Once again on a Tuesday night, I took my photography gear with me to Sewallcrest Park in Portland, Oregon to watch and shoot the talented fire spinners who show off their skills every week.  When I arrived, it had not gotten dark yet, and there were no people gathered there.  Usually, there is already a swarm of people practicing and warming up while there is still light in the sky.  But that night, it seemed, would be a waste.

I almost grabbed my gear to head back home, but after one or two more people showed up, I decided to wait it out at least for a few more minutes.  Luckily, I made the right decision.  Within an hour of almost giving up, there was a large group there, definitely ready to dance with some fire.

As the sky darkened, I saw that the three-quarter moon was rising into the sky.  Since the moon played such a pivotal role in the quality of the last set of fire dancing photos I took, I began to get really excited about the potential of the evening’s shots.  And sure enough, when the first performer lit their staff and the flames blazed against the moonlit sky, I knew it was going to be a good night.

One of my most favorite fire spinning photos I’ve managed to capture is of a man named Randy, who is incredibly talented with the fire staff.  He was the first to spin, and as always, did not disappoint.  His slow and gracious movements with the staff makes it seem like he is only partially responsible for the motion of the fire, while the other half is created by the staff itself, moving by its own free will around his shoulders without any assistance from Randy.  Just beautiful!

Others performed with fire poi and staffs, and it was a pleasure to shoot some new faces.  One of my favorite aspects of shooting the fire dancers is the shapes and figures that the fire creates in the resulting photographs.  Sometimes while I watch the repeating patterns of the artists, I can time the image just right to get the pattern I am looking for.  While other times, it ends up creating a completely random shape that is easily recognized.  This was the case when a talented staff wielder ended up creating a perfect figure of the number six right before my eyes.  It fascinates me when everything randomly connects to create something so recognizable.

My friend Alicia’s sister Shawna was in town for the week, and joined us at the park to show us her talents with fire poi.  I was excited to be there to shoot her performance, and even gave her some direction in order to help make sure the photos came out just right.  Shawna’s talent was obvious when she began whipping that poi all around her body with a speed and control I couldn’t believe.

Then I met Forest.  His initial performance with a fire staff was incredibly impressive, with his acrobatic talents showing through in his dance.  It was very obvious this was a man who was not new to dancing with fire.  I spoke with him after his burn, and was very impressed with what a warm and kind person he was.  To make sure we stayed in touch, we exchanged information.  Now, I’m used to giving out my card to share the images with the performers through my website, but rarely does a performer share their information with me, let alone have any information at all!

Forest founded what looks like an mind-blowing performance group called Liquid Fire Mantra, and as their website describes their Ritual Theater, are a fusion of dance, theatre, and circus.  After seeing a small example of Forest’s talents there at the park, I knew I wanted to see one of the Liquid Fire Mantra shows.  Follow the link above to see for yourself how talented this group is!

Forest showed me his next fire toy he was going to burn.  They were two identical swords, both with blades that rage in flame (see the top of this post to see).  I set up my gear and got ready to shoot, and he began to dance with these blades as if any fear of the fire did not exist.  I was completely blown away and couldn’t get enough, so I tried to take advantage of his incredible dance, shooting photo after photo.  I enjoyed shooting his burn so much, it made me hopeful that we could work together again soon.

Whew!  It’s been quite a festival season!  But my third and final music festival this year was 4 Peaks Music Festival held in Bend, Oregon.  It’s a short drive from Portland, so we packed the car and headed to the center of our state for the two day fest.  This one was more of a family affair, as my girlfriend and I brought my daughter Maysen along with us.  She loves music festivals, and this one did not disappoint.

The setting for this fest was breathtakingly gorgeous.  The entire weekend we were treated with an amazing view of many of the Oregon Cascades.  But then on top of that, our Mother Nature decided to bless us with some spectacular sunsets!  I tried to do them justice with my camera, but they only came slightly close to the beauty of being there.  The weather was absolutely perfect as well.  The sun was hot and intense, but it never got overwhelming.  Wind was a factor in the evening, especially on the first day, but that was easily overcome by heading to the stage which was a natural bowl, protecting us from the wind.  Though, at one point, a big dust devil ripped through the upper part of the amphitheater, hurling umbrellas, chairs, blankets, and other belongings high into the air.  It was spectacular to watch!  Though I felt bad for the people whose umbrellas got ripped apart by the fierce wind.

