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Here are some shots of my visit to the New
York State Renaissance Faire. It runs from August through the middle
of September in Sterling Forest, NY.
The people organizing the event dress in period costumes and act out
a series of day-long plot-driven skits, culminating in a joust at the
end of the day. Visitors are encouraged to dress in costume. If you do,
you can't help but feel drawn into the festivities.
You get to be somebody else for a day, which is a nice way to get away
from the strains of everyday life. It seems to be especially fun for kids.
Little boys ran around with wooden swords. Girls wore flowers in their
hair. And all wanted to help rescue Robin Hood from clutches of the evil
Sheriff of Notthingham.
This year, all my lenses were in order. Most of my shots were with telephoto,
as my goal was to get more personal images of the performers.
Click on the thumbnail to see the larger image. The images on this page
are low resolution. High resolution shots (8 megapixel) are available.
E-mail me. All are copyrighted according
to the Creative Commons license described on my main
photo page.
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You never knew when you'd turn a corner and see more musicians performing.
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Two story lines run through the entire day. One involves Queen Elizabeth,
another Robin Hood. Here, the dancing of a comely maiden was interupted
by one of the Sheriff of Nottingham's thugs. I showed the dancer this
image on my camera. She didn't break character, calling me "M'lord."
The discipline of all the performers is remarkable. They take their roles
seriously.
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Robin Hood (left) and one of his men accost the Sheriff as they shake
down a traveler on a bridge. |
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The confrontation gets up close and personal. By way of review -- and
coming from one for which this was only his second Faire -- Robin Hood and
the Sheriff put a 110% effort into their roles. |
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And Maid Marian also gets kudos. At one point, she was waiting for the
rest of the cast to arrive for a skit. They were late, so she mingled and
conversed with visitors. She didn't break character once. . |
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Another of the musicians. |
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One of Robin's men.
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Robin and Maid Marian. They seem to be getting along. |
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Maid Marian putting an end to a primate male dominance and display of
prowess ritual between Robin and one of his men.. |
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And some others of those aforementioned male primates. Robin's band. |
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This is the Sheriff of Nottingham after being humiliated by Robon's band.
I'm disappointed in this shot. Poor focus. |
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An unfriendly interaction between Robin's and the Sheriff's men. |
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Crimson Pirate Crossbones McCoy in a rare unguarded moment. Award
Winner |
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Queen Elizabeth. She was a tough subject. I must have had a score of shots
of her, none of which I liked. Note to digital photographers: there's a
mix of sun and shade in the setting. Try to get shots in the shade. The
sun is too harsh.. |
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The Sheriff arrests Maid Marian, making it personal. The Sheriff seemed
to have attitude issues, perhaps originating from poor parenting in childhood. |
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Here's Robin coming to the aid of Maid Marian at the end of the day. |
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This is my best jousting shot. That's because the subject is not galloping
on a horse. The end-of-day joust occurs in failing light. As you can see
from the horse in this image, it was impossible to freeze motion. All the
other shots looked just as bad. |
| And last, but not least, two personal shots. |
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My sister Alice who created her own costume. |
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Alice with me. Photo taken by her son Stuart. |
