We took in a couple of the shows on Sunday, including the hilarious Doktor Kaboom. Doktor Kaboom puts on a very funny act of interactive science comedy. He uses kids from the audience to be his lab helpers in his experiments and his interactions with them are priceless. He travels all over the country, so if you get a chance to see him, go for it. You won’t be disappointed. Check out the videos on his web site for an idea of what he’s about.

We were also able to catch two sets from our favorite maritime singing group, Bounding Main. They were great, just like they always are.

I ended up taking quite a few pictures, 187 to be exact. I was trying to catch the spirit of the faire by shooting a lot of the activities going on. I also had a couple characters I wanted photos of who had eluded me previously. Of course I had to find a Fantastikal or two to photograph also.

Here’s the link to a slide show of the photos from Sunday: Bristol Renaissance Faire, Final Weekend

When Lynne and I first walked through the gates of Bristol on opening weekend in July, I never dreamed that this place would touch my soul so deeply. There’s a magic there that can’t be described. Maybe it’s the child in me that grew up loving fantasy books, movies, and games, or maybe it’s something deeper. I don’t know. I do know that the four days I spent in Bristol were not only highlights of my summer, but maybe of my life too.

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]]> http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/photos-of-the-tall-ships-in-kenosha/feed/ 1 http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/tall-ships-in-kenosha/ http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/tall-ships-in-kenosha/#comments Wed, 01 Sep 2010 17:54:11 +0000 Steven http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/?p=4379 Imagine my surprise when Lynne calls while on her way to work this morning to tell me that there are three tall ships anchored outside of Kenosha Harbor! I was still asleep, that woke me up real fast!! I put on some clothes, grabbed the camera gear and headed down there as quickly as I could. As I rounded the corner at Carthage College ,and saw the three ships, I realized that one of them was big. Could it be ? As I got closer I knew it was. Yes, the Bounty was anchored off of Kenosha Harbor! The other two ships were the Appledore IV and the Roseway.

While I was shooting my first pictures of these three I noticed another ship was leaving the harbor. I took a look through my binoculars and saw it was the Denis Sullivan. That got me to wondering if there were more ships in the harbor, so I headed down there and sure enough, there were two more, the Appledore V and the Inland Sea, both new ships to me.

I knew I had to get photos of the Bounty with the lighthouse, so that was my next move. I then began wondering if a couple ships may have stayed in Racine for the night, so I drove up there and found nothing. I headed back to Kenosha and got back in time to see that the Bounty had set three sails and was beginning to head out. She was the only one of the six left. I was able to get some more pictures of her with the lighthouse and then watched as she started to sail away. I followed along the shoreline and stopped for a few more pictures before I told her goodbye.

It was 3 weeks ago tomorrow that I first saw the Bounty in Sturgeon Bay and fell in love with her. Then to see her up close and walk her decks in Port Washington was very special. Now to have seen her anchored in Kenosha and then to watch her sail away is truly amazing. What a great way to end my summer of tall ships!

I’ll post more pictures later.

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I’ve been looking forward to this event all summer, but since seeing all of these ships in Sturgeon Bay, I’ve really been ready for it. What I was most exited about was seeing the ships up close and boarding them, especially the Bounty and the Pride of Baltimore II. They didn’t disappoint. I think I could have spent hours walking around the Bounty, there was so much to shoot. It was also a great thrill to go below deck on the Bounty. What a beautiful ship!

Here’s a slide show of my best images from the day. I highly recommend that you view it full screen by clicking on the icon in the lower right corner.

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2010 Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival – Images by Steven Bourelle

One of the other reasons I was excited to go to the maritime festival was to see Bounding Main. They are a quartet that sings old maritime and sailing tunes. Their wonderful four part harmony rings out across the festival. They also add a little comedy, creating a 45 minute set that is very entertaining. I shot some photos of them at the pirate festival that they used on their web site, so I was looking forward to shooting some more photos of them. You can check out the pictures at my Flickr account: Bounding Main in Port Washington

This is it for the tall ships for this year. We had a great time at both Port Washington and Sturgeon Bay. Seeing these grand ships has been a major highlight of my summer!

