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Monday, August 30, 2010

Michigan Renaissance Festival

Yesterday I took a short trip to Holly Michigan, home of the Michigan Renaissance festival.  I had always heard that it provided interesting entertainment.  How true!  The festival was very crowded, and with the hot and dry weather, it was very dusty.  Not good for camera lenses.  It was so dusty that my throat became   coated with dust and I could taste the dust.


I did manage to see my share of knights, queens, minstrels, serfs, vassals, jesters, saucy wenches and turkey legs however!







A saucy wench checking her messages on her medieval cell phone







































Sunday, August 29, 2010

Chihuly II

I am a huge fan of Dale Chihuly.  I have worked with glass before and I am attracted to the beauty of the glass itself, and it's ability to shape light into amazing colors and patterns.  I love saturated colors and I tend to gravitate to shades of blue and green.

Meijer Gardens in Grand Rapids is having an exhibition of Dale Chihuly's work, which is running through September.  I visited the exhibition yesterday, and had the opportunity to see some of his work.  I would have to say that the work, and the way it was displayed was amazing.  The sculptures lend themselves well to being integrated in natural settings.

Although I had my camera,  my walk around lens, and my zoom lens, I definitely want to go back with some extra equipment to photograph some of the outside displays again.











This sculpture looks as though it belongs here!










It takes good glass to photograph good glass!











Thursday, August 12, 2010

Carryle's Debut

In Filipino culture, a girl's eighteenth birthday is a celebrated event.  It is her "coming of age" and celebrates her transition from being a child to becoming a woman, it is her "Debut".  There are nine men and nine women in her court.  There is typically presentation of eighteen candles and eighteen roses.  There were speeches given by her parents and her friends.  I was truly impressed with the beauty, sincerity, talent, and caring shown at this event and I thank Carryle, her family, and her friends for allowing me to share in this event.

The highlight of the evening was the performance of the "Cotillion", a highly choreographed dance by the Debutante and her court.  I was really impressed with the beauty of the Cotillion, it was beautifully executed by the members of her court and was a wonderful expression of love and caring for the debutante.