real time web analytics
MENU

Smoki ceremony

Oct 10 2026 | By: Jim Zuckerman Photography

Years ago, there was an annual ceremony called Smoki. It was performed in Arizona in which caucasian people who loved and respected traditional Indian dances and culture dressed an Indians and performed those dances. This shot shows a blonde, blued young girl pulling a goat across the arena just before the dancing started. She was dressed as a Hopi girl. It was very dark for photography, and I had to push the Ektacrome 400 film 3-f/stops to 3200 ISO to make a decent exposure. I was using a Mamiya RB 67 medium format film camera along with a 500mm lens. The settings were unrecorded, but I believe they were 1/60 and f/8. In 1990, this ceremony was halted due to objections by Native American tribes who didn't like whites performing their religious dances.

Leave a comment

Leave this field empty
This form is protected by reCAPTCHA to prevent spam and abuse. Information collected may be processed for security purposes.
Submit

0 Comments

Previous Post Next Post

Archive

Go
CLOSE