With numerous parades throughout the state commemorating our nation's 237th birthday, I chose to visit the Ancient and Horribles Parade in Chepachet, Rhode Island. This parade started in 1927 as a parody of the Calvin Coolidge administration. (Coolidge was once a member of the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company of Boston, which is the organization that inspired the numerous "Ancient and Horrible" satirical parades that sprang up throughout New England.) As funding for the parade has dwindled, though, the size of the parade has shrunk considerably. The political satire was barely evident, with only a handful of floats taking the Obama Administration to task. The musical acts were equally scarce, with only a handful of small, private bands like the one in today's photo in attendance. This one parade watcher in a gay pride poncho and toting a patriotic pinwheel did seem to enjoy himself, though.
Post processing started with a simple pop filter in Topaz Adjust. I then adjusted adaptive exposure, regions, and contrast. A levels adjustment was added in PSE.
