A week after I shot the Dia de los Muertos parade in downtown Austin, I headed towards the Hill Country in the extreme southwestern part of Austin. I was there at night for Diwali, the Indian festival of light. One of the wonderful things about the United States and a larger metro area like Austin is the opportunity to attend and photograph various events. Within 7 days and twenty miles, I went from Mexico to India without leaving my home city.

I took the Sony A7C II coupled with the Sony 50mm f1.4 GM, my most potent low-light autofocusing combo. Unlike the midday sun for Dia de los Muertos, where I struggled to shoot wide open at f1.4, the situation is reversed here. The struggle is keeping a shutter speed fast enough for action. No such worries for the image since the group is not in motion.

I had dreams of making a better photo than this one I made back in Diwali 2018. It’s one of my all-time favorites. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any sparklers in 2024. I was surprised that I hadn’t been to Diwali since 2019. Covid dampened the celebrations for a while, and I hadn’t returned. Perhaps the sparklers for kids activity will never come back.

Admittedly, today’s photograph is not nearly as compelling as the one in 2018, though it might look even more exotic. I love that I shot this in Austin, but it doesn’t look like I should be able to. The image doesn’t fit the stereotype of a city in Texas.

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