I first met Phil Brayton a few years back, at a comicon in Houston. He was dressed as his Barbarian character. I knew that when I saw him, I immediately wanted to get his photo. This first photo is from the first time I ever met Phil.
When I decided to work several weekends at the Texas Renaissance Festival, I didn’t expect to see Phil there. When I walked inside the gates of TRF, he was one of the first people that I saw. This next pic is from that first encounter at the TexRenFest.
Phil has been working at TRF for 12 years. In the mornings, he poses as his Barbarian character, then after the noon parade, he comes out as Tan Man.
He is 6’6″ and 325 pounds… a mountain of a man.
Phil is called a Badged Entertainer and there are only 5 at TRF.
His Barbarian character is the 3rd highest photographed person at the TexRenFest and his Tan Man character is in the Top Ten in photos taken of him.
I tried to get a pic with Phil each time that I saw him.
Out of the many people that I met at TRF, Phil is one of the nicest. He was always so complimentary of me and the way I dressed.
At one point, he said I was the Best Dressed Photographer at the TexRenFest.
Phil started out his career working in the Medical Field. Then, in his late 30’s, he switched to Mortuary Science and has been working in that calling for over 25 years.
As you can tell, Phil is a real life character.
He also plays Donald Trump. Phil is a Social Media Influencer that works in New Orleans, Houston and Galveston.
He plays Capt. Jazz, the Ghost of Christmas Present, the Barbarian, the Mountain Man and also Houston’s Tan Man.
Phil went to a White Linen party in the Heights of Houston years ago and a friend started calling him Tan Man and the name stuck.
Phil is known far and wide by many thousands of people and also has thousands of Followers on his social media accounts.
Here’s a pic of Phil with some friends at the White Linen Party.
They made the paper with the caption, ‘Life of the Party’. No truer words have ever been printed.
Phil has been in the media spotlight for several years now and been a part of many Promos for a lot of events.
Here he is for the Super Bowl that was hosted in Houston.
Every major social media influencer has been a part of a meme.
Here he is as the Ghost of Christmas Present during Dickens on the Strand in Galveston, TX.
He also has hundreds of thousands of views for his videos.
The Marlboro Man at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
The Undertaker with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Here he is at the Lone Star Motorcycle Rally in Galveston.
At Saint Arnold’s Brewery with the owners.
Mountain Man at the Houston Rodeo BBQ Cook Off.
Mister Astro with some babes.
Here is a pic of Phil while working in his calling.
As I stated earlier, I’ve met many people in my line of work and Phil is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. He’s fun-loving, carefree and always so kind.
I asked Phil what it is that he could say about working at the Texas Renaissance Festival and he said this… “I love working at TRF because it is a Judgement-Free Zone. You could be a 500 pound man wearing a Tutu and you will be the most popular guy there.”
My hat goes off to people like Phil who live life to the fullest and get the most out of our time here on this planet. I look forward to seeing and photographing Phil many more times in the future.
Cheers to Phil Brayton for just being himself.
Spider 113
Phil Brayton Fan
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. To see all of the 3,105 pics and videos from the TexRenFest 2021, click on the link below and go to Photos.
And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
The fifth weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was the Highland Fling weekend. This was my first time visiting the Kingdom on this weekend and I didn’t know what I was in for.
I had an assistant working with me this weekend, so you’ll see some behind the scenes shots of what it is that I do at TRF. These first pics are from the Saturday of the Highland Fling weekend.
I climb up on the King’s throne to get these pics.
At TRF, there is regular parking that is free. With this free parking, sometimes it is a helluva long walk to the festival and then back to your car.
There’s also Preferred Parking, which costs $20. I did that one day and liked the proximity to the front entrance of the festival. And after a long day of walking, having a short walk to my Tahoe is a blessing.
TRF also has Handicap Parking for free and also Valet Parking for $40. The pic below is of the valet area before anyone showed up. It is right near the front gates. I mean, right there.
I was able to get my assistant to snap a pic of me on the throne. It’s not as easy to get up there as you would think.
We ran into this guy at the front entrance area. When I asked for his pic, he struck this pose.
Then, he put on his goggles, extended his wings and struck another pose for us. Impressive is a good word for his look.
Pennywise was right inside of the front gates and I was glad to get her photo. She must have a party size can of helium to have a fresh red balloon every morning. It completes the whole picture.
Tinker Bell was always a lot of fun to photograph. I see the TRF characters from early in the morning until the afternoon. They are always energetic, in character and having fun.
It takes a special type of person to work as a character at the TexRenFest and they have a lot of special people on staff, Tinker Bell being one for sure.
I’m quite sure that there were 2 different girls playing this role. They were good characters and always happily posed for myself and my assistant.
The guy in the middle knows how to pose to make a statement. He was always fun to photograph and gave us some good pics.
After spending some time near the front gates, my assistant, Ryan, and I headed to what I call ‘Food Stand Row’. There are several food stands lined up and next to each other. I would walk down this row and get pics of all of the people working in said stands.
This day, Blaze was wearing glasses.
And we took some pics without them. Blaze knows how to pose to create a good picture.
If anyone gets a close-up, it’s Blaze.
After taking some pics, Ryan and I ordered what would be called Brunch because we ate between breakfast and lunch.
This photo of Blaze serving hot, delicious food is a favorite of mine because it says a lot about the festival in one pic.
On the left is crawfish etouffee and on the right is shrimp etouffee. We enjoyed this meal and headed to the Sea Devil area for a morning beer.
Amanda was there to serve them to us. The little bar that she works at is called ‘The Glory Hole’. That’s really funny.
This is a shot that I’m proud of. They each spent a lot of money on their clothing and hats to look this good. Kudos.
The staff at the Sea Devil bar were always up for a photo. They have a good job at TRF. They work at one of the coolest places to hang out, there’s a live band that plays right in front of them and everybody loves a bartender serving good drinks.
As a note, I bought some Honey Mead from the Sea Devil bar. I think I’ll need to drink some more before I give it a thumbs up or down. One small plastic cup isn’t enough for a fair review.
These 2 girls are good friends and it shows. Fun pic.
Here is an example of a mid-range shot that I always take of people.
And from that pic, I can create a close-up like this. “All right, Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.”
That is a very famous line from an old movie called ‘Sunset Strip’. The delusional Norma Desmond is about to be arrested for murder. She sees a news camera and thinks she’s on a movie set with Cecil B. DeMille directing the film. She delivers that famous line and it has been used over and over again.
That was your Hollywood History for today.
Hercules struck several different poses for me when I came across him in the Kingdom. Some call this pose the Double Biceps. Others know it as ‘The Gun Show’.
Next TRF, I’m going to ask him where he got that head piece. It’s amazing. And I bet it kept his head warm on those colder days during the festival.
This was the second time that I ran into this pretty lady. I think it was 2 weekends in a row. If you are a fan of people wearing great hats, then the Texas Renaissance Festival is for you.
I’ll give you one guess as to what this guy’s name is… He even gave me a wristband with his name on it.
Painkiller.
Mr. and Mrs. Painkiller. Looking good.
I ran into some Star Wars people, but not as many as you would think. Still a good number of people came as their favorite Star Wars character. I always saw a Mandolorian or two, each weekend.
Here is another time when I use the word striking. As in, “She was striking.”
Definition of Striking… Someone who is striking is very attractive, in a noticeable way.
Here is another mid-range shot that I always take of people. Her necklace is awesome as well.
And another close-up that came from the mid-range pic.
Here’s Erika at Booth 211, Asgardian Armory. She had so many different looks for each day of the festival. I think she wore something different each day for 17 days.
