Day 82: Bahrain at the International Pageant

2026-04-29

Limited permission was granted to use photos taken for these events on this site.

Hello!

Mahmood, musical producer and school classmate, represented his country of Bahrain by singing his own music. He competed against student representatives of several other countries, which I've organized alphabetically by the second letter of the country: Canada, Mexico, China, Colombia, Spain, and Australia.

This is part of a continuous (but unofficial) relationship with the school, taking photos of cultural and arts events that go on after school hours. Today, I'm photographing a different event during school hours, which makes my schedule especially packed as I need to rush to my next class right after it!

The school also asked me to take video of the event, but I'm not a videographer, so a friend helped me set up a tripod and keep a different camera stationed in the middle of the room. I did not prioritize video, and I don't even know where to start in that world. I've attempted making YouTube videos for years, but that's a story for a different time.

During each country's performance, I was roaming around with my camera capturing shots from multiple points of view. I hate doing that sometimes, because I wind up blocking other people from seeing the performance, or my movement becomes a distraction, but I wear dark clothing and try to be discreet. It's much better when the performance (or the audience) are engaged and noisy, because a quiet hall is so much more sensitive to my camera clicks and noises.

Finally, the convenient idea of "one country, one cuisine" fails in China. Sure, you can get Chinese takeout at a restaurant... or you can get sixty-three cuisines from one giant country. This giant article, with a boatload of pictures, is a long list of unique Chinese dishes that define their region.

Cheers,
David