4 Peaks was a very small festival, which was a welcome change after High Sierra and the largest String Summit ever.  There really were no problems with crowds, and it allowed us to meet some new friends.

A man named Bip, who is well-known among the festival community, was there and spent much of his time as he always does, bending long metal rods into beautiful shapes for anyone who wanted one.  These pieces are incredible examples of art.  Each one rings with a beautiful tone when tapped against something rigid.  At one point, he was surrounded by a big group of kids (including Maysen) patiently waiting their turn to get their shape created.  Some wanted stars, others wanted roses.  I was incredibly impressed to watch as Bip took all the time that was needed to make sure that every single kid got their piece.  I got a chance to sit under a mister during Izabella’s set on Saturday, and we had a great conversation about his past experiences, as he has been a part of this scene for a very long time.  He originally made Maysen a rose (as seen in the photos), but unfortunately she lost it.  Bip was kind enough to make her a new piece in the shape of a star.  While making it, he proclaimed, “This is by far the coolest star I’ve made all weekend.”  Maysen was very proud.

Since my daughter was with me all weekend, I didn’t get much time to take photos.  But at times my girlfriend would spend time with Maysen so I could go do my thing.  Especially when the light was perfect for photos.  On Saturday, this just happened to be during Blue Turtle Seduction’s set, so they were really the only performers I managed to shoot.  The amazingly talented guitarist from Izabella (one of my newest favorites from this year’s festival season) joined them for the second half of their set, which was an amazing treat.  I was glad to get some shots of them all together.

Outside of that, I really enjoyed wandering around finding the intricacies that make 4 Peaks one of my favorite festivals I’ve attended.

There is always magic at Horning’s Hideout, and this year’s Northwest String Summit was no different.   Those of us from Portland always feel so lucky to live near a place like Horning’s.  In the past, it has been the ultimate setting for some incredible stories, experiences, and adventures.  We expected nothing less as we rolled into this year’s String Summit, the annual bluegrass music festival that is held at Horning’s Hideout every year.

First we had to survive the scare of losing our tickets!  My girlfriend Christy and I searched through both our places for about 2 hours before we finally realized that they were gone for good.  Luckily we made a final effort call to the box office, planning to beg them to replace our tickets so we could get in.  But there was no begging required!  They re-issued our tickets and left them at will call for us.  Disaster averted!

We manged to find a good spot up in the hills at Horning’s, close to our group’s regular spot.  We were a bit more spread out this year, but that was okay.  It gave us some good excuses to wander around to visit people.

This was my first String Summit without my daughter, and it was definitely a whole new expoerience.  The one aspect of the festival I was able to really take advantage of was the performances!  With all the distractions of Horning’s, my daughter usually likes to go wandering most of the time we’re there, and then catch a set or two of music, as long as there is hooping involved.  This year, I was able to really enjoy the music, and dance like crazy!  The dust bowl that is created at Horning’s is stuff of legend, and this year didn’t let us down.  I must have breathed in a whole hand-ful of dirt and dust.  Did I care?  Hell no.  I was having way too much fun!

The festival ran from Friday through Sunday, and bookended our trip with two more nights.  On Saturday, I wandered around with my camera, hoping to capture the feel and the warmth of the weekend.  There were so many great kids to shoot at the Kids’ Parade, as well as all the crazy and free people dancing to the bluegrass music.  Late Saturday night (or should I say early Sunday morning), a few of us wandered down to the lake, hoping to catch some of the sunrise bubble making that goes on across the lake.  While we found no bubbles, we turned the journey into a peacock feather hunt that lasted until the sun was high in the sky.

Overall, the weekend was full of great moments with close friends, powerful and energetic music, and lots and lots of hill walking.  Our feet and bodies were tired, but it was all worth it!