I don’t think it’s possible for Erika to take a bad pic.
Ran into Leos again. As you may have noticed, he was at the festival for a lot of days. At the next TRF, his brother Argos is supposed to join him.
How many brush strokes to create the look of Leos’ face? In a previous post, I guessed at 200. It could be more. His face always looks great.
Alex Draco had on his tartan for the Highland Fling weekend.
I would not be able to go to TRF as either of these 2 characters for several reasons.
My stomach hasn’t looked like that in 25 years and I’m a whimp when it comes to cold weather. My hat is off to both Alex and Leos for their efforts to create such a great Kingdom, full of all kinds of characters.
This guy looked really good. A tartan hat set him apart from all others that were there celebrating the Highland Fling.
This fine couple performs for the guests of the TexRenFest. Purple is one of my favorite colors and they look great in it.
Their IG account is called The_Minstrel_Rav’n. Here is what they say about themselves…
“Telling Songs and Singing Stories of Pirates, Taverns and Elven Lasses.”
Fun couple with a cool job.
I saw a lot of people with those wooden drinking vessels. This couple had them and looked like they were enjoying a walk through the Kingdom while having a drink.
Nuria as Queen Isabella. The entire Spanish Court were wearing tablecloths around their dresses. It was their way of celebrating the Highland Fling while still being in character.
Here is another favorite pic of ours. Such beautiful dresses and he looks great as well. I’d wear what he has on just to run errands around Houston, lol.
A second pic, the mid-range shot, is always a great way to capture the details of people’s clothing, outfit, costume or garb.
I also liked this next guy’s look.
I asked them to get together for a shot of the 2 of them.
Then, I asked him to remove his helmet. I sometimes prefer a photo of someone holding their helmet. It shows the face behind the headgear and they always look cool holding their helmet. Like they’re ready for action.
If I hadn’t asked him to remove his helmet, he would have been content with the shot of him and his girl. Like it is, they loved the shot without his helmet also and even posted it on social media and tagged The STORM Factory. I like it when things turn out like that. I feel like I’ve done my job well.
Here is the King of Spain. I didn’t talk with him much, but he was always nice enough to pose for me.
This was a fun group to photograph. The guy on the left had some great eyes.
This is when I really enjoy the close-ups.
If you didn’t think she was a favorite of mine, you’d be wrong.
Blue is a good color for her.
The Spanish King and his Court. Here, you can see them all wearing, what I think are, tablecloths.
I introduced Bird in a previous post about TRF. She works with the bagpipe band Tartanic by selling CD’s and other merchandise to the audience watching their show.
I’ve mentioned before that I love the fact that Pirates show up on every weekend, no matter what the theme is…
“The theme this weekend is the Highland Fling, but we’re going as Pirates.”
“Great. I’m in.”
One of the prettiest Pirates that I photographed.
Alex looked great on this Saturday of the Highland Fling.
Here’s a pic of their crew. During the Celtic Christmas weekend, they called me over to photograph them in their Holiday outfits. That pic came out great. You’ll see it in a future post.
I wanted to try their fried crawfish, so after taking some pics, I order some.
It was a good meal and I almost ate all of it. I didn’t want to feel bloated while I walked and worked.
I never noticed this before, but Kevin is wearing a pair of Steampunk goggles around his neck on this Saturday. I’m a big fan of Steampunk. Here is what Wikipedia says about it…
Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology and aesthetics inspired by 19th-century industrial steam-powered machinery.
Any good Pirate worth his salt has a good ring collection. I know I do.
Definition of ‘worth one’s salt’…
To be ‘worth one’s salt’ is to be worth one’s pay, or good at your job or profession. Being a Pirate is a full-time job.
Another good pic of a nice couple enjoying their day at TRF.
Most all Pirates have a swagger in their poses. If you look in the back, on the left, you’ll see Amanda working in ‘The Glory Hole’.
Scott would come by to chat with Amanda every day that he attended the festival, which was several times. I would be there some days also, having my morning beer from Amanda. We’d talk about the festival, the characters, and other things TRF related.
These next pics are funny.
I was told by a guy that I needed to go get this guy’s pic. When he turned around and I saw his breasts, I started laughing. I took a full-body shot and then this mid-range shot.
Then I asked him to grab his tit. Gold.
I was able to run into this girl a few different times while I was working at the TexRenFest.
She happily posed for me and got some great pics.
Pothead. Jay wears a pot on his head and one person called him Pothead. So do I.
Jay told me that every flower in his pot was given to him by a kid at the festival. Pretty cool.
Here’s Tits McGee and his friends enjoying some beer at the Sea Devil.
These girls work at the Wyrmwood Public House. That’s Shelbelle Shamrock in the middle.
The Burlesque Show at the Wyrmwood is great and you should check it out this next TRF. I highly suggest it.
This guy looks so good that he looks like he just walked off of a Hollywood movie set.
This is the crew of one of the shops located around TRF. I tried to get a lot of workers.
Mario and Luigi. Great!!
There is a funny story with this couple.
After I photographed them as a couple, I asked to get some pics of just her. So I did.
I then showed the pics to her and after seeing them, she said, “The girls look nice.”
I had to agree.
I would be curious to know who is the most photographed character at TRF. This girl has a seat on a pedestal and she sits there as people come by and snap pics of her.
I have said this before, but I’m convinced that there are 2 different girls that play this role. And both look great.
Good friends, good times.
I ran into Lilly Bontemp on this Saturday. She had a wooden drinking vessel also.
Her hat has a mermaid on it, but it’s the skeleton of a mermaid. That is very much like a Pirate.
This lady has 3 different nose rings. I’d be so scared of accidentally ripping my nose up when something got caught on it. She fit in at TRF perfectly.
Some choose to stay in character for their photos. I like the guy’s outfit. That’s another one that I’d wear.
Bree and Erika at Asgardian Armory.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I think colored contact lenses can complete a certain look and often times put it over the top.
In this shot is an example of contacts creating a great look. She looks Awesome with a capital A.
If ever there was a reason for a close-up.
I brought Ryan by the Wyrmwood for a drink.
Mickey made us 2 kamikazes. We downed them and hit the road to get some more pics.
I’m not a fan of people raising their arms like this. In order to get the arm in the frame, the pic ends up being a lot further back. She does look great though.
In this shot, you’ll see what I mean. Her arm is lower, which allows me to crop in and get closer to see more details.
Next TexRenFest, I’ll spend more time covering this woman’s act. She’s in a group with other dancers and they’re all as pretty as her.
Haley was wearing a tartan skirt to celebrate the Highland Fling.
This is a good example of my shooting practices. The pic above is a full-body shot. This pic is a mid-range shot. And the next pic after this one is the close-up I was able to create from this pic.
The flowers and her face make-up gave her a great look.
I’ve mentioned several acts that I want to cover the next TRF. This dancer is in one of the acts I’ll cover.
Great necklaces.
Apollo always took some time to pose for a pic. That was cool of him.
Lilly changes the flowers on her hat and uses similar colors on her face that match the rest of her clothing. It all goes together. Her stockings are great also.
If you’ve never seen Lilly dancing around while Tartanic plays, you’re missing out. It’s a high-point of the day for a lot of people.
This lady worked with the band, Tartanic, also. Pretty fantastic face make-up.
Here’s Philip. I’ve mentioned this before, but he was voted as one of the Top 10 Pirates of TRF for 2021 by our group at the STORM Factory.
I would love to have a coat like that. I’d wear it everywhere. Philip was the only Pirate that had a great hook. We love his hat, the hair, the hook, the coat… everything. Kudos to Philip.
