The best part about working as a photojournalist and documentary photographer in a huge cultural hub like Toronto is that I get unique opportunities to cover unique assignments that I would otherwise have no access to as a photographer. The Ganesh Chaturthi is a very large and important religious festival in the Hindu culture. I had only heard about it a few days prior to attending and I wasn't really expecting such an intricate and colorful celebration. It was amazing to be exposed to something like this and I'm really grateful that my career can allow me to explore these aspects of the world that would otherwise go unknown to me.
The amount of rustle and bustle (and huge quantity of people) tricked me into believing I was actually in India once in a while haha, it was a lot of fun and everyone was so nice and helpful in giving me insights on the festival and what to look out for throughout the ceremonies. If you're a photographer and there is one of the festivals happening in your city I highly recommend trying to get a photo pass, the entire festival makes for amazing and unique images and you'll be right in the thick of things when they get intense (to careful tho, I almost got run over by that huge chariot! ). Some of the images featured in this post are slightly graphic and intense, not necessarily for the faint of heart, be warned!
-3B
