TIAA #24: “Joyous Pride”

Tosin’s Images & Anecdotes (TIAA) is my self-assigned photography challenge of 2022. The immediate objective is to select one image from my inventory (a cityscape, landscape, portrait, oddity, etc.) each week and write something about it. This “something” could be the story behind the photo, a triggered memory in relation to the photo, or simply a reaction or reflection based on the subject matter featured. The long-term objective is to encourage myself to add more content to “La Vue Atypique”, which celebrates its first decade in publication this year.

What can I say about the photograph above?

A lot of cities host their Pride festivals and parades in the month of June, typically during the last weekend of the month. However, I learned, purely by circumstance, that there is one city that doesn’t follow this trend. That would be Calgary, the largest city in the Canadian province of Alberta.

Back in 2018, I had traveled there for Labor Day weekend, a holiday shared by both the United States and Canada. It was only when I started to research local events that I discovered that Calgary celebrates Pride in September. Alas, if you live in Canada, you have the opportunity to officially observe Pride at least twice in one year.

Since the city’s annual Pride parade coincided with my visit, I figured that it would definitely be a colorful spectacle worth photographing to add some flavor to my cityscapes and urban landscapes.

The parade progressed from one end of Sixth Avenue to the other end in downtown Calgary. As a result, the festivities proceeded in front of the city’s second tallest skyscraper, known as “The Bow” and its beautiful “Wonderland” sculpture located at the plaza in front of the building.

The TIAA feature image for this entry was the penultimate photo that I captured at the parade. I was literally wrapping up my camera backpack when this young lady, conspicuously clad in rainbow colors, began walking in my direction. Once my eyes made contact with her eyes (or her rainbow goggles, rather), I gestured with my camera. In response, she immediately stood still and posed enthusiastically for me with one of the most joyous smiles that I could recollect. For me, she embodied the festive occasion. I believe it was serendipitous to capture this moment only seconds before I departed the scene.

Enjoy a few select images from the Calgary Pride parade in this slideshow.

See you next week.

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25 articles down for the TIAA challenge. 27 remain!