My friend, Chelsea. She told me one day, “I want to thank you for always asking to take my picture before you do.” I told her, “Of course.”
That is my policy. I don’t shoot people without them knowing it, which a lot of photographers do at TRF. When you see those guys with the long lenses… well, those aren’t for close-ups.
They like to stay a long ways away and shoot people without them knowing. I believe that to be downright wrong.
This sign is for the booth that I’ll be meeting people next TRF for photos.
This is the Wyrmwood Public House. That upstairs patio is awesome.
Maps on a scroll. Very cool, indeed. Good move by TRF.
One of the things I told Ryan, when he was working with me, is to never cut off parts of people’s costumes, outfits, or garb. This next pic is an example of getting all of the top feathers in the pic. Possibly, other photogs would cut them out.
I love that there are big parades on both weekend days. And always starting at noon helps me cover them.
Who doesn’t cheer for beer?
Jade, looking great as always.
These next shots are by Ryan while I was shooting video of this act. This is Cirque Olympus.
I’ll load the videos from TRF on YouTube soon.
Both of the girls in Cirque Olympus are amazing. It’s a great show and if you’re at TRF again, you should definitely check them out. You won’t be disappointed.
It takes years of conditioning to be able to do this several times a day.
She did all of these maneuvers without anything to catch her if she fell.
What a great shot. Awe inspiring.
I would not want this girl mad at me.
Ryan did a great job of capturing some great images.
Now, for some more shots by Ryan that I was in. We started out our day with getting some great pics of this guy.
Here I am photographing the Food Stand workers.
This was one of the few times that I was able to get a pic with Blaze.
TRF is a fun assignment.
Here I am showing this girl the pics I just took of her. I do this with every person, couple or group. They always have final say as to what gets posted on the STORM Factory site.
Being photographed with beautiful women never gets old. This pic concludes our Saturday at the TexRenFest. Sunday pics up next.
I was the first one at TRF again on the Sunday of the Highland Fling weekend. I may get up early to be there that early, but I prefer it because I never get stuck in traffic and it’s a short walk to my Tahoe when I’m ready to leave.
500,000 people will enter this area over 17 days time.
I love witnessing the calm before the storm.
All quiet… for now.
Approximately 29,400 people will come down this walkway on this day, according to our math.
I had Ryan snap my pic again.
Willy is great. He adds to the whole TRF experience.
Hamish McGregor entertaining the guests before the gates to the Kingdom open.
For breakfast on that Sunday morning, I had an egg, ham and cheese quiche and milk.
Ryan had the kolaches, milk and coffee. We were both happy with our meals from the Queen’s Pantry.
Here is what Wikipedia says about RenFaires…
A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which purportedly recreates a historical setting for the amusement of its guests.
These girls were on my daily routine of shots to get. They were always happy to see me.
Funny story…
I’ve mentioned in previous posts about one of the coolest places to hang out while at TRF is the area around the Sea Devil bar. There’s always cool people around there having drinks and looking awesome.
I make it a policy to walk by there every so often. Ryan was off shooting the Joust and I was taking pics around the Sea Devil. I took one woman’s photo and it came out great. As I’m showing here the photo, she says something to me.
She said it so softly that I couldn’t hear her. I asked her what she had said, then she said, “Can I kiss you?”
I said, “Sure.” I could tell then that she was a little tipsy. I’ll chalk it up to a good experience. How many times have you been working and have an inebriated woman ask you for a kiss? Exactly.
This girl looked great in all of her pics.
I couldn’t say how many times someone made a comment about the STORM Factory’s business card. Every time, it was something to the effect of, “Cool card.”
One time, I shot this lady and after I gave her my card, I heard her tell her kids, “Look how cool his card is.”
Another time, I gave my card to a Pirate. He looked at it and said, “Pretty pimp card.”
I noticed that this cute girl was working at different food stands on different weekends. I didn’t know some rotated to other work locations.
If I were a kid at TRF, I would have been all over this horse. For all of the drinking and half-dressed people, TRF has many things for the kids also. I’m always impressed by that. Even elephant rides.
Erin played Glinda, the Good. I heard her explaining one day about how she had made her scepter. She is very talented. More about Erin in my next post.
These people were more than happy to pose for me. They work at a shop and probably don’t get many photo requests.
I’ve been calling this guy a Warrior. Next TRF, I’ll get more info on him, hopefully. He might tell me to F off.
This is probably the look I’ll get when I ask him something, lol.
Skidmark going to work.
His office.
Mid-range.
Close-up.
Another pretty Flower Girl.
I first met Jana during the Cosplay weekend, on the Sunday. Ryan and I ran into her again on this Sunday of the Highland Fling.
I’ve mentioned that I’m a fan of anything Steampunk and her hat is fabulous.
Jana always gives us great photos and we’re grateful. Kudos to Jana and her sense of style.
Lilly and her co-worker. But those abs…
Blaze had her glasses again this day.
The glasses offered a different look for her. I liked it.
It is rare that I meet Jade anywhere in the Kingdom. I usually catch her at the entrance in the morning and I never see her again. TRF is huge.
Ryan and I saw her on this Sunday, so we got some pics.
Full-body shot.
Mid-range.
Close-up.
A great group shot.
This girl works in a food stand way in the back of the Kingdom. It’s a walk to get to her, but worth it. She was always so happy to get photographed.
Memories with good friends are the best.
Here is an example of the shops in the TexRenFest Kingdom. Simply beautiful. Ryan snapped this pic.
And all of the rest of the pics in this post were shot by Ryan. He did a good job.
Great art. Love it.
Tartanic having fun with the crowd. They’re really funny between songs.
You will even see characters up in the trees while you’re at TRF.
This is a good pic of mother and daughter.
Great make-up and worthy of a close-up.
Here is the stage for the Washing Well Wenches show. I’m excited to shoot video of this act next TRF and get some good pics. I love these girls.
A dunk tank. These girls would hurl insults at these men that were trying to dunk them. One guy succeeded, but there were a lot of insults flying. Another fun attraction offered by the great people at the TexRenFest.
Good pic.
In an earlier post, I mentioned that the Washing Well Wenches had a map of the Kingdom. Here I am shooting video of them showing me that map.
She raises the dress and reveals the map… on her ass.
She starts out by talking about the “Entrance” and “Exit”, complete with her pointing at them. It’s quite hilarious. This might be the funniest bit in all of the Kingdom.
At one point, the girl bending over was touched and she said, “I think I just became a woman.”
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, “I love these gals.”
I take the pics after I’ve been given permission.
Then I show all of the pics and get their approval.
And if Ryan is with me, I can get some pics with people.
When you saw that pic of Jana earlier, you had to know that I would want to get some pics with her also.
Jana wears high shoes and boots, but she is still a tall woman without them.
Here I am discussing an interview with a Fire Dancer named Violet.
You may not notice this… the girl next to Violet is as tall as me. I’m 6’1″ when wearing my Harley boots. Her moccasins barely have a heel. She is what we refer to as, “A tall drink of water.”
This is Violet’s friend, another Fire Dancer. And beautiful also.
Years ago, I went to TRF with a $2,500 video camera and shot everything on MiniDV cassettes.
Now, with technology, I can buy a $1,000 iPhone and get 4K quality video without carrying some huge, clunky camera.
I learned a lot about Fire Dancing from Violet. The interview turned out great and we were both happy with the end result.
Ryan took some good shots for me. I was happy with his work.
On Saturday, he shot over 1,500 pics because he was shooting on Blast. That’s when the camera takes several shots in a matter of seconds.
