This weekend is the North Texas Irish Festival at Fair Park here in Dallas, Texas. I didn't go last year because of a prior commitment, so this year it was again on the agenda.
H goes every year as he is 50% Irish (I can claim a smaller fraction via my ancestors with surnames such as Kelly, Coleman, Payne, and more.... Belfast, Ireland was their roots). H and I are on a tight budget so it seemed ideal to go to the festival on Friday night when admission was FREE between the hours of 6pm and 7pm. (We won't do that again. The majority of the vendors were not set up, most of the beer tents were not operational, and the booth that serves corned beef and cabbage was not open!) To further save money we chose to ride the DART Light Rail to Fair Park.
I love taking pictures but I hate carrying tons of gear plus a purse plus a jacket. I traveled light! I wore jeans and a top with pockets for carrying my phone, my identification, my keys, and my cash. The only thing I carried was the camera around my neck with the kit lens (18mm-55mm); no tripod, no filters, no flash.
As soon as we arrived at Fair Park I started snapping pictures. The one below is one of my favorites only because it is so quirky! There was glass around the station platform and the reflections that played in the glass were captivating. I can see the entrance gate and the Women's Museum inside the fairgrounds although we are still at the train station and looking in the opposite direction. (It wasn't yet 6pm so we had to sit outside the gate until it opened).
Then it happened. H made the comment that he didn't know why I bothered bringing the camera because it was going to be dark most of the time. Anyone who knows me well knows that was all I needed to hear to perceive a challenge to prove otherwise. I started snapping photos of everything! All images are full manual, ISO800 (maximum; some less), no flash, no tripod. I wished I'd had at least the monopod but there is always next year.
When the fair is in session late September, this building is the Automotive Building. This reflecting pool is newly renovated within the past 6 months and is delightful. The benches around the pool house speakers from which the sounds of Aaron Copland's Hoedown can be heard on a cyclic basis. As the music plays the fountains are choreographed to the sounds.
You can see the fountains below.
I took many shots of this building, I was intrigued with the way the shadows were captured without the use of a flash device. I am on the sidewalk along the opposite side of the fountains.
This photo below is one of those learning experiences we don't recognize until after the fact. I should have captured the statue from the other side of his face. However, if I'd done that the smoky light and the flags might not have been in the frame. So I should have tried it both ways so I could have made a determination after being uploaded to the computer.
I like this one, too. A simple fountain with lights shining upward and parallel to the column of water.
Yet another building with excellent period art deco. Most of these buildings date to the 1930s if I am not mistaken. Every so many years they are renovated to maintain their period quality. In the foreground you can see one of the benches from which the symphonic sounds erupt.
This image encapsulated several of the architectural elements. I also note the skies that were clear upon entrance to the event have now gone overcast.
This is yet another favorite photo from the adventure. We are leaving the festival and wait on the train platform for the return ride home. Recently, I was reading about the designer and designs of the various train stations and was interested to read that all the stations with the exception of Fair Park Station featured rounded, tubular, arching canopies. In an effort to maintain the flavor of the 1930s entrance gate to the fairgrounds, the designer opted for the squared columnar look so prevalent throughout the venue. It was an excellent design decision in my opinion!
And now for the extras....
My middle son celebrated his 19th birthday a few days ago. At the end of the day he thanked me for putting up with him for the past 19 years. I was touched. He's never been a problem... just normal kid stuff and maturity issues. I should have thanked him for not making it as difficult as it could have been. So, Happy Birthday, Ross.....
The other morning on the way to work I snapped this photo of a flowering quince bush. I had a snowy picture on my computer as wallpaper and decided I needed something indicative of spring's impending arrival. This seemed just the thing!
There you have it.
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