Dickens on The Strand 2015

Last Weekend was Dickens on The Strand.  As before, since we are members of the Galveston Historical Society, we were able to use the VIP room they have.  This allowed us to view the parade from a balcony, and I could get some better pictures of the parade. The “Queen’s Parade” is always Saturday afternoon, and, of course, features “The Queen.” I am not sure who this woman really is, but she portray’s Queen Elizabeth every year.

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They encourage people to come in costumes, and there are always lots of steampunk costumes and lots of pirates. This was a nice street image I got of one of the pirates meeting a small boy.

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Lone Star Rally 2014

We went to Galveston last weekend for the Lone Star Rally.  We went to a new area along Seawall first and spent quite a bit of time there.  They have moved one of the stages there and that is the location for the custom bike sown. As in the past, there is a serious obsession with skulls.

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It tried to sprinkle a little, and the result was a pretty good rainbow.

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We then went downtown.  By the time we got there, the crowds were overwhelming, but we walked around.  I could not get as many shots of people as I have gotten in past years.   We were there late enough that the Triumph was leaving, and I got a nice shot of it.

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And a nice shot of Mechanic St. with the sun going down.

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Vision

I just came back upon Don Giannatti’s “Project 52” web site.  I had seen the site several months ago, but it slipped from my memory.  I have been a member of the flickr group for a long time, but, I can’t remember the last time I actually visited the group page.  On this site, there is a weekly photography assignment. The assignments for this year start on February 1.  So, I looked at the 2012 assignments.

The first assignment is to create a Vision Statement.  This is basically a statement describing why it is that I take pictures.  As described on the web site, “Tell us with a single paragraph what you want to be able to do with your images. Tell us what you do without telling us you are a photographer. Accompany that message with a single image taken around your home.”

To me, the reason I enjoy photography is it differs from other modes of expression, and there is something that is transcendently stimulating when I see a really great image I have taken. In 2012, my Aperture Library has over 7700 images.  Every once in a while, as the image would come up on the screen, there was a moment of awe.  Kind of, “Oh boy.  That is good!”

It is becoming easier to take technically perfect images – those with proper exposure, composition, lighting, whatever.  I can look at those and think, “That’s a good image.”  But there is the added, intangible element that is included in an image that is really great.  I take photographs because I enjoy that feeling of producing a picture that is really great.

Now, what kind of image around the house can I make that illustrates that?

Dickens on the Strand – Steampunks

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Steampunk is an alternative world conceptually akin to Jules Vern.  Lots of gadgets and alternative technologies.  A few years ago, steampunk costumes were scarce at Dickens on the Strand, but over the past couple of years, they have really caught on.  Now, it seems like there were probably more steampunk themed costumes than any of the others.

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Lots of leather and strange accessories adorn these costumes.

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This couple was dressed all up.  Too bad they didn’t have anything for the child.

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This guy was demonstrating his own flying machine.

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And, sometimes, steampunk and pirates co-mingled.

 

Dickens on the Strand – Pirates

2012 Dickens on the Strand

Another favorite theme for costumes was Pirates.  You might think that at a Dickens Christmas festival there would be people dressed as Scrooge or ghosts of Christmas past, present, future, or Jacob Marley.  But by far and away, the character most used was Captain Jack Sparrow.  But, lots of people dressed in various ways in pirate costumes

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Dickens on the Strand – People

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There were all kinds of interesting costumes taking essentially three themes.  Some were just dressed in Victorian clothes.

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I am not sure how many of the costumes were “vintage” and how many were made for the event.  Galveston does have several shops that specialize in these kinds of clothes.  But, lots of people wore these things.

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There were also lots of street performers and stage performers.  They had several stages, and they all seemed to have magicians and jugglers performing when we were there.  There were also people just performing in the street. This is a girl who just sat in the middle of the street playing her violin.

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Dickens on the Strand

2012 Dickens on the Strand

Last Saturday was “Dickens on the Strand.” It’s a Christmas festival in Galveston where people dress up in Victorian clothes, and everyone pretends they are in Victorian London. Lots of people and lots of fun.

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It used to be that if you can in costume, you got in free.  I don’t know if it is still that way or not, but most people were dressed up.

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Everyone lines the street, and in the middle of the afternoon, they have “The Queen’s Parade.”  I am not sure how one gets chosen to be in the parade, but they march up Mechanic and down The Strand.

 

Wedding – Reception

After the ceremony, all the guests were made to go out into the foyer while the formal portraits were taken and the chairs removed.  There were refreshments and a calypso band.  Once the ballroom was ready, everyone was ushered back in.  The first event on the agenda was the toasts.  I don’t remember what the best man said, but it got a reaction from the others.

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The bride did not want pictures of the guests at their tables for dinner, and that was fine with us.  There were too many guests, the lighting was terrible, and we got to rest just a little.  After dinner, they started the dances.  The bride and groom danced, then the groom and his mother.  The bride’s father was deceased.  So, she decided to do four dances, one with each of her brothers.  Her brothers came from Puerto Rico.  So, it  was a special occasion for them.  Cindy said that this meant a lot to the bride.  So, we concentrated on getting really good pictures of these dances.  Again, the lights were down really low.  So, focusing was a serious problem.  Even at that, this is a picture of the bride dancing with one of her brothers.

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The rest of the evening was spent dancing and visiting, and we got some nice pictures of the rest of the reception.

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Wedding – Ceremony

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The wedding was in the ballroom of the convention center.  It was obviously not the easiest place to decorate.  The wedding planner did an outstanding job with what she had to work with. The ceremony was held in the center area, and tables and chairs for dinner and the reception were set off to the sides.  After the ceremony, the chairs in the center were quickly removed to form a dance floor for the reception.

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Sometimes you capture a moment.  This was in the middle of the ceremony.  I am not sure of the precise context as it happened so fast.  But, the preacher looked up to the heavens, and I snapped the picture. This made for a unique image for their wedding folio.

These pictures look pretty good because they could not find anyone who could turn the lights down.  Although it was far from bright sunlight, there was really good, diffuse inside light and that helped us a great deal.

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Lone Star Rally Equipment Statistics

Using Aperture Inspector, here is a quick analysis of the equipment I used at The Lone Star Rally. I took 152 (63%) images with the a700 body and 89 (37%) with the a550.  I used three lenses.  I took 139 (58%) pictures with my old Quantaray Tech 10 70 – 210 f/2.8 lens.  I took 73 (30%) with my Quantaray 18 – 35 f/3.5 lens, and 29 (12%) with my Tamron 90 mm f/2.8 Macro.

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