Red Cathedral

You are all noticing it: the prices for everything are going through the roof. The entry fees for events are too ( even up to 35€ for a one day entry pass to a fantasy fair excluding parking, food, drinks,.. over here in the Benelux ). So what kind of face would you make when you get an invite for an event with a 2€ entree fee and free parking? Baffled? Bedazzled? Happy smile? An I should check this out-grin?   So we checked out this MOD cosplay/geek event in the hamlet of Monceau-sur-Sambre.. which quickly seemed to be part of greater Charleroi and not some medieval town forgotten by time as was envisioned by it's exotic name. Edition 8 means we have missed a few editions and I can't say if this is a new location for them or not: but we liked the location.  Big walls around the compound. Some trees & plants inside. Space for tents ( yes, they included a small medieval camp with very good hydromel in the event ), an old hangar for a small geek-market, some RPG-testing ...

This morning's goal was to upload the 1st images from the MOD cosplay event I visited yesterday.. yet suddenly I realised that I had completely forgotten to share some pictures from the O-Parade earlier this month. Blame it on work ( tradefairs , Pairi Daiza photowalks , videoclips , webinars , shoots ,.. life is back to normal and I need to get used to it again )! Before I always thought the O-Parade in Genk and the Zinneke Parade in Brussels were about the same age. A big mistake from my side. Zinneke started in 2000, and the O-parade is apparantly already 67 years "Old".. Maybe that's what the "O" stands for? Luckily the acts, the costumes and the massive public interest make it feel everything except old. Going from steampunk & giant balloon art, over the mesmerizing Queens of May and inspiration to support our bees, butterflies and flowers, to scifi-imagery reminding me of Star Wars and Mad Max. . I think next year I won't be planning any...

No, I don't think you have ever seen any flower pictures I've made. As you might know: I love to hike and take pictures while doing so ( like one this for example ) because it relaxes me. Solitary trees , landscapes, buildings,.. it's all just fun and gives zero stress. But once in a while I'll step out of that comfort zone and try to photograph a flower. Evidently zero.. nihil.. nada.. of those moments I have a macro lens with me.. so I use the lenses I have on me.. 99% of the times I'll feel just meh about the results. Yet sometimes.. very sometimes I actually like the effects you get from using lenses for things they really weren't designed for. In June a real extreme bokeh flower specialist (Sony ambassador Bob Baeyens) will give a free webinar about the subject, so make sure to watch that on Zoom or on my Facebook . . Namaste

This is by far the busiest period since last october ( mostly events+fairs for work & for fun ) so I'm running behind with the processing of pictures & videos once again. Still.. if you can go out on a wonderful Spring day and dress a model like a fantasy barbarian, then you should do it without hesitation. It will take a while before I get to processing more shots from this shoot, luckily model Kristof & MUA B are patient persons. Results will be on Flickr . Behind the scene videos is on Clapper .. Maybe something on Instagram ? The tickets for Castlefest have been purchased, we're hesitating over Elftopia & Elfia Arcen. What else might be interesting? This reminds me that I should urgently get some more images done from Pairi Daiza & the O-Parade. Namaste. A link to a video on Clapper Dit bericht op Instagram bekijken Een bericht gedeeld door Red Cathedral (@redcathedral)

Returning to Elfia Haarzuilens after more than a decade of absence was literally a last minute decision based on the weather forecast ( like: deciding on Friday afternoon to go on Saturday ), but thanks to a very dear friend it was possible & we had a blast. And yes, when I last visited it was still called Elf Fantasy Fair . Eventhough new thematic areas have been added, it wasn't as gigantic & shopping-spree-inducing as during it's biggest years, but hey: at least it's back after a long pandemic and now it has the potential to grow back to it's former collossal glory. Glad to have been there when events rise back up from uncertainty ( I almost said: from the ashes ) like a legendary phoenix. Just like during Trolls et Légendes we had a wheelchair to navigate through the event. Luckily the entire parking, entry, check-in, toilet,.. parts have been optimised for people with disabilities. And there were many wheelchairbound visitors. So a big thumbs up for ...

Right before my surgery we filmed a fire Masterclass-video for Sony where Bruno Maes, an fire-images-expert, explains how to capture fire on video. ( broadcast & live Q&A on April 27th via: Sony Benelux Digital Imaging Webinars on Zoom . Afterwards it will be available on the Sony Alpha Academy. )  It were 2 very exciting days shooting.. since the team got to burn things. Evidently there had to be some pictures made. ( They're on Flickr as always) And how could there not be any behind the scenes videos: 1. Fireworks: clapperapp.com/video/7G1Ovb0Xd5gz85KB?is_invite=1&r=D... 2. The gear: clapperapp.com/video/Z2jGzE76LLVvWXnB?is_invite=1&r=D... 3. Steelwooling in the snow: clapperapp.com/video/BkRYp339ZkLp1ArO?is_invite=1&r=D... 4. Hypnosis: newsclapper.com/video/Ym0ovjZkWNPv6JL4?r=Do9bQkBx6w 5. Towering inferno: newsclapper.com/video/no0NvrNB0yEvBPVO?r=Do9bQkBx6w 6. Hellfire: newsclapper.com/video/QZyMvBX4GARzB10q?r=Do9bQkBx6w 7. Steelwool ...

" Just a quick placeholder to confirm that I'm working very hard on the pictures from Trolls et Légendes.. so have some patience ," was the original text. UPDATE: The results are on Flickr ( finally got to updating this post ) 2 Minivideos on Clapper are showing the Americans how Belgians cosplay ( Best seen on phone or tablet ) * Clapper video 1 * Clapper video 2 Meanwhile everything is live but In the future you can keep an eye out on Flickr or on Facebook to see how slow I'm processing the pictures. Update: a few images already made it to Instagram with some first thoughts. Updating this post with some sample images: . . UPDATE : all pictures are live & downloadable on Flickr . Namaste . . But what of the fair itself? Ever since the start of Trolls-et-Légendes I've always looked out towards the next one. I've seen times that were so crowded they had to close the entree doors and hope some visitors would leave. I've enjoyed free ...