Saturday I promised Illinois State Fair photos "tomorrow." Yesterday I drove home, and for a variety of reasons (including having to do everything I ordinarily do on weekends Sunday evening), didn't look at any of them.
They're not that great, unfortunately. I'm not happy with the light nor with the visual interest. So all I have for you is this one:
Also, here's Peter Scott, lead vocalist for Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters, an impressive local Springfield cover band:
I may post some of the less-interesting shots later.
After not going to a Renaissance Faire in so long I don't even remember my last visit, it was fun going three times this summer, each with a different group of people. Yesterday was Steampunk Invasion, which attracted crowds one of the more regular Faire attendees in our group called "epic."
Great costumes though:
I didn't do real costumes myself this season, but I have been informed that next season, there will be a costume, oh yes, there will. This should be interesting...
While in Phoenix, I took an unscheduled side-trip to Rúla Búla in Tempe:
The bar features prominently in Kevin Hearne's Iron Druid series, which one of my oldest surviving friends turned me on to about a year ago. In the series, the protagonist frequents the bar, including at one point to buy a shot for Jesus. (Yes, that Jesus, in one of the funniest scenes in the novels.)
Since I was only 18 km away, I just had to make a field trip. I did not, alas, have the fabled fish and chips, so I'll never know if they're better than the Duke's.
Why would anyone go to Arizona in July? A geas. On Friday I visited Park #26:
The trip also gave me a chance to take my 7D Mark II for a spin. Sitting 18 rows behind the Diamondbacks' dugout, I was able to get photos like this, no problem:
Let's take a closer look, yes? This is at ISO-3200, 1/500 at f/5.6, from about 100 meters away:
Cool, right?
More photos of the game and of my field trip to Tempe later.
Tomorrow afternoon I'm flying to Phoenix to visit Park #26. Fortunately, Chase Field is air-conditioned, because the forecast calls for 38°C at game time after a high temperature of 41°C earlier in the day.
Photos and a frank assessment of the weather conditions to follow this weekend.
For no reason other than it was out last night:
Weather? Check. Photography? Check. The dog? Nope. The National Weather Service photo contest winners are very cool, though.
Part of the reason one stays in an Agriturismo is to go hiking. This is a state highway (scala provincale) near the closest village:
Despite being as far north (46°27') as Quebec City and Portland, Ore., Dosso del Liro is surprisingly warm and dry, the perfect environment for these guys, which we saw all over:
These guys (common Italian wall lizards) are about 8 cm nose to tail, and very fast. We didn't even try to catch them. But they're also hard to photograph; I got lucky and moved very slowly for this shot.
Northern Italian Alpine lake village, go:
This is another example of how a little HDR makes a big difference.
Tomorrow: photos from Thursday, including lunch in Lugano.