You'll need to look at my Fantasy Fest 2007 pictures (simply click on each to advance to the next), then poke through photo galleries that I'll add to this post, as I can find them. Notice where people's eyes are focused in the "posed" shots from the street party scene. I bet the subjects are looking at the camera in no more than half of them.

Why does this matter and how does that help define Fantasy Fest 2007? Think about how one would end with such shots:

1. Subjects are under an absolute crush of simultaneous requests for photos and can't even figure out who's shooting next. Tight shots don't hint at the barrage of uncostumed, camera-wielding gawkers that flooded the party zone to photograph women.

2. Many photogs didn't care where a women's face was pointed. I peered into plenty of adjacent viewfinders that included no face at all.

3. Many photogs didn't bother to ask to take a photo. They'd wait for someone else to ask, then cram close to shoot nearby but not head-on. Before you know it, 12 dudes are flashing away. In some instances, it's almost silly to ask, however. The best of the best costumed folk — even the guys — are just barraged with flash bulbs. But that's cool for all.

As I wrote last year, almost none of the women have a problem posing for photos. They're still flashing smiles — or trying to time one right — in almost every shot. Refusing to ask before shooting doesn't grossly violate their wishes, but it is bad manners and, more importantly, leads to crappy photography! These ladies are sacrificing for us in those tight outfits, sweltering hot wigs and FMPs. Make 'em look good!

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Sadly, I left the battery charger for my Canon SD700 IS at home (so I had to make do on one full charge) and the new Pentax K10D proved to be too heavy to party with, so I wasn't as vigorous with my own shooting as I'd planned.

I also resigned, early in the week, that my work was not needed, as the sheer number of cameras present meant that Fantasy Fest 2007 would be the most documented party of all time. Put it this way: if I spotted some über-hottie across the street, do you really need me to fight my way through a circle of dorks to get the 1,000th picture of her of the night? She'll be posted online somewhere. If I could get a nice picture of an undistracted person, I was cool with that. (Or, if someone was putting on a stripper-pole show at Kelly's Kinky Karnival and was basking in the flashing lights, I was fine with that, too.)

You'll notice that I used a "fake" HDR Photoshop action on these photos of Captain Tony's, the parade scene as we entered Duval Street, and the Truman Annex, where we stayed. There are many examples of truer HDR photography on Google, Flickr, Pbase and the rest of the usual suspects.

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As I wrote last year, you can't experience Fantasy Fest in a polo shirt and shorts. Yet, there they were by the tens of thousands, packs of dudes who seemed to have lost their way from the Mytle Beach Hoooters, or the clubs of New Jersey, or Bourbon Street in New Orleans, where they walk with the same purposeless gait, not spending money there either.

Later in the week, you'd hear costumed party folk lament how it was too crowded in the party zone. Problem was, it wasn't too crowded with real Fantasy Fest revelers. We were way outnumbered by people who could have been dressed for any October night in any warm-weather city. Oh the irony, of not being able to put on a show because there are too many people who choose to only watch it. (Exhibit A | B | C)

The champions of the event (again) were the sexy, funny, creative, free, goofy, righteous party people who were universally kind, open and more with it than you can imagine. I could be talking to a bodypainted woman, a guy wear wearing only a sock around his dick, a lady feeling under a guy's kilt, a man walking into a bar on stilts, then look at four guys in beaters and jean shorts and think, "Who are those fucking weirdos?"

Thanks to the people at KrazyKrewe.com, we walked in the Saturday parade and had an awesome time. We were on our feet for four hours, but we needed it, as we tossed 100,000 beads — yes, just our float — into the crowd.

The attendees were jovial, the kids loved getting beads (some adults were frighteningly happy to get their 50th set of 5-cent beads!) and the music was rockin'. For the second packed year in a row, I saw no physical confrontations. (Though best believe some guys deserved one. I realized the best way to deal with a fenced off parade-watcher who made lewd fingering gestures to your girlfriend was to walk past him a few steps, then wing balled-up beads at the side of his head.)

It was a great way to cap a fun week. We'll be back, and we want to be back with you, in costume, in spirit, in real party mode. So book those hotels before the beater-and-jean-shorts douchebags do!

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Other 2007 Fantasy Fest Photos (more will be added as I find them):

• Flikr: Most Recent Photos Tagged "Fantasy Fest" — Sure to be flooded soon by photos taken by the skilled, the novice, the gay, the straight, the participant and the voyeur. A complete picture will be painted for sure.

• Flickr: Fantasy Fest Groups — There are a couple now, and perhaps more will be added.

• PBase: Bolton Perry's Photos — There are separate galleries for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, all filled with "gotcha" shots. Ya know, the kind where you don't have to actually talk to someone.

• Fotki: Jimmyhotjimmy's Photos — Over 300 pocket-cam pics. Low artistic value; high tit-and-red-eye quotient.

• PBase: Jeff Potter's Photos — More "gotcha" shots. (Yawn.) Red Sux fan. Go figure.

• ErosArtist.com Photos — Two huge galleries by Michael Diamond and Lady Venus.

• Dee Light's Pics — Multiple galleries that take awhile to load, but there's some nice stuff in there.

• BoB & Vic's Photos — Tons of pics from a couple of dudes whose apparent mission was to make physical contact with as many boobs as possible. I'd say they succeeded.

• PBase: John Chow's Photos — My favorite of the lot. He took the time to make the subjects look good, and obviously used a quality camera. This pic tells a great story.