma I love the first one!

sapphire73

@lynnma - Thanks for joining in! Judging this mini will be challenging but more fun having lots of participants!

sapphire73

It would be great to see some more entries before this mini challenge closes on Sunday, Aug. 13th at 10 pm (EST)!

GSPeP

1. Carnival

2. Christmas

3. White Thursday (Thursday before Easter)

sapphire73

@GSPeP - Thank you for sharing a few more kinds of celebrations! I am enjoying seeing the variety of subjects in this mini.

sapphire73

Our flight home is delayed so I will keep this mini open until Monday at 12 pm (EST). Please feel free to share some more photos of celebrations!

sapphire73

This mini challenge is now over. Many thanks to all who entered! I will post the results in a day or two.

Gregbh

The photos of the celebration here are excellent. Better than most printed material I've seen. Do you get all the legal information for displaying each person in photos or do you need the record for internet display? I decided to not take pictures of people for display but of my family and friends who I know.

sapphire73

@Gregbh said:
The photos of the celebration here are excellent. Better than most printed material I've seen. Do you get all the legal information for displaying each person in photos or do you need the record for internet display? I decided to not take pictures of people for display but of my family and friends who I know.

Hi @Gregbh - happy to see you joining Dgrin! You may not get many responses to your question here but could post it in the "Street and Documentary" thread (or look to see if people have started a thread on when one needs permissions). Speaking for myself, I feel free to share a photograph taken at a public event in a forum like this (but am careful to be sure I have permission to use photos of children). I lean toward landscape photography so it isn't usually an issue for me.

sapphire73

Sorry for the delay in posting results. Hoping to have them posted later tonight or early tomorrow.