Languid Beauty

Before moving to Wisconsin I had spent a few years working with the belly dancing community in Pittsburgh. The graceful, artistic movements combined with colorful, flowing costuming and often very comely dancers inspired me and helped shape how I photograph an wide array of subjects to this day. I've respect for how much work and attention to minute detail these performers often put into their craft. Capturing them is one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. At Pennsic this year I happened to be camped with one of my favorite dancers of all time, namely Samira Shuruk . Late one morning we worked together for a bit in Casa Bardicci, an amazingly detailed set piece recreating an Italian villa along the lake shore. After years of not shooting dancers it was truly a thrill to once again do so. So, an amazing set. An amazingly talented and beautiful dancer. All the right gear for the job and an open morning to just relax and enjoy "doing my thing." Pennsic was awesome!

#Pennsic #Pennsicwar #Pennsicwar46 #Pennsic46 #sca #bellydancesuperstars #the_bellydancer #medieval #medievalreenactment #societyofcreativeanachronism #vladspleasurepavilion #bellydance #bellydancer #scadance #middleeasterndance #dancephotography #italianvilla #casabardicci #veildance #lovebellydance #love_bellydance #bellydancing #dance #dancing #dancer #oriental #orientaldance #perfomance #passion #bellydancestars

Elite Sparring

Today I had a rare treat. I go to go do a little casual photography of my BJJ coach Thales Blaso and Jeff Lee training together. It was great to be able to watch two very skilled martial artists. No egos. No prideful boasting. No fluff. Just technical skill, patience and guile in a display of friendly sparring. It was truly inspiring.

#bjj #bjj4life #brazilianjiujitsu #jiujitsulifestyle #jiujitsu #graciejiujitsu #martialarts #grappling #bjjlife #jiujitsulife #fitness #gym #fighttraining #Selfdefense #bjjtraining #martialartslife #fitnessjourney #artesuave #oss #mma #graciejj #bjjmadison #bjjwisconsin #riseup #riseupmartialarts #judo #judoka #judolife #judomotivation

The Garden of Earthly Delights

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Camping at Vlad's Pleasure Pavilion has to be one of the more unique experiences I've enjoyed. This year was their 30th anniversary as a themed camping group. Their device was a stylized "XXX" with their bat symbol emblazoned above. (It figures I'd camp under the sign of the Bat!) Now if you have ever camped at Pennsic you'll have heard of Vlad's late night "shenanigans." (I can't speak to any of that. I kept me eyes closed.) All during the first week of the two week event the camp operates as the defacto place to stop by while out and about. For me, on the couple of nights I was actually on site that first week, this meant I never had to go looking for my friends as most of them would likely walk through the "front of the house." What I mean by FOH is in the way it's used in the entertainment/club sector. Basically Vlad's is set up as an "open camp" out front, with living quarters to the rear and cut off from the front. There's a giant "U" shaped space which is anchored at one end by a beer tent/bar, a stage complete with wings, carefully arraigned pavilions with open seating under awnings, all of which are meticulously decorated, and wraps around the open area. There's a giant fire-pit that languid dancers take advantage of while rhythmic drumming charges the pulsing energy of the night. For me though the true treat as an artist is that I am camped with many other artists. This year they culminated the fun of the first week with a three part performance playing out their interpretation of the famous 15th Century triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights" painted by Hieronymus Bosch. It was a three stage, multi act performance that was a blend of burlesque, tribal fusion, burner rave, traditional belly dance, all accompanied by a talented group of live musicians. I'd watched them plan out the acts, choreograph the dances and figure out the timing. Being around such a pool of talent and artistic vision was truly something I'll always treasure. So, not only do I not have to go anywhere in order to see my friends, I don't have to go anywhere to find artistic inspiration. @mercurial_creation @rosalieash88 @dj_cosmo @hakandances @reverandmother @Bagoasdances

#Pennsic #Pennsicwar #Pennsicwar46 #Pennsic46 #sca #vlads #reenachtment #medieval #medievalreenactment #societyofcreativeanachronism #vladspleasurepavilion #gardenofearthlydelights #fireperformance #fireperformer #pyrography #firebreathing #fireflow #cooperslake #cooperslakecampground #travelpa #explorepa #burlesque #burlesquedancer #burlesqueshow #burlesquelife #juliadiverdi

After the Storm

The lake at Pennsic a few hours after a small group of scattered thunder storms rolled through. One of the things you can count on in early August in western PA are scattered storms that can brew up quickly, soak you really well, and then clear out. You'll find out right away if you've set up your tent in a drainage area, as well as how well you've staked down your tent. If you've set up a big piece of canvas and it's not taught enough great bags of suspended water form, sometimes bringing the whole mess down. On the plus side sometimes these storms cool things down. This one brought in a perfect, cooler, less humid evening.

