Under normal circumstances, photographing children is complicated. They move fast, have little patience to stand still and generally are more interested in touching the camera or maybe taking a picture on their own. But photographing Monday’s Halloween extravaganza in Berkeley’s popular trick-or-treating destination — Russell Street in the Elmwood neighborhood in Berkeley — posed a different challenge. Try fitting in on a single frame, a gaggle of eager and sugar-fueled children who want to show off their clever costumes and scary growls, and then chasing after them trying to get their names and ages correctly.
The neighbors, who closed Russell Street to traffic between College and Claremont avenues from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday, welcomed thousands of people with elaborate front yard displays and endless amounts of candy. The four-decade-long tradition was muted the past two years due to social distancing and COVID-19 protocols but returned in full force, with the crew from Fire Station No. 3 giving candy out of one of their fire trucks, a family that turned their front porch into a shadow screen and a 70s music dance show at the home of the Flad family.
The spooky scene on Russell Street
