One of coolest things about photographing the Fantastikals at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, are their wonderful colors. The bright reds, oranges, purples and greens literally glow in the sunlight of the glade. The one exception to this is Grandmother Cobweb. Instead of bright colors, she is much more subdued with dark greens, grays, black and whites. She creates a very interesting contrast to the rest of the fairies in the glade. When I decided that I wanted to create a mono chrome image of a Fantastikal, it was only natural to choose Grandmother Cobweb.
This image was shot during my third visit to the faire this summer. Normally Grandmother Cobweb is busy creating her very detailed and elaborate spider web that stretches throughout the glade. I was very surprised when she walked away from the web, knelt down not far from me and began gazing up through the trees, as if examining where her next web was going to go. I shot many images of her during these few minutes, this one I feel is the best and was my first choice for a black and white.
This image started off as black and white, but like many of my mono chrome images, it didn’t stay black and white for long. Once I began playing around with it, I found that I liked the slight sepia much better.
Having spent many hours watching and photographing the Fantasticals, I’d have to say this was one of my favorite moments and this is one of my favorite photos of them. It’s so thoughtful, almost meditative. To me it really symbolizes the feelings I have while in the presence of these wonderful fairies.
I’ve loved this statue of the lost fisherman in Port Washington, WI ever since I first saw it. I’ve tried many times to get a good photo of it, but they just never seemed to work for me. Either the lighting was wrong, the background was wrong, or any number of other things were wrong.
Then, while at the Maritime Heritage Festival earlier this month, I finally got my shot. I was walking up to the monument when it occurred to me that a close up of the fisherman with the tall ship Bounty in the background would be perfect. It wasn’t as easy as that though. First off there were a lot of people walking around and to get a photo without any of them in it was an arm tiring, patience trying challenge. I also had to contend with some flag poles to the right that prevented me from having the composition I really wanted.
I knew immediately that it was going to be either a black and white or sepia image. After trying both, I liked the sepia version best. I did do a little “photoshopping” to this image. There were some people on the far shore that I removed. I also removed the rubber dingy hanging off the side of the Bounty. These are just small changes that help to create the feel I’m looking for in the image, (Rubber dingys just don’t say “old timey” to me).
All in all I’m very pleased with how this image turned out. I feel it’s a good tribute to all fishermen and sailors who’ve been lost at sea.
This past weekend was the annual Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival. The festival is a celebration of Wisconsin and Lake Michigan’s maritime tradition. While there is plenty to do at the festival, the biggest attractions are the tall ships. This year they had five tall ships at the festival, the Lynx, Unicorn, Roseway, Pride of Baltimore II and the star of the show, the Bounty.
While I had been looking forward to the festival all summer, I was especially excited about it after seeing all of these ships in Sturgeon Bay 10 days earlier. At that time I was able to photograph the ships under sail, this time I’d be able to get up close and personal with them. They didn’t disappoint. It was especially exciting to board three of the ships, including the Bounty. Walking the decks of these grand ships provides thousands of photo opportunities. The longer I stayed on board, the more things I saw to photograph.
It was a truly magical day. Here is a slide show of my best images from Sunday. I highly recommend that you watch it full screen by clicking the icon in the lower right corner. I will of course have many more photos to share with you once I have a chance to fully dive into them and bring out my artistic interpretations. Until then, enjoy the slide show.
I’ve dropped the price of my eBook, Sierra, Visions & Memories to $10.00.
That’s 50% off the original price!
Check out the 10 page Sample Edition to see the photo quality, you won’t be disappointed.
Though I haven’t seen it on an iPad, I guaranty it will look awesome on one.
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Sierra, Visions & Memories Written by Steven Bourelle
Photography by Steven Bourelle
High Resolution PDF File eBook
Viewable in Adobe Reader
$10.00 USD
Available as a download only.
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Sierra, Visions & Memories is 70 pages, contains 53 images and many memories from my 21 years living in California’s Eastern Sierra Nevada.
The photo quality in the book is excellent. The pictures have a clarity and sharpness that’s never been seen in my online photos. The images come to life on the computer monitor.
You can purchase the PDF file of Sierra, Visions & Memories for $10 through PayPal. If you are a PayPal member, you will be taken to the download page after your purchase. Non-members will be sent an email within 24 hours containing the download link.
One of coolest things about photographing the Fantastikals at the Bristol Renaissance Faire, are their wonderful colors. The bright reds, oranges, purples and greens literally glow in the sunlight of the glade. The one exception to this is Grandmother Cobweb. Instead of bright colors, she is much more subdued with dark greens, grays, black and whites. She creates a very interesting contrast to the rest of the fairies in the glade. When I decided that I wanted to create a mono chrome image of a Fantastikal, it was only natural to choose Grandmother Cobweb.
Sierra, Visions & Memories