{"id":173155,"date":"2022-08-23T16:00:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T15:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/?p=173155"},"modified":"2022-08-25T08:12:14","modified_gmt":"2022-08-25T07:12:14","slug":"carnival-slayers-return-to-notting-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/other.kelsey.host\/amateurphotographer\/technique\/interviews\/carnival-slayers-return-to-notting-hill\/","title":{"rendered":"Carnival Slayers return to Notting Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Notting Hill Carnival imminent, Peter Dench talks to the founder of a Carnival platform leading the parade, Carnival Slayers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The start of Carnival Slayers<\/h3>\n

\u2018Back in 2017, I was getting a little frustrated at some of the content I was seeing that came from Trinidad carnival which happens annually around the same time as Brazil carnival. I wasn\u2019t seeing enough diversity, women of different sizes, I wasn\u2019t seeing enough men. I was seeing the same faces and people, it was always about the socialites, the popular girls and Instagram models,\u2019 explains Naiomi Harris<\/strong>, company director of the brand, Carnival Slayers<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Instead of complaining to her friends, Naiomi took action and searched for a name. Channelling her inner Beyonc\u00e9 and Rhianna who lyricise about liberation, confidence, empowerment, Carnival Slayers was born. Naiomi bought the domain names, created a logo and began to graft.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was a good time to have an Instagram. I was posting all the things that you would not typically see with regards to carnival culture. My first post was actually a man in costume. My second post was about being body confident and comfortable in your own skin. We hadn\u2019t been seeing these affirmations, these messages at that time. I wanted to be the first person who did that, I wanted to put my stamp on the page and would do about nine to 11 posts per day.\u2019<\/p>\n\"the<\/a>\n

That first @carnivalslayers<\/a> post of a man in a feathered headdress on March 15 2017 received 38 likes. After three weeks the page had a thousand followers. In September 10K. Today it has nearly 140K. \u2018As soon as we hit 10K we were flying from there and had people who wanted to invest in the platform, advertise their products and services.\u2019<\/p>\n

While @carnivalslayers does post images of popular girls and Instagram models, at their core is a passion to be an advocate for men and women who are comfortable with who they are. \u2018These beautiful beings bring their light to any festivity and they are believers. No matter which carnival band they’re in, their sexual orientation, marital status, popularity status, gender, skin tone, shape or size, carnival is their first love.<\/p>\n

It’s their time to individually express their beauty. They know without any acknowledgment from anyone that they Slaaaaay!! For that reason alone, all lenses should be on such masterpieces as they shake up every street that their energy pulsates through.\u2019<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

How to photograph Notting Hill Carnival<\/h3>\n

The 2020 and 2021 Notting Hill Carnival was cancelled due to the pandemic. This weekend the joy of carnival will bounce back and throb along the streets of West London providing a kaleidoscopic honey pot for photographers. Here are Naiomi’s tips:<\/strong><\/p>\n