The first weekend in November of 2007 was transformed in to 1560 England at Hickory Point for the Lady of the Lakes Renaissance Faire.
I was so excited, I broke ahead of my wife and in-laws, who were in town for the weekend, to enter through the medieval-style archway of the walled village of Hickory. I could not cross the road due to a procession featuring Queen Elizabeth herself with an extensive entourage of Renaissance-era characters in beautiful Elizabethan-era costume.
I, of course, immediately began shooting away.
One young lady in the procession pointed to me and my camera and said in a very good English accent, “Oh look! A faerie box. What do you feed your faeries?” I knew right then this was my kind of entertainment and that it was going to be a great day.
A woman approached me telling me I needed to be at the chess field at two. She said there would be people beating each other silly.
I said, “well, it doesn’t get any better than that!”
She laughed and said, “no it doesn’t.”
As it turned out, she was referring to the Adrian Empire’s show. She was right. it was fantastic. More on that later.
At the outskirts, vendors peddled everything from jewelry and refreshments to games and activities of all types. There was fencing, a great excuse for siblings to beat each other silly, a game where you could throw a spear at mythic characters and a variation on the old topple the pyramid of milk jugs with a softball that was actually siege the medieval castles with cannon balls. Jennifer, a big Robin Hood and Legolas fan, was eager to try archery.
Walking the streets of the fabricated Hickory grove was worth the price of admission. Many attendees of the renaissance faire were so elaborately dressed, it was difficult to tell the difference between them and the performers. Of course, in this version of Renaissance England, sunglasses, waffle cake, and cigarette smoking were immensely popular.
I caught up with Jennifer and the in-laws at the Globe Stage (a giant white tent where you could sit, enjoy your food, and take in a show). On stage was Johnny Phoenix about to swallow fire. His show was both entertaining and funny. He even picked a couple of assistants from the audience who were rather strapping looking young men until they were made to wear bras.
There was too much to see and do. Across from Johnny Phoenix, knights were performing feats on horseback making their squires hold out rings for them to snag with their lances at full gallop.
Also, on the same jousting field, would perform the Arabian Fantasy Riders. From more mature women to one very young girl, these women were dressed in beautiful period costume and rode their horses through elaborately choreographed movements. My favorite was a piece where they rode in a circle around one woman in the center in what looked like a living carousel.
There was so much, I missed more than I saw. One thing I would not miss was my appointment at 2:00 on the Chess Field.
While waiting for Jennifer to arrive, a dapper-looking couple passed by dressed, of course, in period clothing. A group of us were sitting on the bleachers baking in the Florida sun watching the empty field when the young lady said, “Are you all entertained? You don’t look entertained. I will entertain you!”
She then launched into a somersault before us and finished with a graceful flourish and a bow. Of course all of us in the bleachers broke out in a roar of applause. This young lady was a fantastic performer. Every time I saw her she had seemingly limitless energy and was always focused. I came to nickname her “Tigger” while I was editing photos because she had that kind of energy.
As it turned out, Jennifer and I would be privy to seeing warriors of the Adrian Empire. As the young lady promised earlier in the day, it was people beating each other silly. The combatants were well padded and well armored and they did not hold back. There were Knights in heavier armour fighting with heavier weapons, there were fencers. Towards the end of the performance, there was a ceremony for two men at arms to become squires which was very cool. It seems like a neat organization and looked like everyone in it has fun educating the public about medieval and renaissance combat.
Next on the chess field was the Human Chess Match presented by Rogues Theatre. An enormous cast paraded in including all of the main characters of the faire. The contestants were the fair and charming Queen Elizabeth, played by Kathy Yemm, and the roguish Edward St. Loe played with aplomb and humor by Michael Dempsey. The premise was that the competitors entourage and minions would each represent chess pieces on this field painted with a grid to represent a life-size chess board.
The chess match rapidly digressed into the pieces fighting to win each move. There were individual skits as the characters interacted and fought. I photographed this event both Saturday with Jennifer and Sunday when I went back by myself.
That Saturday night was the change over to day light savings time so, for the second showing of the Chess Match, the sun was lower in the sky. To try something different, while the rest of the audience sat beneath the trees in the shade, I positioned myself facing in to the sun. Photography 101 states you should shoot with your back to the sun to avoid lens flare and better light your subjects.
Sergio Leone broke this rule to stunning effect with his cinematography in his classic Man With No Name trilogy of spaghetti westerns. I wanted to try it.
It worked out great and several are my favorite photos of this series.
To end the day, we went to see the Joust between two Knights. One noble, the other less so. I was very excited to see this event and the performers did not disappoint. The first day saw the villain win by less than noble means. The second day was hysterical with the villain losing but just not quite dying. There was lots of blood in a Monty Python-style finale as the evil knight was brutally mutilated and finally killed by the good knight.
When I went back the second day, I saw some more great shows including Washing Well Wenches and Flight of the Raptor which is a show about hawking featuring Jennifer Penna.
The Washing Well Wenches show was hysterical with bawdy humor and many embarrassed men being shamelessly hit on by these adorable gap-toothed hussies.
Jennifer Penna was actually walking about the faire between shows with her pet owl. The hawking show was fun and educational on these birds of prey.
Towards the end of the second day, as I began to really feel my sunburn, a neat event happened. On the chess field many of the performers gathered to sing and dance. The kids were obviously having a great time and it felt informal in that nice cool shade. There were a lot of beautiful voices in that group and they were, of course. singing Renaissance-era songs with themes ranging from love to ale.
This entire event was one of the most enjoyable experiences I ever had shooting photographs. This is not only due to the bright and festive colors of the period but the great performances and the authentic enthusiasm of everyone involved doing what they love. The enjoyment everyone had putting on this event was contagious.
As for what I posted on the site, I broke the rules. What I should do as a “pro” photographer is only post a dozen or so of the best pictures. I don’t just post these photographs to show off a portfolio, though. I do it so visitors to the site can feel complete immersion in the event. I want the photographs to not only have an individual impact, but to tell a story of the entire experience.
This is probably the last time I will post this many photographs in one gallery, though. Nearly 400 photos is way too many to edit, upload and comment on. I’m still not done with the comments.
We hope you enjoyed this gallery and, as for everyone involved in performing in this event, I’ve been in the entertainment industry for a long time and it is rare to see this much enthusiasm and dedication put in to an event. Well done and we’ll see you next year!
