Els Enfarinats | The Floured Ones

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The annual festival takes place in the town of Ibi in Alicante, Spain on December 28, as part of celebrations related to the Day of the Innocents. In the day-long festival, participants known as the Els Enfarinats dress up in mock military clothing and stage a mock coup d'état. They redeem their authority under a blaze of fireworks, flour bombs, and eggs.

For a brief two-hour period I found myself in a warzone.

I was thrilled, scared, and exhausted at the same time. This was something far out of my comfort zone as what my shoots normally look like. I didn't have the 'luxury' of directing people. I just had to document what was evolving in front of me. My assistant Drikus was carrying my flash and tried to aim the light at the scene I was shooting, which was a very hard thing to do because the scenes changed so rapidly.

To be honest I was not sure if I even had just one good image until we were back in our hotel and I saw the images on my laptop. I hope these images give a slight glimpse of the insane chaos we entered.

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Photography & retouch | Jeroen Nieuwhuis

Assistant | Drikus Booijink