Notting Hill Carnival

What started as a small children’s street fayre during the mid 6os has now grown into the annual celebration of Notting Hill Carnival that we look forward to. The first outdoor carnival took place in the streets of Notting Hill in 1966 and continued up until covid put a three-year pause on the celebration.

With its return highly anticipated this year, thousands flocked to the streets of West London, including me and my camera to enjoy the three-day celebration. After attending the much smaller Hackney Carnival in 2019 with only my camera for company, I was so excited to finally experience Notting Hill Carnival for the first time. What made this experience even more special was attending with a group of black female photographers to do a photo walk in partnership with MPB.

From news articles to skeptical parents, what Notting Hill Carnival is portrayed to be and what it actually is are two different things. Full of violence and dangerous are two things news outlets will be quick to report the experience as however, I can tell you after attending both days that it’s filled with nothing but a sense of community as well as happiness.

One of my hopes when taking my camera with me was to not only capture the essence of carnival but to also contribute to the years of historical pictures you see of the black british cultural experience. When shooting, I decided for the most part to shoot candids so you can witness the raw emotions of the day, as well as stopping people for portraits so you can take in the outfits that we’ll one day hopefully look back on and refer to as ‘the fashion that was cool back then’.

The beauty of Notting Hill Carnival is seeing people from different generations coming together. Strangers young and old embracing each other with open arms and love, and people from different backgrounds as well as cultures, all coming together to celebrate and appreciate Caribbean culture.

As the sun beat down on us, soca music filled our ears whilst our eyes also took in the multitude of floats and costumes. Carnival is a pleasure on all your senses at once. People waved their flag in every and each direction with pride and the biggest smiles on their faces, it was beautiful to see people rep their country with no fear of judgment or questioning.

Whilst I didn’t get the chance to have a chat with any of the people I took photos of on the day, I’m grateful that the power of the internet has made it possible for so many people to find the pictures I took of them. So though I can’t include any conversations I had and want to pass on in this People & Places entry I will leave you guys with the note that Notting Hill Carnival is something that I believe should be experienced at least once.

There is black British culture bursting at the seams all around London if you look closely but none quite top or are as obvious as Carnival.