Alex Walton describes his experiences as a newspaper photographer.
..........ummm.......WHY ME???!
I guess I was a little more prepared to take on the madness which unravels on November the 5th in Ottery St. Mary than most people would be. For those of you who don't know, 5th Nov is known locally as 'Tar Barrel Night'. Why? well, chiefly because mad people descend on to the streets and do a rather unusual pub crawl! Giant oak barrels which have been lined with tar are lit and carried above the heads of these fearless country folk as they prepare to charge through crowds of 6000+ people! Singed hair and eyebows, blackened clothes and very hot mittened hands are all part and parcel of the very prestigeous title of 'barrel roller'.
So given what I have described above you can probably see why I had some reservations about taking very expensive camera equipment in to the 'heat' of the action! But having lived in Ottery for most of my life I kind of knew what to expect (fireworks, very large drunk crowds, a giant bonfire, oh not to mention these crazy guys with flaming barrels on their back followed by their posy who would sooner give you a hefty shove than let you ask them to smile at the birdy!)
All in all it was a great experience, as everybody tried to get out of the inner circle where the bonkers barrelers were, I was trying to get in! I know I need to improve some of my techniques for next year's barrels (such as getting lower down to see the guys faces as they tend to run hunched and also to watch my focussing which can be very tricky in pitch black nightime!) bring it on 2008!
See a pic spread here: http://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/sidmouthherald/flatfiles/features/2007/tarbarrels/tarbarrels.aspx