I had to stay up through the night to get everything organized and loaded onto the Factory site. I ended up showering, dressing and heading back to TRF on Sunday Morning with no sleep on Saturday night. None.
As a rule, I try to load everything shot in a day by that night. This is for the people that are eager to see their pics. I know what that’s like and we aim to please.
I know of some other programs that tell people it will be 3 days before their pics are loaded. That is ridiculous. And totally deferred gratification.
Some of my favorite pics with characters are with Jade.
Another thing about using an iPhone as opposed to a regular ‘camera’ is the view screen is much larger that those little viewers on digital cameras today.
People can’t see the pic well enough to know if it’s good or not. With a Pro Max iPhone, the screen is big enough to see even small details.
Knowing the Doorman at the Wyrmwood Public House is a good thing.
With my friend Greg in the Catskill Mountain Moccasins booth.
This guy was a funny character. And I mean that in a good way, lol.
I’m coming to the end of this post. I’ll close with something funny.
Willy was posted at the exit gate, where they stamp people’s hand if they want to re-enter later in the day.
As Ryan and I are leaving, I put my hand out for Willy to stamp. When he raises the stamp and starts to stamp my hand, I move it and walk out of the festival, laughing.
Ryan said that Willy looked at him with a look like, “What a dick?” Hahaha. Then Ryan snapped a pic of Willy right after I psyched him. The pic says it all.
I would leave the festival every day about 3pm in order to finish editing and loading the pics from the day by 10pm that night. It takes that long sometimes.
And every day that I was leaving, there were many that were just arriving.
Thanx for reading. I hope you enjoyed it. To see all of the 3,105 pics and videos from the TexRenFest 2021, click on the link below and go to Photos.
And remember…
“Always be yourself… unless you can be a Pirate, then always be a Pirate.”
The fourth weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was called the Barbarian Invasion. I had a fun time again and got some great pics and videos. On the Saturday, I had 285 pics and 6 videos. On the Sunday, I ended up with 281 pics and 11 videos. My totals for the weekend were 566 pics and 17 videos.
When I went into the Media Office to pic up my Media Pass, my contact there, Cory, offered me a coupon for a Free King size Kettle corn. I also saw a complimentary bottle opener, so I grabbed one of those also.
These first pics are from the Saturday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend.
The front gate staff were always very cool to me. I tried to get a pic with Willy when I could. He’s a lively character and full of laughs. He told me that he was related to the famous General Sherman. Everyone should remember Sherman’s March to the Sea (Actually Gulf).
Willy’s full name is William Tecumseh Sherman Elliot. William Tecumseh Sherman was the General and Willy’s name is written… William T.S. Eliot III.
T.S. Eliot was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. And was considered one of the 20th century’s major poets, he is a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry.
Willy is in some good company.
I ran into Phil once I entered the Kingdom. It’s always good to see him. I enjoy talking to him, but I never have a lot of time with him because there is always someone waiting to get his pic.
Phil tipped me off about a party in the Heights where everyone wears white. It might be called The White Party, don’t remember. I’ll be sure to be there and get some great pics. Phil will be there as the Houston Tan Man. I look forward to getting his pics.
Jade is always on my pic list whenever I walk in the gates of the TexRenFest Kingdom.
Can you blame me? Her make-up is fantastic and she’s always happy to pose for me. This might have been my favorite pose from her during all of TRF.
Nuria is always near the front gate at opening and I loved getting her pic. Her character, Queen Isabella, always looked great.
Erin meets near the front gate also and it helps me out that I can get a lot of pics so quickly. Erin identifies as non-binary so I tried to never use she/her pronouns when I posted anything they were in.
Katrina played a bride of Frankenstein. I didn’t realize that until I recently asked her when I was doing a post about her. She plays her character well and I enjoyed getting pics of her.
This is a fun group shot. Jade thanked me for getting so many pics of the cast so they could better remember their experiences from 2021. This pic is an example of capturing good times had by the cast.
I like that there are Pirates at TRF for every weekend, no matter the theme.
These girls struck a cute pose. Seven happy people.
This was a favorite pic of mine.
I cropped in to get a better look at her make-up, eyes and expression. I love when people have a good pose to go with their garb, outfit or costume. It makes my job easier and sometimes what I capture is magic.
Here’s Leos again. The sun brings out the details in his face make-up. To create the ‘hair’ on his face takes a lot of small strokes. Possibly 200+ strokes.
I mentioned getting pics of the pickle vendors. Here’s one guy that was nice enough to hold up a dill for the pic.
The Red Queen made several different faces when I took her pics during my time at TRF. This pose was my favorite. The eyes make this pic great.
A real joy of mine is to photograph parents with their children. I call myself a Memory Maker. This father and kids enjoyed this pic and will do so for years to come to remember their day at TRF.
Here’s another father and child. I like their outfits, but I do prefer capturing peoples faces as well.
Tinker Bell is a fictional character from J. M. Barrie’s 1904 play Peter Pan and its’ 1911 novelization “Peter and Wendy.”
The Tinker Bell at TRF is a really fun character. She’s always happy to pose and she looks great in her costume. She was a favorite to photograph.
I ran into Kevin several times while I was working at TRF in 2021. I ended up with some good pics of him in his Pirate garb. Have you ever heard of the phrase, “He was looking at me like I owed him money.”
I feel as though if I owed Kevin money, he’d look at me like this, lol.
I never saw their act, but I did see him juggle and that takes a lot of talent. I hope to cover them more in 2022.
This pic is of Melissa and Bree from Asgardian Armory, Booth 211 in the TRF Kingdom. Attractive women selling swords, knives and other cool items. Another thing to love about the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Here’s Erika and a friend. Erika was named after Erik, the Viking.
I tried to photograph her every weekend. Can you guess why?
I did a commercial for shop 229 with the owner, Shiva. This pic is of Ty and two assistants. They work at Shiva’s booth.
When I walked into the Kingdom right at 9am or sometimes a little before 9, I knew a few things. One, that I’d be able to shoot a lot of characters that were accumulated near the front gate. And two, that there were certain people that I looked forward to photographing. Erika was one and Haley was another.
Haley dressed for the theme of every weekend and I had a lot of fun getting her pics. One day, I was talking to this guy and he told me, “Make sure you get pics of the sexy girls.”
I told him that I already had that covered.
This is Alex. She works at a food stand that I went by every weekend day to get their pics. She is very nice and works hard for long hours. I enjoyed making her happy with my pics.
Blaze worked at the food stand near Alex. I would start walking the line of food stands and stop by each stand to get pics of the workers. When Blaze told me her name, I thought, “Well that fits perfectly.”
Here are some of the workers of the Sea Devil bar. I took their pics often. One day, I was getting ready to snap a group pic of them again and one lady was messing with her breasts. Then she told me, “Gotta make sure the girls are out.” And no, it wasn’t this pic, so stop wondering, lol.
Scott and Hamish McGregor. Scott told me one day that he loved my work and “appreciates someone with a good eye.”
I photographed this couple on Pirate weekend and didn’t realize it until I recognized her smile. She wasn’t a redhead on Pirate weekend.
A pickle vendor with a sense of style in his pose. Loved it.
Skidmark was another of my regular characters to photograph. Here is what he says on his Facebook page…
My name is actually Markus Skidders, but my friends call me “Skidmark” cuz I don’t have very good friends.
His Facebook account is under Skidmark and he’s listed as a Public Figure. I enjoyed his act.
This make-up job was a favorite of many people. And her ice-cold stare goes so well with it. There is a similar look coming up that you’ll really like.
