Galgorm LOL 239 demonstrates the early art of documentary making
Modern parade coverage has become increasingly sophisticated. Drones provide aerial views, photographers work from multiple positions and video crews capture events from angles that would once have been difficult to achieve.
But how did Orange Lodges record their parades before the arrival of drone technology?
Galgorm LOL 239 has been exploring the question with a look back at an alternative chapter in the history of community photography.
A balloon, an artist and a parade
The Lodge’s reconstruction features three essential ingredients: a hot air balloon, an artist and a parade.
Without the benefit of remote-controlled aircraft, the solution was apparently to take the photographer’s position to the skies by other means.
The presence of an artist adds another dimension to the operation. Before digital cameras and high-definition video, perhaps the only way to preserve an aerial view was to sketch it from above.
The precise arrangements for keeping the artist, equipment and balloon in the correct position remain unclear. So too does the question of what might happen if the wind changed direction during the parade.
Ingenuity before technology
Parades and community events have long been recorded by photographers, artists and enthusiasts who found ways to document occasions with the equipment available to them at the time.
Today’s drone operators may have more advanced technology, but the basic objective remains the same: capture the event, preserve the memories and share the occasion with a wider audience.
Galgorm LOL 239’s latest contribution is a reminder that the desire to get a better view of the parade did not begin with the invention of the drone.
Before there were drone pilots, there were balloonists. And somewhere below, there was probably someone asking whether the artist had remembered their sketchbook.