Your Face Or Mine?

I'm not sure if what's in the man's right hand is a mask or a decoration. You could experiment.

Not real happy with the color correction here but there is no chance to use gels when shooting on the fly. My Photoshop skills are OK but hardly advanced.              

Christmas Cookies

Yes, a traditional and popular way to pack on the calories at this time of year. The interpretation of the sweater, gentle reader, I will leave up to you.    

Elves, Maybe

The people at Santarchy were encouraged to dress in something Santa-ish. I didn't have a costume so I wore a red shirt, sweater and jacket. Lohr gave me a Santa hat. Fortunately, no one took my picture (that I know of).

You could be an elf. Santa has elves, right? I'm sure that was the man's intention. The woman's costume was perhaps an interpretation.

Taken at Yaquis restaurant and bar on Cherokee Streer. Big windows facing east, good in the afternoon.  

The Quality of Light

Another picture taken in Lucha. I don't remember the people's names so if you see this, identify yourselves!

Light from the outside can have such an impact on indoor photography. Lucha has large windows, nearly floor to ceiling, facing north. The light couldn't be more beautiful on a winter afternoon, although I probably used a little fill flash. Not that I am comparing my work but this kind of illumination is used so beautifully by Vermeer and most dramatically by Caravaggio. When taking run-and-gun pictures, we have to make use of every advantage.    

Nightmare Before Christmas

I traveled with the Santarchy company from about noon to six. There was a breakfast earlier and a few other stops before I met them at the Fortune Teller Bar on Cherokee Street. My arthritis was bothering me enough that I left after I took yesterday's picture. The rolling party went on downtown and in Soulard until late into the night. I'm too old for that.

This picture was taken at Lucha in Grand Center, which describes itself as Mexican soul food. Except the owner is Sri Lankan. I eat there a lot during the Fringe Festival. This reveler was doing a Nightmare Before Christmas theme. I couldn't identify it but my granddaughter knew it instantly. 

Note the beverage in front of him.        

Santarchy!

I didn't know a thing about it. How? Since the early 90s, groups of people dress as Santa or an avatar and roam around a city from bar to bar, spreading good cheer and searching for merry spirits. Or fermented malt beverages. For hour after hour. It's called Santarchy or sometimes Santacon, and it is now all over the world.

My Friend D. Lohr Barkley, who runs Artica, also finds time to organize St. Louis' Santarchy. He invited me along with them yesterday to document as much as I could. It's just nuts. One of Lohr's many talents is herding cats and he got (most) everybody to pose in front of the City Museum. I peeled off after this but the party continued late into the night. It's still going on as I write this.

Dances of India

To finish this series, an ensemble performance by the group we saw yesterday. The organization is Dances of India, which has promoted the art in St. Louis for 41 years. Every movement and gesture has a meaning. Hard to follow for someone who is not part of the culture but nonetheless beautiful.