Violet is a Fire Dancer for the band Saxon Moon and also a Fire Dancer in Solar Rain. Violet is a very nice lady. She always posed for me and with me whenever I was near. They are some of my favorite pics.
Alex Draco is a photographer as well as a Renny. He knows how to combine items to create some great garb to go with his weapons. I may see him at Sherwood Forest Faire in the Spring of 2022.
More Pirates. When the STORM Factory hosts a Pirate gathering, we hope to attract great Pirates like these people.
Another thing to love about TRF is the weapons policy. You can carry any sword, knife or antique pistol you like. And I’ve seen people cosplaying and carrying AR-15’s. Plastic, of course.
The guy in the orange is Jay. He’s wearing a flower pot on his head. He told me someone called him Pothead. I call him that every time I see him.
I shot a commercial for Jay’s booth, that also has the Royal Mint. I bought a silver coin from the Royal Mint for $32. It’s a great memento from the 2021 TRF.
Paolo is another talented performer that works at other RenFaires around the country. That would be a fun and interesting life. Always meeting and entertaining thousands at every festival you work. Paolo leads a ‘Life of Riley’.
Kristi attended several weekends of the TexRenFest. We only saw her on this day. She did inspire me to set something up for 2022.
Either myself or my assistant, or both, will be at booth 212 at 2pm every weekend day of TRF this next season for those that want to meet us for some pics.
Thanx, Kristi. Excited to get your pics this season at TRF.
This was a good-looking couple. I had never attended the Barbarian Invasion before. I was glad that I did and it’s one of my favorite weekends now.
I bought some crawfish etouffee from Blaze at the cajun food stand. Next season, I’ll get the names of the food stands I photograph. The etoufee was great.
Next season at TRF, I plan to focus more on the food with photos and tastings.
Remember that Free King size Kettle corn coupon that Cory gave me that morning?
Here is the guy that I redeemed the coupon. Kettle corn is great. I brought the bag to my friends that work for Catskill Mountain Moccasins in booth 212. We all snacked on it for the rest of the day.
I concur.
Somehow a smile wouldn’t look right on his face with that garb on. He nailed the look.
This lady does promotions for her family member’s act. She always helps draw a large audience for the act.
I don’t know why she shaved her head, but boy did it go with her look and pose.
Nine people. One of the larger groups that I photographed on that Saturday.
When I saw these next 2 guys, I thought Zulu. I loved getting their pic. Such a rare sighting at any event to photograph Zulu warriors.
I mistakenly thought that they had battled with Tarzan.
The Waziri are a fictional African tribe created by Edgar Rice Burroughs in his Tarzan novels. Burroughs characterizes the Waziri as the greatest warriors in Africa. But they are fictional.
The Zulu are real. Here’s what I found out about the Zulu.
The Zulu tribe represents the largest population of ethnic groups in South Africa; making up to 10-11 million people. They are known for their strong fighting spirit, which has fashioned renowned warriors in history including the likes of Shaka Zulu who played a prominent role in various Zulu wars.
Good friends having a great time at the Texas Renaissance Festival.
Here is Paolo about to start his performance. The crowd really grows and people love him. I could never even attempt to learn the skills or have the talent that Paolo has.
Mickey and a friend taking a break from working to enjoy the festival from their upstairs patio. It’s a great vantage point to see a lot.
The decor of the Wyrmwood Public House is great and says they’re all about fun.
It’s not a large room, but enough for a good crowd and a burlesque show on the stage at the back.
I talked to this lady once and she told me she had a different look for every day of the festival and she was there every day. I believed her. And she always looked great and photo worthy.
Braveheart is Sir William Wallace, who is a Scottish National Hero. He led a fight for Scottish independence from England. He was born circa 1270 and died August 23rd, 1305.
I ran into this girl a few times during my time at TRF and she always had on a great outfit or garb. I was always happy to see her because I knew I would end up with some good pics.
There are a few things that you learn as a photographer. One, is to never ask a cosplayer for a pic when they are on break or busy with their friends. Two, is never bother anyone for a pic while they’re eating. I missed out on some great opportunities at TRF because I refuse to bother people.
This next pic is an exception. I have photographed people with turkey legs. It can sometimes be great pics that go with the costume, garb or outfit.
This girl wanted me to take the pic while she was pretending to take a bite.
Have you ever known of a place that the “cool” people hang out at?
If I had to pick one place where the cool people hang in the TRF Kingdom, I would say the Sea Devil area. I have taken some of my best pics there. As a photographer, I call this area a ‘Target-Rich Environment’ because there are always so many people to photograph that look great.
“This is Sparta!” is what King Leonidas yelled, in the movie 300, just before he kicked a messenger to his death into a pit of darkness.
I ran into this couple in Galveston for the Dickens on the Strand festival. I took their photo then and we chatted. I thought that was my first time meeting them.
This pic proves that I saw them at TRF weeks before Dickens.
Another fun, group shot of 3 ladies enjoying their time at the festival.
Only at the TexRenFest can a woman smear black on her face and still be beautiful.
I asked the guy drinking if he wanted to take a pic with his cup down and he said no. Maybe he’s on the lamb or in the Witness Protection Program, lol.
Even though it was the Barbarian Invasion weekend, these guys were dressed perfectly for the Highland Fling weekend. I love that people are free to wear whatever, whenever.
Friends getting dressed up, having beers and enjoying the day… priceless.
This has never happened to me before, but my last pic of the day was my best one. As I was leaving the Kingdom that Saturday afternoon, I passed this woman, who was just coming into the festival.
I don’t usually ask people for their photo outside of the Kingdom, but with her, I made an exception.
My only regret is not shooting some video of her also.
She was so striking that I used her pic for the Feature Image on the Saturday Barbarian Invasion gallery. Call me wrong…
I was able to store my stuff at Booth 212 again and my friend Greg was fun to talk with on my breaks from walking around.
And if Sara was available, I always asked for a pic with her. Can you blame me?
Erika was always right next door, in the Asgardian Armory booth, so it made my job easier. This concludes the Saturday pics. Next up, Sunday at TRF for Barbarian Invasion.
On that Sunday, I arrived before any other patrons. The cast, crew and other workers at TRF had arrived long before me or stayed the night.
This area gets really crowded as the day goes on.
I was able to find someone else to snap my pic on the King’s chair. It was a chilly morning again this day.
There are 5 gates to enter the TRF Kingdom. If the TexRenFest entertains 500,000 people per season, each gate averages having 100,000 people pass through it. That’s a large number. As a comparison, the Texans stadium capacity is 72,220. Imagine all of those people filing through one gate and that’s only almost 75% of the 100,000 that enter each gate.
I will add that not 500,000 people total attend TRF. That is the number of total visitors, but many came more than one time so number of people isn’t 500,000 but the number of times people came.
There are 8 weekends of the festival, plus one Friday. That’s 17 days. Remember they entertain 500,000 people per year. With 17 days, that’s 29,412 patrons in the Kingdom each weekend day and that Friday, on average. Some days are more and some days are less.
Willy!!
Hamish McGregor was always a great person to photograph and shoot video of him as well. He plays music for the patrons before the Kingdom opens. He has some funny jokes and stories. He is a great person to have around the Kingdom. He leads the parade every day with his pipes and also wedding processions.
This warrior is a great photograph. In the mornings, he’s usually near the front gate to greet the guests.
I won’t say the number because I don’t want to be wrong in print, but this guy has worked at TRF for a very, very long time.
This guy was fun to photograph. In following days, he gave me some great expressions. You’ll see them in future posts. I have 2 more weekends to talk about, then a few features like the one about Jade.