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One of the great joys of the Green Bay Tall Ships Parade of Sail was seeing the HMS Bounty. When she rounded the corner and came into view, it took my breath away. What a beautiful ship! I think I shot more photos of her than any other ship in the parade.

The Bounty is a replica of the original Bounty that was part of the British Navy in 1787. She was built in 1960 for MGM Studios for the movie Mutiny on the Bounty. The original drawings from the British admiralty archives were used in the building of the ship. She is currently owned by the HMS Bounty Organization LLC, and is used for educational purposes and the teaching of square rigged sailing.

The Bounty has also been in many other movies. She played a roll in Pirates of the Caribbean II, and was also in the modern version of Treasure Island, just to mention a couple.

My next rendezvous with the Bounty will be in Port Washington this weekend. I’m so looking forward to seeing her close up and walking her decks. I’m sure there are hundreds of photos just waiting to be taken on the wonderful ship.

To learn more about the HMS Bounty, visit her web site at TallShipBounty.org

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Recently though, that has begun to change. One of the main reasons is that I now visualize the final image better. I no longer just see a bell hanging there. I now see the final image of the bell done in a sepia tone with a vignette around it and the background blurred just right. By seeing the final image in my head, I’m better able to compose what’s in front of me.

Here are some of my images of rigging on the tall ships at the 2009 Port Washington Maritime Festival and the 2010 Green Bay Tall Ships Festival. I’ll have more images like these after we go to the 2010 Maritime Heritage Festival this weekend.

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]]> http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/tall-ship-rigging-photos/feed/ 1 http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/tall-ship-parade-of-sail-sturgeon-bay/ http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/tall-ship-parade-of-sail-sturgeon-bay/#comments Sat, 14 Aug 2010 03:01:37 +0000 Steven http://www.sierravisionsstock.com/sierravisions/?p=4293 On Thursday Lynne and I were up in Sturgeon Bay for the 2010 Green Bay Tall Ship Festival, Parade of Sail. The ships, 12 of them total, sailed through the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal into Sturgeon Bay and then made their way south down Green Bay to the city. We found a great park on the north-east side of Sturgeon Bay to watch and photograph the 12 tall ships as they sailed through.

Though I have seen and photographed a number of tall ships in the past, this was my first time seeing them with their sails up. It was an awesome experience to witness the beauty of these magnificent ships up close like this. We also had a good time talking to the nice folks who were around us. All in all it was a great way to spend a morning.

I’m trying something a little different here, instead of posting a thumbnail gallery like I usually do, I’m putting up a slide show of my best images from the day. You can view the slide show full screen by clicking the icon in the bottom right corner. To view the image captions, move your mouse pointer over the image. By clicking the image, you will be taken to it’s gallery page where prints and downloads can be purchased. Let me know how you guys like this format. I think viewing the slide show full screen is pretty cool.

2010 Green Bay Tall Ships Parade of Sail – Images by Steven Bourelle

Here is a listing of the 12 ships that we saw on Thursday, along with links to their web pages.

• The Appledore IV
• The Bounty
  
• The Denis Sullivan
• The Europa
  
• The Friends Good Will
• The Lynx
• The Niagara
• The Pride of Baltimore II
• The Roald Amundsen
• The Roseway
• The Royaliste
• The Unicorn

Of the 12 ships, my favorites were the Bounty, Europa, Niagara and Pride of Baltimore II. Next weekend we’ll be going to the Port Washington Maritime Heritage Festival where we’ll get to see five of these ships up close and personal.

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My newest black and white image is of the Slim Princess steam engine at Laws Railroad Museum just north of Bishop CA. Back in the 1880′s the Slim Princess use to chug along it’s narrow gauge rails on it’s run from Mound House NV to Keeler CA, (Originally the Carson and Colorado Railroad was meant to stretch all the way to the Colorado River, it never made it.) The Slim Princess ran this route until 1960 when the railroad ceased operation. She can now be seen at Laws, standing as a tribute to the past and looking like she could make the run for another 100 years.