This last Halloween weekend, I spent both Saturday and Sunday at the Texas Renaissance Festival. I had a great time.
After the previous weekend, I sent in an email and made a request for a Media Pass. The Media Coordinator was nice enough to give me one. That saved me about $34 a day and ended up saving me about $375 over the duration of the festival. I was very appreciative.
On Halloween weekend, I started a habit of getting there early to shoot the beginning of the day. These first pics are from the Saturday.
I made regular stops by Booth 212, Catskill Mountain Moccasins, to visit with my friend Greg and his manager Sara. Sara had offered me a free ticket to come back to TRF. When I received my Media Pass, I returned her ticket to her so she could use it with another friend.
Sara is very nice and I’m glad I met her. I made a lot of new friends while at TRF and Sara is one of the best new friendships that I made.
I ran into Phil Brayton near the entrance of the festival. I love Phil. He’s a great guy and I love getting his photos. You’ll definitely see more of Phil in future posts about TRF.
I got a lot of pics of Nuria also. Her character’s name is Isabella and she is a Queen. Nuria is another new friend that I’m happy to have.
These 2 ladies were very funny. That’s a map of the Kingdom drawn on her ass. I got some great video of them telling me where everything was. A funny part was when she would talk about the ‘entrance’ and ‘exit’.
I photographed Lilly several times and you’ll see those photos in future posts as well. Lilly was always dressed so well for a festival.
I loved her headwear game. She’s very stylish and with her make-up, she always looks so beautiful. And to see her dancing while the bagpipe band, Tartanic, plays is magical.
I met Leos and his brother Argos at a comicon a few years back. I ran into Leos at TRF and was happy to see him again. The thing about Leos’ look is that it helps to be in shape. I know I couldn’t wear that and look as good as he does.
I’m always really impressed with his face. It takes time to have details like that.
The guy in this next photo said he was a photographer. Then he stepped to where the lighting was the best. The pic came out good. Sometimes the sun can cause shadows on a face and ruin the photo.
This guy had the best sign.
I ran into Tony on the Saturday of Halloween weekend. I would see him a few more times.
And you’ll see his face when he comes as Elfis. His shoes for that outfit are great… and hilarious!
This is Chelsea. She sold little bird whistles. I stopped and talked with her every weekend day that I was at the festival. She’s a very nice girl and another new friend.
I thought this next girl’s face was great. And her garb went with it.
I used this pic for the feature image for the Saturday gallery of Halloween pics. It got a lot of views.
I ran into Hercules again and snapped his pic. He was good about giving me a different pose every time that I saw him.
I didn’t spend too much time at the Joust this year. I plan to cover it extensively next season at TRF.
I did learn that the Knights hang out at a place call the Joust House. I’ll go by next year and get some pics of them and their horses.
I met Paolo Garbanzo again. He’s a really nice guy and very talented. I enjoy watching his act. I’m planning on shooting video of it next season.
I love Halloween. And I love people that get into it.
When people wear the contacts, it can make their look.
This lady looked great. She was carrying a broom in her right hand. If all good witches looked this good, there would be a lot of fans of witches.
I ran into Jade again. I love photographing her. I’ll be writing a post just about Jade soon.
This was the first of many weekends that I got Haley’s pics.
She’s very photogenic and I loved that she got dressed up each weekend.
This woman has a beautiful smile and beautiful hair. She looks great.
I liked the look of this couple. The contacts look really good.
Now, you tell me… how did this woman transport her costume to TRF? It looks fantastic, but how do you go to the restroom?
I love zombie pirates. What a great look.
These two guys were part of my favorites from all of TRF in 2021. I just love their authentic clothing and look.
These are outfits that I would wear… just to go to the store, lol.
I met this couple at TRF and also at Dickens on the Strand in Galveston.
They’re a fun-loving couple and I always enjoy seeing them and getting their pics.
The funny part is that he is a well-respected dentist and he goes out as a pirate with bad teeth. That’s hilarious.
These next pics are from Sunday of Halloween weekend. As you can tell, I’m there early to see the day unfold.
I had Scotch eggs for the first time this day. A Scotch egg is a boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage meat then deep fried. It was a good breakfast.
Some days, I was able to get into the Kingdom before the festival opened. I enjoyed seeing everything before the guests arrived.
During the day, this area is packed with people. It’s nice to see it so tranquil in the mornings.
This is Alex Draco. I ran into Alex many times while working at the TexRenFest this year. He was always nice enough to pose for me and I appreciate that.
This little girl was trying on a new hat and I thought she looked cute, so I snapped a pic. The festival is a great place for kids to have a ball.
Next TRF, I’ll get more info about the ‘Best Dwarf Ever’.
I took some shots of Violet while she was Fire Dancing. I shot video of their act and even interviewed the band, Saxon Moon, and her. Violet is great and another new friend.
I purchased a souvenir while at the festival. I use it for my beer while at home.
This lady had a different outfit every time I saw her and she always looked fantastic.
I met Mickey for the first time this weekend. He invited me inside the Wyrmwood Public House, which is a burlesque bar. I’ll have more photos of that later. Mickey is a cool guy to have as a friend.
Here is a pic of my friend, Greg, and I. I met Greg on the comicon circuit and ran into him again at TRF. It was always good to see him.
Here I am with Sara again. I loved all of her outfits she wore to the festival. She’s another lady with a great sense of style.
I’m glad Sara posed for me because the pics are some of my most favorite.
I took a pic of Skidmark. He might be the funniest character at all of TRF.
I photographed several girls that went as either a jellyfish or a mushroom. They always looked great.
I love her look.
This girl came as Pennywise. I used her pic for the feature image of the Sunday Halloween gallery.
I tend to like photographing people that put in the effort, especially with their faces. This next mother and daughter definitely put in the effort to look good.
You’ll notice how the contacts complete the look.
I loved this lady’s outfit and make-up.
I especially loved her hat. She had a fun, festival look.
Here’s Violet and her friend.
This girl had a great face and her make-up looked awesome.
This warrior always stands very still. I’ve never seen him talk.
And I obviously zoomed in once I got home and didn’t actually stick my camera in his face to get this pic, lol.
I love the dancers. All of the acts at TRF have very beautiful women in them. It’s fun to walk around drinking and taking in all of the entertainment.
This next girl was one of my all time favorites to photograph.
She’s beautiful and I loved her make-up. I was happy to get her pics.
I photographed a lot of pirates while at the TexRenFest. This guy was one of my all-time favorites.
He has the face to pull off this look.
I was even able to photograph a Zulu Warrior. And anybody who watched Tarzan as a kid knows how badass the Zulu were.
I received many compliments on my business cards this weekend and many times, when I would tell people about the website, they would be very happy that they were going to be on it. I got many fist bumps over the two days.
My next post will be about the Cosplay weekend at TRF.
If you want to see all of my 3,105 pics from TRF, visit the link below and click on Photos.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
Spider Michaels
The STORM Factory
https://Facebook.com/TheSTORMFactoryUSA
Spider Michaels 