I love any job where the pic below would be your company ID pic.
I saw more than one Pennywise while I was working at TRF, but this girl was my favorite. I’ve mentioned this before and will do so again now.
She wore a mask every weekend but the last. The pics were always good, but the pics on the last weekend were great.
Here is the pic from the last weekend. Her face looks awesome.
On that Sunday of the Barbarian Invasion weekend, I shot some pics of Jade again. There were times that I wondered if people were growing tired of posing for me.
I even had one Flower Girl tell me, “You took my picture yesterday.” As if to say, that was enough. I told her each day is a different story.
On another weekend, I saw this Flower Girl again and she called me over to take her photo.
I never want to bother people, but I know that they’ll be pleased with the end result… a great memory.
Jade left a great comment on the STORM Factory Facebook page thanking me for taking pics of her and the rest of the cast. That was a good day for validation of our Program.
After I finish writing Blog Posts about each of the 6 weekends that I attended at the TexRenFest, the first Special Feature that I’ll do is about Jade.
I have some great questions to ask her and I’m sure people will be interested in knowing more about her and her character.
The Red Queen is not amused with our Program, not so much, lol.
That Sunday morning, I had kolaches and milk for breakfast from the Queen’s Pantry. One of my favorite places to eat.
The Joust arena before all of the action takes place. Next season at TRF, the Factory will impress people with our coverage of the joust and the Knights.
This show is always SRO (Standing Room Only). On one of the last days of the festival, I learned of a place that I can go next year to get a great view of the action. Possibly the best place to shoot pics and video from.
With 400 shops, you can guess that there is a wide variety of merchandise offered for sale. I plan on doing more commercials for the shops in 2022. They are fun to shoot, the shop owners love them and they get exposure.
As headwear goes, this is a 10 out of 10, as in superbly great. A beautiful smile completes the picture.
I own some drinkware from TRF. They were great purchases and I use them often. A good way to remember the festival and makes having a beverage fun. See: Adult Beverage.
Once I own enough drinkware from TRF, I’ll use them for our Poker Night.
Abby, Greg and Sara. Good people and great reps for Catskill Mountain Moccasins.
Sara got a new hat while at the festival. It suited her well and she looked great in it.
In the mornings, I have a routine. Walking by Lilly to see if I can get a pic of her is one thing I do regularly.
She has the best hats and headwear. Notice how her make-up matches the colors on her hat. She’s got a great sense of style.
The Washing Wenches! I could only ask to see the map of the Kingdom when she wasn’t dressed like that. That map is located on the ass of her pants. Possibly the funniest bit in the Kingdom.
Another beautiful woman in a great hat.
I was happy to get this next woman’s photo because she looked great also. If you were to tell a teenage me that when I was older, I’d have a fun job where I was talking to beautiful women all of the time… I would have laughed in your face in disbelief.
This lovely lady told me all about parts of her outfit that were still being made. I hope to see her when it’s all finished and get some pics of her in it.
I don’t think enough people know about the Wyrmwood Public House.
Here’s Alan, showing you the sign to look for while in the Kingdom.
The staff are friendly, fun and great to be around. Here’s Mickey and Alan.
Alan works the front door. No one gets in unless they get past him. He checks the capacity of the Wyrmwood because it isn’t huge inside. He also cards people. (Checks ID’s to see if a person is old enough to consume alcoholic beverages and see half naked ladies.)
From time to time, I’ll explain things that are common knowledge for Americans, but my blog is read in over 180 different countries. I explain things for the ones who don’t know or understand our culture.
On this day, I switched from having a kamikaze to a bourbon and coke. Mickey changed up his face every day and he always looked great.
Monsieur Bunny is the Master of Ceremonies for the Burlesque show and other happenings around the Wyrmwood. He prefers to be called Daddy.
I shot video of Daddy hurling insults and cut-downs at patrons as they walked by the Wyrmwood upstairs patio. It’s a really funny video. It’s in my galleries and I’ll post it on YouTube soon.
Violet in action. I watched the Saxon Moon set several times over the course of each weekend that I worked at TRF. And it never got old. I liked the music and loved seeing Violet dance with fire to it.
Here is Saxon Moon. A great band and good people.
On Sunday, I passed by Blaze’s booth again and snapped some pics.
When I work with assistants, I tell them when they see someone afar, if they have red or orange hair, run them down for some pics because they usually look fantastic. This guy was no exception to that theory.
The crew of the Sea Devil bar. That’s Kay on the left. Great gal.
I went back to Blaze’s booth and had the shrimp etouffee on that Sunday of Barbarian weekend. Very good and especially on a chilly morning.
Alex Draco probably likes the Barbarian weekend more than any other. He always looked great and gave me some good pics.
I saw this girl walking by and asked her for a photo. I found out later that she worked in a nearby food stand. When I knew where she worked, I tried to photograph her often.
Bloodbath and Beyond! Erika is a great spokesmodel for Asgardian Armory. She should ask for a raise, lol.
The Barbarian Invasion weekend is a very good weekend for sales at Asgardian Armory. Every barbarian needs a good sword and or knife.
Another great pose from Lilly.
Meet Bird. She works with the band Tartanic also. She helps with sales of their CD’s and other merchandise. A very nice girl.
Hercules is one of the characters where his body is part of his look. An overly skinny or overly fat Hercules wouldn’t work. He may be the only one that works out regularly the rest of the year just to maintain his job at TRF.
I imagine if he showed up 30 pounds heavier with a huge gut, the talent managers at TRF would say, “Hey Herc, we need to talk.”
I’ve met these guys before at comicons in Houston. I love them, but this needs to be said…
Found on Google…
Coulrophobia (COOl-ruh-FOE-bee-uh) is a fear (phobia) of clowns. Children and adults who fear clowns may experience extreme, irrational reactions when they see clowns in person or view pictures or videos of clowns. Someone with a fear of clowns is coulrophobic. <end>
If these guys wouldn’t make a person with coulrophobia shit their pants, I don’t know who would. They could cause years of therapy. I, personally, think they liven up any event they attend.
Even though it wasn’t the Celtic Christmas weekend, I still wanted a pic of this Santa’s Helper. A great look. Notice how she is holding her hands in the photo. Very cool, indeed.
As a rule, I try to take at least 2 photos of people at any event or function I attend. The first shot is a full body shot that includes any appendages, wings etc. I never cut off any part of a person’s outfit, costume or garb. I want to capture the entire look.
Next, I step up and get a mid-range shot to capture their face and upper body. When I get back to my office, I usually duplicate some of those mid-range photos and crop in to create close-ups of my favorite make-up jobs, etc.
This next photo is an example of why I create close-ups. She looks great.
Here’s another 2 close-ups. I photographed Mickel a few times during the TRF season. He was always good for a great pic.
Mickel and this beautiful lady were at the Sea Devil bar area. See: Cool People.
I found the warrior in between the Sea Devil area and the Joust arena. I’ve never seen him move or even walking somewhere. It’s like he just appears there standing perfectly still.
Here is another close-up I did. If a pic could talk, can you guess what he is telling me for not tipping for a pic? haha.
On a side note, if I tipped every member of the cast every time I took their photo, I’d be broke. And members of the media aren’t expected to tip because we’re working also, in Marketing and Promotions.
When I run into a Pirate, it’s always like running into a ‘Brother in Arms’.
The same goes for female Pirates. This is Lilly Bontemp. She has one of the best Pirate hats that I’ve ever seen… and I’ve seen a lot. The pink is a great color and she always wears the perfect clothes to accentuate the hat.
