Hall Costumes

Duo from Dune

The Famous Adventurer?

Pretty Miss

Saucy Lady

Regency Elegance

Timely Traveler

The Masquerade

Poison Ivy

The winner of WesterCon’s masquerade/costume contest was a mash-up of Wizard of Oz, Wicked, and the Dating Game. Seven people performed a skit dressed as the Oz characters in which Fiero got to chose a date with Dorothy, Elfaba, or Glinda. It was a clever performance and the costumes were well-crafted.

Oz Dating Game

Kissing Fiero

Next month, I’ll share more photos from Westercon and the San Diego Comic-Con.

Oakhurst People

Fresno People

Artist Models

Yosemite Pioneer History Center

Photography Wagon

At Yosemite National Park’s Pioneer History Center on weekends, they have people recreating the life experiences of the 1800s. Here is a picture of one of the docents and the photography equipment from that day and age.

Barn Dog

Over the summer, they have many horses stabled at the center. Some are draft horses to pull the wagons. Others are available for trail riding. This is a picture of the huge barn and the dog who stands guard.

Civil War

Here are some pictures I made from the Civil War Re-enactment in Mariposa California in June. With the first set, I wanted to create the look of old-time photos.

Southern Cavalry

The Knitter

The Gentleman

Southern Comfort

Photo Illustrations

For the next set of pictures, I wanted them to look like paintings or illustrations from old magazines.

U. S. Cavalry

The Blues

Civil War Painting

The Explorers

Woman’s Work

The Seamstress

The Knitter

Knitting

The Schoolmarm

Men Folk

Cleaning the Cannon

Young Warrior

The Chessplayer

The Political Rally

Speechifying

The Constitutional Union Party

Watching the Rally

Politicians

Etching of Mr. Henkus

I’ve taken several approaches with the pictures I took at this event. I wanted them to look as if they, too, were from a distant past.

A Call to Arms

The time period for this event was actually pre-Civil War, dealing with the Presidential campaign of 1860. They held a couple of political rallies over the weekend. Both the South and the North were calling for volunteers to their military groups.

Seventh Brigade West Virginia

The Inspection

Major Rhodes

The Union Soldier

Lt. E Henderson

The Confederates

Sgt. Robert Allen

This was the military side of the presentation. Next week, I’ll post the other side of this re-creationist encampment.

I bring my camera to this event. It may technically speaking still be winter, but winter in the bay area is green and lush. The camellia flowers are blooming, and the Marriott Hotel (where the event takes place) always has some nice landscaping.

However, this year, I chose to focus upon the most colorful part of this convention weekend – the people.

Here are a few of the portraits I made from some of the people at DundraCon.

The Players

Most people come to DundraCon to play D&D variations or board games. This appeals to all ages. There was a room devoted to children’s games where one person had a leatherworking table set up so that kids could make their own leather coin pouches. DundraCon appeals to everyone who retains the child-like pleasure of playing games.

The Gentleman

The Hatter

The Costumes

In addition to board and D&D games, the convention has people who prefer to play “live action role-playing” (LARP). There are demonstrations from members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (the SCA) who re-create the “Middle ages as they should have been.” Some of the games involve dressing up as the character you play. Then again, some people just like to dress up in costume.

The Fighter

This woman demonstrated combat with sword and shield for the SCA.

Steampunker

Steampunk style was popular at the convention. It’s a cross between Victorian Society and Jules Verne’s science fiction. This man was selling costume accessories in the convention dealer’s room.

The Dandy

The Star Wars Fans

Denouement

We had a great time at the convention playing games with our friends, but I’m sorry that I didn’t have more time to just take pictures. There were many other fascinating people and photo opportunities. That’s the best part of conventions like this one – there’s always something to do and interesting things to see.

The Look

I follow a website called Digital Photography School and this week’s “Weekend Challenge” was to “Photograph a Stranger”. Since I am shy but I do want to take photographs of people, I figured I really needed to do this assignment. The Sierra Art Trails Reception would be a good place to work on my people skills and take some nice portraits.

I was very glad I did.

Ron Hendershott

The first person I approached was Ron. We’re not exactly strangers – his stepson and my son have been buds since preschool. However, I love the strength of his face and knew exactly what I wanted his portrait to look like. So he was the perfect person to first approach and ask if I could take his portrait. Ron is a teacher and a photographer – his photographs of the twisted branches of manzinita are stunning.

Wayne Boring

The next person I asked permission to photograph was Wayne, a Master Woodcarver. He’s a ‘larger than life’ person who I have had the chance to photograph in the past as “Father Christmas” and “Dumbledore”. His face reminds me of the iconic “Coca Cola Santa Claus.”

Gloria Garland

I have known Gloria for years – we worked on Quest for Glory three together. She is the sort who glows with vivacity and friendliness. So I couldn’t resist tracking her down to take her photograph. She and Jon Boch have been driving forces behind supporting the Sierra Art Trails and the artists of our area. They run the Williams Gallery West and the Stellar Art Galleries in Oakhurst.

Judy DeRosa

I had not met Judy DeRosa before, but I fell in love with her timeless beauty and elegance. She is one of the artists who show at the Williams Gallery West.

Rah

The last person I approached was Rah. His face reminded me of the pioneer settlers of the wild west.