Kadooment Day is an annual Bajan event that culminates at the end of the Crop Over Festival. Held on the 1st Monday in August, it brings together festival lovers from across the globe to participate in the colour and culture of Barbados. And Kadooment 2024 did not disappoint… well, except for the late 11:00 am start.

This year held a special attraction as it featured a new route for the jump starting from the Helipad in Bridgetown.

With the newly rebranded PeliCan, it offered a new perspective of vibrance and landscape to the usual Kadooment Day imagery.

Every year, the day showcases a wealth of beautiful women in their colourful costumes, with only a few brief highlights of the men. This year, I wanted to continue my quest of focusing on the Guys of Crop Over, the Men of Kadooment day, Kadooment Guys, or whatever project name I finally assigned, but you get the point…

The goal was to focus on the men.

Our guys spend a considerable amount on their costumes as well and are not nearly celebrated or highlighted enough.

When asked about it, many said, well the guys’ outfits aren’t as pretty, or it’s the ladies that sell the costumes, or the guys don’t look as good.

As a female photographer, I want to see my guys though. I want to see them in their numbers, well represented and looking good.

The reality I faced on Kadooment Day though, was that many of them didn’t expect the camera to fall on them. Many were shocked to be photographed or simply moved aside to give way to their female counterparts, who were not too shy and expected that the lens was for them anyway.

Quite a few of the guys seemed shy and I could tell they weren’t accustomed to being in front of the lens. But a few of them did pause for a quick pose, once they realised that I was in fact trying to get a photo of them.

I also jumped at the opportunity to get images of the guys represented in the only all male band on Kadooment Day, called Condensed Milk and what a lovely sight it was to behold.

And while I did take a few photos of female revellers, my focus was on my guys. 

So let me know… how did I do?

And feel free to share your comments.

Do you think our guys need to be shown more love and be represented in more photos on Kadooment Day?

Well I for one intend to make it my personal goal and I do intend to improve on my images for next year. So be sure to stay tuned for Guys of Crop Over 2025.