CIRCLES, ELLIPSES AND LINES

The complex play of curves and lines reminds me of early 20th Century semi-abstract art. There is a lot of energy in the action of the trapeze artists at Circus Flora.

St. Louis is back in the oven today while we are off to cooler climes.             

OH WOW!

People across the ring from us at Circus Flora. They were watching a high wire act in which a man walked out on the cable carrying his balance pole in one hand and a chair in the other. It had a square wooden base. The artist proceeded to balance the chair on the wire, sit down on it and then raise his feet in the air. Amazing.

Tuesday is a travel day. I may run a bit more of the circus images but we will have a change of scene soon.            

STRENGTH AND BALANCE

These young performers at Circus Flora had what you might call a dance-acrobatics routine. They were terrific. I can only wonder about how many hours of practice and exercise it would take to learn to do this.             

AT THE CIRCUS

One of the nice things about St. Louis is that we have our own resident circus company, Circus Flora. Flora was a beloved elephant when the group started but, of course, circuses in this country don't do the elephant-lion-tiger thing any more.

 

But they sure do horses. We were seated in the front row and I stretched my camera's limits with fast burst mode and tracking auto-focus. I can't imagine how someone could do this on a racing steed.               

THEATER PHOTOGRAPHY WARM-UP

Does your city have a Fringe Festival? When one of the most prestigious arts festivals in Europe re-started after World War II, they would not admit the odd, the experimental and the out-there. So those artists said bleep you, we'll have our own. And thus was the Edinburgh Fringe Festival born.

And now there are offshoots all over the world. The St. Louis Fringe Festival takes place in mid-August. I'm the house photographer and a member of the board of directors. It's the highlight of my image making year. We just had a taste last weekend. Our executive director, Matthew Kerns (MFA, mind you), starred in a production of An Act of God, assisted by actor-comedian-pediatrician Ken Haller. It's a provocative comedy by longtime Saturday Night Live writer David Javerbaum. Matt, as God, has had about enough of us and visits to announce a new set of rules relevant to what we have become. It made you laugh and think.                      

THURSDAY ARCH SERIES

Seen at last Saturday's March For Our Lives. Good luck, though.         

NON-DENOMINATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

Seen at last Saturday's March For Our Lives.