I was recently invited to the Scarborough Renaissance Festival in Waxahachie, Texas.  It is a photographer’s paradise for colorful costumes and unusual sights to see.

Take a look…

Here’s a blacksmith at work.  You can see the end of the hammer at the top of the photo.

Here’s the scene a moment later.  You can see the movement of the hammer.

We reached a wooded area where you might imagine trolls or gasp… leprechauns living.

I wasn’t able to get a photo of the leprechaun in his natural setting but I did find him strolling about later in the day.

As we continued our journey we came upon a dance performance.

While the photo below is cut off, I still like it because I managed to capture the twirl of the dress.

Everyone looks so impressive in their costumes.

Lots of photographers out and about.

The photo below is my favorite of the day.

I couldn’t resist taking a photo of this woman.  I liked her hat.

There were plenty of llamas at the festival.  I happened to be at the right place at the right time to capture the woman’s hand approaching the llama.

It’s as if the llama knew I was taking his picture.  Notice the proud looking tilt of the head.

They seem to enjoy performing for the camera.  Perhaps they’ve done this before?

Plenty of souvenirs to be had at the festival.  These butterfly wings make a nice background.

Notes:
I considered selecting just a couple photos for this blog – perhaps pick a single theme like the dancers or the llama – that’s the approach I usually take with the posts. But this time I wanted to take the reader on a journey through the festival.  Hopefully it worked!

Camera used:  Canon EOS 5D Mark II (aka Big Bertha)
Lens:  70-200 mm
Date:  April 19, 2014