I find myself in a relatively quiet residential area of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It’s a typically overcast autumn evening in this part of the world and there are few defining features to identify one row of terraced and semi-detached houses from the next. To my left, however, looming over the fence to a nearby park, is a large skull, glowing eerily in rainbow colours from within. I also notice a small zombie approaching me from the other end of the street.
In any other circumstances, I might begin to suspect that the coffee I’d purchased had unexpectedly been laced with hallucinogens. Instead, I take these apparitions as an indication I’m in the right place.
I’m at Springfield Park, to the west of Belfast city centre, to meet pro photographer Carrie Davenport. Tonight, she has been commissioned to shoot a Day of The Dead festival, held by ArtsEkta, a non-profit organisation aiming to promote intercultural exchange through art. We’ve arrived early, so after greeting the team behind the event, we grab a seat in the park before the festivities begin.
I ask Carrie how she initially got involved with shooting this seemingly rather specific genre of photography. “I started off doing freelance music photography, shooting friends’ bands. The music led to events and these led to more corporate work. From that, people started to ask me to shoot weddings – and once you do one wedding, other people ask
