Every year Midsumma Festival opens with a huge outside Carnival for the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies. I was hired as an official photographer to capture the day. Celebrating local and international talent, Carnival packs the day with things to watch, try, taste and share. It’s the iconic open-air party that sets the tone for the next 22 days—big, bright and proudly LGBTQIA+.

A small adult human is dressed in silver and wrapped in a large snail shell. Bubbles are floating by.
Ahuman walks away from the camera. large progress pride feather wings are on their back.
Two femaile First Nations dancers dance with gum leaves in front of a Midsumma Festival banner.
Many people mill about underneath a Welcome to Midsumma Carnival banner. The snail human is being photographed.
Humans watch the Melbourne Rainbow Band as they perform.
Two wrestlers mid throw.
Two humans dressed as nuns. One holds up a fan, the other holds a rainbow umbrella.
Ex-footballer Mitch Brown stands in between two humans wearing black sparkly shirts.
A large group of sports players lay on the grass, sit, and stand and raise their arms in the air.
Drag Queen Frock Hudson wears a green pink flamingo mumu and hugs a human wearing ear protectors and a white Thorne Harbour Health singlet.
Three humans run along a field carrying a ball without using their hands. This is part of the Queerlympics.
A human wearing pink sunglasses shades themself with a rainbow fan.
Two dogs in a pram, one wears pink loveheart sunglasses. A large pink cowboy hat sits above them.
Drag queen Frock Hudson is being lifted into the air whilst catching a rugby union ball.
A human dressed as Waldo, from the Where's Wally books. In their backpack a white dog dressed as Woof sticks out.
A human crouches wearing a shaggy rainbow outfit.
A human ball dances in a crouch as people look on.
A human is beiing fanned by another human standing over them, whilst being refreshed with water by their teammate.
Humans wearing blue and black lycra outfits raise their arms in the air as they cheer.
Milo Hartill wears a slinky purple dress as they speak into a microphone.
Dandrogyny is dressed in hi-vis clothing and has a pink beard. They dance across the stage as white smoke wafts across.
Dandrogyny is dressed in hi-vis clothing and has a pink beard. They are holding a can of pink smoke.
Hot and Heavy singer shimmies on stage.
Hot and Heavy dancers dance across the stage amid washing machines.
A human in a yellow top watches the Midsumma Carnival stage and blows bubbles into the air.
A drag queen wearing green neon performs for the crowd. A large inflatable rainbow is in the background.
A drag queen with blond and black split wig hams it up for the camera.
So Hung Son dances toward the crowd. A large inflatable rainbow is in the background.
So Hung Son is dressed in pink and uses an orange fan as they lipsync for the audience.
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