While I was in the St. Louis area to visit friends, I saw that there was a renaissance faire going on and since I had some time to spare, my father and I paid the GSTLRF a visit. Unfortunately I did not foresee visiting as a good possibility beforehand, so I did not have any garb and went in my mundane clothes.

It was smaller than TRF and Scarby, but like Scarby it has its own character and I rather enjoyed the environment. The abundance of vegetation and creeks lent well to the overall experience of the faire. The cast were abundant, however the interaction seemed a little lacking compared to the cast at TRF. I did enjoy a brief interaction with the Scottish carver as he told me the stories of his carvings. I also enjoyed the Chuvani Bellydance show quite a bit :)

Overall it was a nice experience and a good way to spend a couple hours. Of course I had my camera in hand to take some pictures, so I hope you enjoy them and get a glimpse of the visit I enjoyed.

Greater St. Louis Renaissance Faire 2009 Pictures - Saturday, May 30th

Well I returned for the Saturday of closing weekend at Scarby, although I had not originally intended to. A couple things drew me, good company and a new lens to try out. I drove up Saturday morning and spent the day hanging with the McLotofus crew and wandering taking pictures. Other than the heat and a late afternoon shower it made for a great day. Of course the after faire dinner and hanging at the pool was a nice end to the day.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival 2009 - Closing Saturday Pictures

I had my second visit to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival this year for the Saturday of opening weekend. While the day started off to my liking (overcast, breezy and temp in mid 60s) it quickly turning into a sunny, hot day which is decidedly not to my liking.

My sister joined me for the day wandering the festival grounds while I took pictures and visited with friends from the RF.com forums. We caught a couple nice sets by Wine & Alchemy and saw parts of Dr. Kaboom's show. All in all it was a good time and was great to see everyone. Hopefully this fix will tide me over until TRF.

Scarborough Renaissance Festival 2009 - Opening Saturday Pictures

As a spur of the moment decision and due to some sage advice that I should practice my photography more, I decided to check out Dickens on the Strand in Galveston for the first time. Oddly enough I had not done so in the past, given that I have lived in the Houston area for over 18 years.

I wasn't sure what to expect, other than people dressed in Victorian era garb. Also due to the damage from storm surge from Hurricane Ike, I likely did not get the full effect of the festivities in their prime. It seemed like a good turnout to me as the streets that were blocked off were thick with people and hard to transverse at some points. I believe the turnout numbers should be good for this year given the circumstances.

It was a different environment than TRF for photography, as most people dressed up seemed to be visitors and not staff of any sort. This led to difficulty as they usually had food, drink, or cell phone in play which I usually tend to avoid shots of. Also due to the crowd it was hard to get good angles. The best opportunity for shots was the parade and luckily I realized that it was going to start so was able to find a nice mostly shaded part of the street. So a majority of the pictures are from the parade, which was quite nice.

I am still trying to sort out if I enjoyed it or not, but would recommend that if you haven't been at least once to check it out.

Dickens on the Strand 2008 Pictures

The last day of the last weekend of the season could not have been better. The weather was excellent, the ladies lovely and the mistletoe abundant.

The crowds started off rather slow, but as the day progressed it picked up nicely and when I left at around 5pm there were still new patrons coming in the gates.

The cast was in top form as always and have my many thanks for being kind enough to be my (mostly) willing subjects of photography for the season. It was a great pleasure to get to know some of the cast members and I look forward to seeing them return for the next season or at other faires.

So with that being said, please enjoy the last results of the season of my attempts at capturing the fun and fantasy of the festival on film... well digital film anyways.

Texas Renaissance Festival 2008 - 8th Weekend - Sunday Pictures