Steven July 16th, 2010
Last Saturday, July 10, we had some thunderstorms roll through the area. We didn’t see any rain here at the house, but just to the north of us a decent sized storm went through in the evening. As sunset approached, I realized that the storm had made it’s way over Lake Michigan and was now directly east of us. Thinking that there might be some good rainbows around, I headed out to find them.
I didn’t have to go far. Just as I pulled out of the driveway a nice rainbow appeared over the lake. Unfortunately there aren’t any clear views of the lake near our house, so I headed south to the beach hoping that the rainbow would hold that long. As I drove I kept catching glimpses of the rainbow and realized it was a full one. I stepped on the gas a little harder and prayed that the rainbow would hang on and that there weren’t any cops in the area.
When I got to the beach, there was the full rainbow in all it’s glory. I jumped out of the truck, grabbed the camera, opened up the tripod and lined up my shot just as the rainbow began to fade. This image is the result. It’s the only good shot I got before the rainbow was gone. It’s not the completely full rainbow I had hoped for, but it’s the closest I’ve ever came to a full one.
Steven July 14th, 2010
The Fantastikals can be found at the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Bristol, WI. As I talked about in the last post, they are a group of magical folks that hang out in the Shakespeare’s Meadow area of the faire.
We came upon the Fire Sprite on our second trip by the meadow. She was very busy entertaining many
children that had gathered around her. That made getting good photos of her kind of difficult. I had to move around quite a bit in order to get a good angle to shoot. After a bit, all of the kids cleared away except for this little girl. I was able to get these two shots before more kids moved in.
I love the shot on the right. To me this shot shows the magic that’s felt as the Fanstastikals interact with the children. Though you can’t see the child’s face, I can just imagine how precious it looks as she glances at this mystical being and hands her a gift of a leaf that she found on the ground.
In the last post I mentioned the feeling of peace that I felt after watching these interactions. That feeling has stayed with me these three days since and as I’ve worked on these images, it continues to grow.
View More of My Photos From the Faire
Steven July 13th, 2010
This last weekend we went to the Bristol Renaissance Faire. It was not only my first time at the Bristol Faire, it was my first time at any renaissance faire. The photography opportunities were endless. There were so many folks walking around in the the most beautiful costumes that you really had to keep your head on a swivel so you didn’t miss anything. 
My favorite part of the faire was the Shakespeare’s Meadow area. That’s where the wonderful Fantastikals hang out. The Fantastikals are an assorted group of fairies, sprites and other magical beings that interact non-verbally with the audience. They are especially attracted to children and watching them interact with a child is truly magical. After spending time with the Fantastikals, you find that your inner child begins to emerge and a wonderful feeling of peace flows through you. Photographing them was wonderful.
Featured in these images is The Brownie. I was able to get some great photos of her as she played with some kids to her right, and then her attention would drift to the rocks in front of her and then back to the kids. She had some of the most amazing facial expressions. You never knew what she’d do next. I’ll say it again, truly magical!
I’ll be featuring more of the Fantastikals in the coming days.
View More of My Photos From The Faire
Steven July 5th, 2010
Sticking with the nautical theme, here’s an image I shot at the 2009 Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival in Port Washington, WI. The tall ship in the foreground is the Denis Sullivan out of Milwaukee. I can’t tell what ship that is in the background. It may be the Friends Good Will that I featured in an earlier post.
I’ve been going through the photos that I shot at the festival last year, trying to create unique images of the beautiful ships that were there. One of the biggest problems I faced last year was the light, it was horrible. There was a thick haze on the day we were there and it created very harsh lighting conditions. The original version of this image is a perfect example of that. The sky was washed out and everything had a grayish cast to it. It just didn’t look very good.
As I began to work on this version of the image though, I realized I could use that bad light to my advantage. By washing out the image even more, I was able to create a very simple scene of two ship heading out into the foggy unknown. To me this image sets my imagination on fire. Where are they going? What are they doing? Will they return?
I love that I was able to take an image that I was initially disappointed in, and turn it into an image that I’m very proud of. By working with what I was given on that day, and using a little imagination, I now have a very cool image.
