Carnival Season 2012

I saw these pictures of Carnival Season 2012 from In Focus, the news photography blog from The Atlantic and I wanted to share. The photographs are from various carnivals that were held this year and they are  spellbinding  and simply amazing. You can find all the pictures here and here. I can’t do them justice because I have to reduce the size of the pictures to fit my blog but click on the links so that you can enjoy almost 80 pictures of Carnival.

Members from the of Salgueiro samba school parade on a float during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, on February 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Performers from Diablada group wearing bear costumes take part in the carnival parade in Oruro, Bolivia, on February 18, 2012. (Reuters/David Mercado)

A member of from the Diablada Urus group, dressed as an angel, during the Carnival parade in Oruro, some 200 km (124 miles) south of La Paz, on February 18, 2012. Partying and religion mingle in Bolivia’s Carnival celebration in Oruro, a mining and commercial city of more than 200,000 people. (Reuters/David Mercado)

Dancers of Uniao da Ilha samba school parade on a huge float during carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on February 20, 2012.

Fleambeaux Carriers march alongside the Captain’s float in the Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, on February 20, 2012.(AP Photo/Bill Haber)

Revellers of Rosas de Ouro samba school wait their turn on the opening night of parades at the Sambadrome, as part of Carnival celebrations in Sao Paulo, on February 18, 2012. (Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP/Getty Images)

People take part in the 128th Nice carnival on February 18, 2012 in Nice, France. (Valery Hache/AFP/Getty Images)

Musicians dressed for carnival perform at the Luzern-Carnival in Lucerne, Switzerland, on February 16, 2012. The history of Lucerne’s carnival can be traced back over more than 600 years and is best known for its individually hand-crafted masks and costumes paraded in the town’s streets and squares by thousands of revellers during the three-day carnival festival. (Reuters/Michael Buholzer)

A member of Mohacs Busok (Mask-people from Mohacs town) steps out from their local base on February 21, 2012 prior to their carnival masquerade. The Busojaras (Hungarian, meaning “Buso-walking”) is an annual celebration of the Sokci (Croatians) living in the town of Mohacs, Hungary, held at the end of the Carnival season and ending the day before Ash Wednesday. The celebration features Busos and includes folk music, masquerading, parades and dancing. (Attila Kisbenedek/AFP/Getty Images)

Revellers from the Renascer de Jacarepagua samba school take part in the annual carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome, on February 19, 2012. (Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)

A dancer of the Porto da Pedra samba school parades on a float at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, on February 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

A reveller from the Sao Clemente samba school takes part in a parade on the second night of the annual Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro’s Sambadrome, on February 20, 2012. (Reuters/Ricardo Moraes)