#Pennsic #Pennsicwar #Pennsicwar46 #Pennsic46 #sca #pennsiciscoming #reenachtment #medieval #medievalreenactment #societyofcreativeanachronism #cooperslake #cooperslakecampground #naturalpennsylvania #outdoorlife #getoutside #liveoutdoors #getoutstayout #getoutthere #lifeoutdoors #optoutside #loveoutdoors #scenicpa #travelpa #explorepa #theoutbound #ventureout #in2nature #thegreatoutdoors #naturewalk #getoutdoors

When You're Home

I took this soon after returning to my hometown area after an 11 hour drive. While I love where we currently live in Wisconsin, I do truly miss this amazing lake. This particular spot where "Old 422" runs into it from the east is a favorite location. So many memories. My grandfather used to take us bicycling up and down the old highway. My father used to launch his boats from here. (Sometimes without incident!) When I fished I'd often wade in the waters as I walked down the submerged road, trying to catch pan-fish on a fly-rod. I've no clue how many times I've come here to simply watch the waterfowl, or the sun set. Going to the Pennsic War for me truly was about going "HOME" and not in the sense so many other attendees imply. I can recall being a kid and my Italian grandpa getting all worked up about "Gypsies" when he'd see the tents going up on the other side of the lake. So while I can say I enjoyed my time at the Pennsic War, it was being home and seeing my family, and being able to enjoy the PA landscape, that I will always treasure the most.

#Pennsic #Pennsicwar #Pennsicwar46 #morainestatepark #lakearthur #naturalpennsylvania #wildernessculture #outdoorlife #getoutside #liveoutdoors #getoutstayout #getoutthere #naturelover #lifeoutdoors #optoutside #loveoutdoors #outdoorsy #outdoors #nature_perfection #scenicpa #travelpa #explorepa #theoutbound #ventureout #in2nature #thegreatoutdoors #naturewalk #getoutdoors

Capitol Ecplise

Yesterday Teri & Freja modified one of my spare lens caps for an older dSLR I had lying about. They created a pinhole camera and them tried to capture the partial eclipse today. While they captured images, we've still a lot to learn about pinhole shooting. Even though it didn't work as planned, it was still worth the drive down to Teri's office to at least try.

#midwestisbest #midwestliving #wi #travelwi #discoverwisconsin #wisconsin #wisco #madisonwi #madisonwisconsin #wisconsinphotographer #travelwisconsin #driftlessarea #capitolsquare #capitolbuilding #capitol #eclipse #partialecplipse

The Final Blow

One of the events that I looked forward to the most while I was at Pennsic War 46 was the Tuchux Charity Tournament. While watching the big battles where thousands of people in armor bash each other is fun, I really like watching the one on one matches of this tourney. Basically it's MMA in armor and using weapons made of wrapped rattan with high density rubber warheads. It's an awesome display of martial skills. Within the first five minutes I pointed out the Knight on the left to my kid. I told her, "you watch that guy, he's going to make the final round." There are four "bear pits" in which an evenly divided number of fighters are grouped. The are randomly paired and the weapons randomly handed out. The fighters never know what they'll get, it could be a spear, a sword, an ax, etc.. Then through displays of martial skill, ferocity and guile they try to beat each other. The winner stays in the pit and gets a mark. They go many rounds until the top two of each pit then fight. Eventually there are only two fighters from all four pits left. This shot is of the winning blow being delivered by Sammick, clan leader of the Red Lions Tuchux. All proceeds of this event go to support the Drop in the Bucket Foundation, an organization that grants wishes to chronically, and terminally ill adults.

#Pennsic #Pennsicwar #Pennsicwar46 #sca #reenachtment #medieval #medievalreenactment #societyofcreativeanachronism #cooperslakecampground #dropinthebucket #tuchux #redlions #mma #fighters #bearpit #tournament #martialarts #armsarmor #armor #knight