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A Totally New Experience
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A Totally New Experience I'm going to put myself out here right now. I've never really gone into great detail about my work or exactly what it is I do for a living but this weekend's experience needs to be put into the archives. Several weeks ago I was contacted by a magazine that I had done some work for in the past. They were looking for someone in the Ohio area for an upcoming photo shoot and wanted to know if I knew of anyone I could recommend. Being a large magazine they were very concerned about using a photographer that they hadn't worked with before and so, out of simple curiosity and a desire to make some extra money I offered my services if they would cover the expenses to travel. Needless to say, they jumped at the chance to use such a talented individual.  Unfortunately I had little information to go on. The person I was to shoot had a weekend job at the local Renaissance festival and all I knew was that he spent his Saturday and Sunday afternoons working the crowd. All I had to do was get a shot of him in action and my Christmas was covered. After deciding that this would be the weekend to make it happen (the weather was absolutely perfect) I packed my gear and headed north. After 2.5 hours and a thousand thoughts wondering what it was I had gotten myself into I pulled into a large field in the middle of Ohio's countryside. I was surrounded by cornfields and grain silos, facing what I can only describe as the leftover set from "The Village". Around me maidens, wenches, druids, mages, warlocks, and warriors poured themselves out of minivans, civics, SUVs and sedans. It was obvious I had stepped into another realm. Once inside the wooden gates I met up with my subject, who proceeded to give me 30 pounds (they actually had their own currency!!) to spend on food and drink while I was there. After smelling all of the food that was being cooked around me I knew that this was going to be a good shoot. My job was simple- one shot of him interacting with people. He did several shows throughout the day and then spent some time wandering around and heckling the crowd. Rather than go into detail about the shoot, which proved to be a breeze I want to tell you about what I saw and the myths that I personally debunked. First off, and this is not meant to offend anyone who goes to these things. This is my personal observation, so don't punish me for it. There. Now that that's out of the way.......let me say that there are quite some attractive women that go to these things! I mean, color me impressed! I always figured that these kinds of places were reserved for the socially awkward but I stand corrected. There were tens, nay, hundreds of beautiful women at this place, some dressed in some very revealing clothing (God I love corsets!!). They weren't the majority, but there were certainly enough around to keep me looking. Second, the guys there seemed to be the ones that were hurting in the attractive department. For every good looking girl dressed up there were at least 5 guys, usually with as much facial hair as possible, mostly wearing some sort of vision correcting device, and always, always with a very large sword strapped to their back. A handsome man could totally clean up here I'm telling you! Third- To be into this stuff you have to throw down some serious cash. I had no idea how much money went into these things. I spent a lot of time wandering around and looking at all of the little shops that they had there and the cost of costumes and weaponry rivals that of any war reenactor or movie set decoration. I mean, seriously. They had some beautiful dresses that started at $250 and went up from there, and the swords, axes, and maces that they were selling were more in the $500 range. What got me was that they were lines of people buying them like they were going out of style!! Finally, I have to give props to the food. Turkey legs, steak on a stick, apple fritters, and WOODCHUCK ON TAP were all for sale at every turn. With 30 pounds to spend Chin ate very well that day I will tell you. I even got stopped at the gate on my way out because apparently, beer glasses aren't "to go". Oops. So, to wrap it all up I'd have to say that the trip was definitely worth it. If any of you live within 200 miles of The Ohio Renaissance Festival you really should stop by and see it at least once. They had real live jousting for fucks sake!!! Bring lots of cash and a camera to document such an occasion- you definitely need some sort of souvenir. Me? I picked up a didgeriedoo. Yes, I know that it's Australian, but it goes so well with my hat and whip that I couldn't resist. Besides, I've always wanted one. Needless to say I had my eyes opened to a totally new group of people- and have found a whole new set of fantasies that I'm just dying to live out! Anyone know of any maidens that want to come over and play? |
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Did you take the photograph on this post? i'm sure you managed to snap some amazing shots. I have a friend who loves going to renaissance festivals, but i haven't yet been...probably because i don't own a corset and would feel terribly out of place. Food always tastes better outside, part of why i love rural fairs.
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See now I do have a corset.. trouble is it's not really that kind of one. It would however work very well with that whip of yours  [post 3969793]
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Did you take the photograph on this post? i'm sure you managed to snap some amazing shots. I have a friend who loves going to renaissance festivals, but i haven't yet been...probably because i don't own a corset and would feel terribly out of place. Food always tastes better outside, part of why i love rural fairs. Anyway, yes, it was a picture I took this weekend. And as far as feeling out of place- not to worry. Plain clothed folks outnumbered those in period dress 10 to 1.
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