Trying to keep that Social Distance
Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival 2021
The Renfrew Ravine Moon Festival has
been a "Go To" event for us for years - I have photos from
(2013,
2015,
2017, 2018
). This year Claira and I worked on making her her
own lantern - butterfly wings with built in lights.
Over the course of a week we used reed to make a frame,
put in LED lights and then covered the frame with tissue
paper. I sewed together some straps and she was
ready for a lantern festival!   Unfortunately, as we drove over to Renfrew, the rain started and got stronger by the minute. By the time we arrived it was pouring and there was little we could about it. We didn't want to stand around in the rain waiting for the dark so we went in at twilight.         The lanterns are a mix of new and old - some lanterns like the fish or the golden pig I've seen in previous years while quite a few were new this year. Many of the little displays had tents or plastic over them so the lanterns wouldn't turn to mush before the night was out. I quite enjoyed the central display of large crystal like lanterns hanging from a tree. There seemed to be quite a few mobiles this year - lanterns slowly rotating in the wind.    There are musicians or live performers spread around the park. You don't have to go far to see something new.    Finding a good photo spot is always a bit of a challenge. Being dark, you want a place where the lanterns throw some light on peoples faces, but not so much that the mood is ruined. You don't want to over-expose so that the lantern light is blown out, but you also need the exposure to be short enough that the motion blur is in control.    As the night went on, my camera go
wetter which gives a bit of a fog look. Eventually
you just have to put it away.
   I know it's a challenge to run a festival like this in COVID times. I'm really glad they did run it because it was great to get outside and see something amazing! |