Her favorite color is pink and she told me that TRF is like her Super Bowl. She looks forward to it every year. Lilly was the very first person that I photographed this year at the TexRenFest. I walked in the gate and bam! Lilly caught my eye.
I’m looking forward to taking lots more photos of her at the next TRF.
Here is a shot of the staff at booth 229. The booth is called Shiva’s Designs or Designs by Shiva. I forget which. This is a great pic because the owner and her staff are all posed well and a viewer can see the booth’s number and merchandise in the background.
I enjoy shooting promotional pics for the booths. See: Memory Maker.
How do you make a Pirate mad?
Take away the P.
Here is Bree and Melissa in the Asgardian Armory booth. Another great promotional shot that shows them dressed great and some of the merchandise in the background. I shot a commercial for this booth also with Bree, an owner, telling me all about the things they offer in their booth. It came out great. I’ll load it on YouTube soon.
As I was photographing this girl and her friend, the guy with them told them, “Oh yeah, this guy is great!”, meaning me.
This guy was in street clothes and I didn’t know him. Then he told me that it was Leos. We had a good laugh that no one would know that it was him out of his character.
The always cute, Chelsea. She sold a lot of bird whistles because every time I passed by, someone was buying one for an eager little kid. She’s another great friend that I made during TRF 2021 and I look forward to seeing her at the next TRF.
This next pic is of Mickey and I. Every time that Mickey was serving me a drink, I felt like I was in the James Bond movie about Voodoo. HIs face looks that good.
Nothing to see here, just 2 guys in vests, lol.
I passed by Ty many times during a day at the TexRenFest. He always greeted me with a smile and I always felt welcomed by him. Very nice guy.
On the crest for the STORM Factory are 3 words… Exciting, Entertaining, Edifying.
Your edification from this post was the word coulrophobia and its’ meaning… Fear of Clowns.
Abby, myself and Sara. I couldn’t have found a better booth to take my breaks at. This is the booth where I’ll meet people at 2pm for photos each weekend day of the next TRF.
I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Texas Renaissance Festival’s Barbarian Invasion weekend.
To see all of the pics and videos from this event and many others, 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.”
The third weekend that I attended the Texas Renaissance Festival was the Cosplay weekend called ‘Heroes and Villains’.
I ended up with 458 pics and 5 videos. I kept with my tradition of arriving earlier than everyone else. I enjoyed getting early morning shots.
This weekend, I also started getting some pics in the big King chair located at the entrance. It’s a great Photo-Op.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, some days I was allowed into the Kingdom before it was open to patrons. These next pics are Before and During the festival so you can see the transformation.
This area is right inside of the main gates. There are always people, cast and crew here. Some are exiting, some are just entering and some are working as characters for TRF.
This is a great area to sit and chill while you people-watch. Seeing all of the costumes, outfits and garb is always a lot of fun.
This next pic doesn’t show just how crowded this area gets.
I have breakfast at these little tables in the early morning. Hard to get a seat later in the day.
And you can see that for yourself in this next photo. The TexRenFest entertains over 500,000 people every season. People gotta sit somewhere.
On Saturday morning of Cosplay weekend, I had a ham, egg and cheese quiche with milk. It was delicious and filled me up for a lot of walking and talking during the day ahead. I got it at the Queen’s Pantry, one of my favorite places for breakfast.
I always tried to get pics with the staff of Catskill Mountain Moccasins. Here I am with Sara. She works at other RenFaires around the country. Cool job.
My friend Greg was always nice enough to let me store my backpack and coat at their booth when it got hotter in the day. That helped me out a lot.
Had more good comments about the STORM Factory business cards.
These ladies were always a lot of fun to run into. I loved getting their pics each weekend. I plan to shoot video of their act next TRF.
Jade is one of my most favorite people to photograph while working at the Texas Renaissance Festival. She’s so beautiful and her make-up is unreal.
I think you’ll enjoy the special post I do just about her.
I enjoy shooting group photos. It’s an opportunity to make a lot of people happy in one pic. This group might have been the biggest group that I photographed. Twelve people.
I always enjoy taking photos of people that put in the effort. This group looked great.
And when someone puts in that effort, I like to reward them with close-ups to show just how fabulous their work is.
A lot of time went into these looks. Planning, designing, buying, building, creating, and then putting it all on to go to an event.
After I took the pic below, I noticed that it was a woman. Before I could catch myself, in a surprised voice, I said, “You’re a girl!”
She busted out laughing. As I was walking away, I heard her repeating my line to her friends. “You’re a girl!” Then they laughed all over again as they were walking off.
The beautiful Lilly, dancer for the bagpipe band Tartanic. I’ve mentioned her serious headwear game and she never disappoints.
I love that her make-up always goes so well with what she’s wearing. Lots of style that Lilly has.
I love this next guy’s look.
“Hold on honey. We can’t go to TRF yet. I forgot to put blood on my face.”
I tried to eat different things while at the TexRenFest. The pic below is of fried alligator. It was very good. Tastes like chicken, haha.
I have run into Logan at several events this last year. He’s a very talented cosplayer and I’m always impressed with what he wears.
I agree.
Another fun group shot. I photographed many groups and made lots of people happy with my work.
I always try to get pics of Skidmark.
It’s always good to see Pirates at TRF no matter what themed weekend it is. This guy had a good look.
Ran into Leos again. I loved seeing “Renny’s” because it made my job easier, in that I could hit my quota for pics faster.
This is a good pic. I’m sure they were happy when they saw it.
This girl was my favorite Pennywise. She wore a mask most of the weekends except for the last weekend. That last weekend, I was super thrilled to get a pic of her face in full make-up.
I don’t usually post things out of order, but here is that pic from the last weekend of TRF and when she didn’t wear a mask. Her face looks fantastic.
Another Pirate. I think this Pirate married a Mermaid and turned her into a Pirate.
My cute friend Chelsea. I look forward so seeing and talking with her next season at TRF.
This next photo was picked as one of our top pics from TexRenFest 2021. Easy to tell why.
The shows at TRF can get packed and turn into SRO. (Standing Room Only). Every show and act is worth watching. There are some unbelievably talented performers at the Texas Renaissance Festival. You should consider visiting.
I love the color in this pic. Her make-up is superb. The wig, the hat, her face, all perfect for her look.
If I had a choice between a girlfriend that was pink with pink hair or a girlfriend that was yellow with bright yellow hair… I prefer the bright yellow hair.
Nuria was a lot of fun to run into. I think her character is the Spanish Queen Isabella.
This is a great pic. One of our favorites.
Another great group shot of family and friends enjoying their day at the biggest RenFest in the U.S.
This guy was happy to pose for me and I always appreciate that.
This next costume is a favorite. Do you remember Fat Albert and the Gang?
The kids would watch a SuperHero on TV called the Brown Hornet.
I give you… The Brown Hornet. Thumbs up.
And any fan of the Simpsons knows about Duff beer. This is a great costume. Hats off to him.
I like this girl. She poses with a lot of people and gives them great pics to remember their day at TRF. I’m sure she does pretty well in Tips.
Philip was voted as one of the 10 Best Pirates of the TexRenFest for 2021 by our staff. His clothing is spectacular.
The hat, the hair, the hook… it all works so well together. Kudos to Philip for a job well done.
This cute girl’s pic was used as the feature image for the Saturday Cosplay gallery of photos and videos.
When I look through my galleries, I get a smile knowing that when my photo subjects see their pics, it makes them happy and sometimes excited.
These next photos are from the Sunday of Cosplay weekend at TRF. I’m an early bird again this day.
