Steven Bourelle Digital Arts

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.

Read More About the Fantastikals

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The Bristol Renaissance Faire is a wonderful, magical place. When you walk through the gates, you enter a world full of wonder and fantasy unlike anyplace I’ve been in the Midwest. Once within the faire there is something even more magical, more mystical and more wonderful; The Fantasticals.

The Fantasticals are a group of fae, (Fairy, sprite, magical creatures, call them what you will) that wander around the faire interacting with the visiting folks. They move slowly and gracefully, but can also take off in a flash chasing one another. They can be shy, friendly, curious and mischievous. You often find them napping against a tree without a care in the world, then next thing you know they’ve stolen and hidden some poor fellow’s hat, (They always give it back though). They mostly see and interact with children, and that’s where the magic really happens. The look in a child’s eyes as they hand a leaf or twig to the fairy, is priceless, and the look in the fairy’s eyes as they spot a child in the distance looking at them is just as wonderful. Adults aren’t totally left out though. If you are young at heart and your inner child shines through, then they may see you too. I was lucky enough to have that happen.

Over the last month the Fantastikals have been a big part of my life. I’ve spent many hours amongst them, shooting hundreds of pictures. They’ve made me smile and laugh and wish that I was 10 years old again. Even when I’m at home, the pictures I’ve taken continue to lighten my heart and make me smile.

As my wife Lynne said, “You never get tired of looking at them.”

I can truly say, the Fantastikals have touched my inner child and brought back a part of my life that’s been gone for quite awhile.

I’ve went through my hundreds of photos and picked out my 30 favorites. I’m not sure why these are my favorites, they just speak to me and remind me of my time in Shakespeare’s Meadow, where the Fantastikals play. Hope you guys enjoy them.

View my Full Fantastikals Set on Flickr

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As a child and then as a teenager, I loved fantasy. I watched fantasy movies, read fantasy books, played Dungeons and Dragons and often dreamed of living in those times. Times when knights would put on their suits of armor and do battle on horseback. As often happens though, I lost interest in fantasy as an adult.

Three weeks ago I found that old love for fantasy again. Since our first trip to the Bristol Renaissance Faire back on July 11, I’ve been living in that world all over again. It’s pretty awesome to know that just 15 miles down the road is a place where all these childhood dreams are real and that through my photos I can relive those dreams over and over.

There aren’t many places in the world where an adult can feel like a child again. I’m sure glad I found my place.

View More of My Photos From the Faire

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This beautiful lady is Sarah Marie Mullen. She can currently be found at the Bristol Renaissance Faire making wonderful music on her harp.

It seems that everyone who has a camera at the faire takes Sarah’s picture, I’ve seen hundreds of them. In most of the pictures she’s looking right at the camera and smiling, and even though her smile is very pretty, I like that I caught her right after she smiled at me. What can I say, my timing was off and I missed the smile. Luckily for me, I ended up with what I feel is a more personal portrait of her playing her harp.

I wanted to make this image even more unique than most, so I did it in sepia, softened it up and added the white vignette to frame it all.

If you like harp music, head over to Sarah’s website, SarahMarieMullen.com and check her out.

View More of My Photos From the Faire

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