Feeding the Mini Lion, 2019 Chinese New Year – Austin, Texas

I often call a candid photograph like this, street photography, which I know is not technically correct. I don’t know if that even matters, especially since I’m not the academic type. All I know is that I like making these kinds of images — more and more, actually — in a classic and contrasty black and white.

I found it challenging shooting the climactic lion and dragon dances. With so many people, it was tough to make a clean composition. I did, however, capture some photos that I liked, which I’ll feature over the next few days. All are in a similar candid, documentary or street photography style.

Today, we have kids feeding a mini lion — how cute. Often, the lions are much larger, filled with teenagers or adults. From what I read, traditionally these lions are fed red envelopes, stuffed with money. At least here in Austin, the red envelope have been simplified to dollar bills.

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