I was always able to find someone to snap a pic of me on the King’s chair. The people at the Texas Renaissance Festival are some nice folks.
The Front Entrance crew was always nice to me and I photographed them quite a few times. I even shot their Season-End photo on the King’s chair. You’ll see that pic in a later post. It turned out great.
Jana is a great person to photograph. This was the first morning that I met her and she impressed me a a lot with her look.
I ran into Jana another day at TRF and got her pics then also. You’ll see them in a later post as well. It’s easy to tell why I love shooting pics of Jana.
On Sunday morning, I had a BLT sandwich. (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomatoe). My blog is read in over 180 countries. Some don’t know what a BLT is. This could be the best breakfast in the Kingdom. It’s sold at a food stand next to the Queen’s Pantry. The name of it is Tea and Strumpets.
In the morning. some of the cast and characters put on a show near the entrance to entertain the patrons. TRF goes all out to give people their money’s worth. And they succeed, in spades.
In my experience from working at TRF this past season, Sundays are a bit slower than Saturdays. I’ve always felt that Saturdays at any event I attend are better than the Sundays. People are more apt to drink more and be in a more festive mood on a Saturday because they don’t usually have to work the next day, Sunday.
I love being in the Kingdom in the early morning of the day. And it’s fun to watch the crowds grow as the day goes on.
Here are those two Wenches again, lol. I love these ladies.
Skidmark never disappointed. He was always disappointing. Just kidding. I loved getting his pics a lot.
Erika works in Booth 211 for Asgardian Armory. She yells out to get people’s attention. Since they sell swords, axes and other killing weapons… she yells out, “Welcome to bloodbath and beyond.” That’s a great play on words with the Bed, Bath and Beyond company name.
I was happy to have a booth to go hang out at during the long days. And Greg was always fun to talk with. He’s a great guy.
I really liked Sara’s headpiece. It looked like a crown or tiara, not sure which.
I have 3 tankards from TRF that I’ve purchased over the years and 2 wine chalices. I love the drinkware at the TexRenFest.
Here’s Lilly on Sunday. Her make-up looked great and her hat was impressive, as always.
I will find out this woman’s name next year at TRF. She always looked great and had a lot of variety in her looks.
This is Scott and Amanda. Every morning around 10am, I would come by and get my first beer from Amanda. I’d drink it while we chatted about the day and the festival. Amanda is a great new friend.
Here’s Chelsea on Sunday. Great smile.
Nuria also enjoys cosplaying when she’s not Queen Isabella at TRF. I recently saw her as Wonder Woman at a Xmas Toy Drive. Wow, did she look great.
This is the band Saxon Moon. I photographed them twice, interviewed them and also another interview with their Fire Dancer, Violet. Great band and great guys and gal.
I enjoyed my interview with Violet and learned a lot about Fire Dancing. She is very talented and a lot of fun to watch. I look forward to seeing her next season.
Pirates on Cosplay weekend. I love it. This is a good looking couple and they look great.
This next photo is of Cirque Olympus. I watched their act several times and shot video of it. They are each so talented and when the perform together it becomes a helluva show. I told you that the shows and acts at TRF are fantastic. You should visit and see for yourself.
This pic is of midday in the Kingdom. As you can tell, it’s a little slower on Sundays. A great time to visit.
I love these shots of looking down on the festival. So much to see and take in.
I’d like to thank the Food Stand Tea and Strumpets for letting me go up on this patio to shoot these shots. The pics help tell the story of a day at the festival.
This angle is always my favorite one from on the Tea and Strumpets patio. You can see people way off in the distance. I love these pics.
This cute girl was selling flower wreaths for a girl or woman’s hair. At TRF, there are 400 on-site shops and vendors like this girl all over the Kingdom. It’s a shopper’s paradise.
Here is another beautiful and talented lady that works at TRF in one of the shows. Her act is another one that I’ll shoot next season.
I bought a few pickles while at the TexRenFest. They were great. I started taking pics of all of the pickle vendors. You’ll see more of them in future posts. The pickles are delicious.
I photographed the Red Queen several times and she always made a great face. She’s a favorite to photograph.
Here’s another beautiful dancer from the Texas Renaissance Festival. Are you seeing a trend? Persuading you to visit TRF is becoming easier, lol.
I shot pics of the Food stands and the bars. These girls work at the Sea Devil bar. I enjoyed going by every day to get their pics. And they were always excited to see me because they knew it was photo time. The girl in the middle is Kay and she’s a sweetheart of a girl.
I saw Alex Draco on this day at the festival. Alex was always a lot of fun to talk with. He taught me some things about RenFaires. There’s patrons and Renny’s (Rennies). There’s a costume and then there’s garb.
A costume is what you put on to go to a party. Garb is more about a lifestyle choice. Pirates would wear garb and not call their clothes a costume. Alex knows a lot about RenFaires. I plan on learning lots more from him.
The kids could even pet a Velociraptor while at the festival. How they train those things is amazing.
Here’s Mickey again. I mentioned in my last post that Mickey was a bartender at the Wyrmwood Public House out at the TexRenFest. Today, I’ll show you more.
The Wyrmwood also has a burlesque show with some very attractive ladies. I believe this is the only bar in the Kingdom that serves hard liquor. I love that.
This is Mickey and Monsieur Bunny. He prefers being called Daddy. I shot a video of Daddy yelling down heckles to the patrons from this upstairs patio. The video is hilarious. I’ll tell you how you can view it at the end of this post.
Daddy, Mickey and Shelbelle Shamrock. Great people that work at the Wyrmwood Public House in the TexRenFest Kingdom.
I ordered several kamikazes from Mickey over the weekends at the Texas Renaissance Festival. Soon, I never had to order or even say, “The usual, Mickey.” When he saw me enter the Wyrmwood, he’d start mixing my kamikaze. Now that’s service. I felt like I was in the James Bond movie about Voodoo.
The bartenders at the Wyrmwood are fantastic and lots of fun also.
I met Blaze while she was working at a Cajun Food Stand. I ate there several times while at TRF. And I began to photogrpah her and her co-workers every day I worked out there. Blaze is very photogenic and I loved getting pics of her.
Here’s another group shot and one of my favorites. I’m sure they enjoyed seeing this pic and then downloading it from the site. I love seeing smiling, happy faces. I know I’m doing my job well when I see this.
That other large group photo was 12 people. This one came close to beating it with 11 people.
I’ve mentioned this in other posts, but I’m a big fan of using contact lenses to change the look of a person’s eyes. Many times it completes the look and often times sets it off.
Another of our top pics as voted on by our staff.
When I asked this family for their photo, the dad said, “Okay girls. Get into position.” Then they all posed like this. That was awesome. Another of our favorite pics from 2021.
The Texas Renaissance Festival is my new favorite event or festival to cover. This season, I shot 3,105 pics and 47 videos. Next season, I’ll have an assistant and should come close to doubling our pics and videos from the festival.
Next season, I want to focus more on the food. I can’t afford to buy food at every stand just to take a pic and taste it or I’d go broke fast. I’m thinking I can talk to some stand managers and ask them to prepare something that I can photograph so I can promote the great food at TRF.
It would be great if the Texas Renaissance Festival gave me a Per Diem each day so I could buy food so I could review and promote the Food Stands in the Kingdom.
I ran into Jana again later in the day on Sunday. I was glad that I did because I wanted a pic with her in that great outfit.
I was also able to get a photo with the Spanish King and his court.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this recap of Cosplay Weekend at the Texas Renaissance Festival 2021.
I have 3 more weekends to post about, so stay tuned for more.
To see the photos and videos from the TexRenFest, go to 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.”
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.
