RIT Big Shot aka Photo Geek gathering. Last Thursday a bunch of us from work along with our better halves and friends went over to Schoen Place dressed in black, armed with flash lights, strobes, cameras and other flash devices. (The entire crowd together resembled a cult gathering.) The purpose was to participate in the annual RIT Big Shot (http://www.rit.edu/~bigshot/) which is a project to Paint with Light.

Inspired by the Sylvania Big Shot, this annual event invites community members to use handheld electronic flash units and flash lights to illuminate buildings while a single camera takes a picture with a timed exposure. We could see that a lot of planning and thought had gone into the event. Groups of people were instructed to light different parts of the landscape at different times.

Looking across from where the camera was.

Lighting the trees

A majority of the people were on the opposite bank from the camera (see the group of people in the Big Shot). A few folks, on the same side of the bank as the camera went first lighting the boat, followed by people across the bank, lighting the buildings in the foreground and lastly the people in the back lighting the trees. (We lit the trees between the two towers and would like to believe they're the best lit trees!)
The results are spectacular as you can see from this year's Big Shot Picture:

You can view past pictures at:
 http://www.rit.edu/~bigshot/all_photos_gallery/index.htm

You'll notice in the picture the variety of flash instruments our little group carried. From Joel's strobe lights , to Aaron's (Jenny's husband) ginormous flash light to my tiny little hand helds. And because we're border line geeks we experimented various ways use the flash units (aka have fun). I've never had so much fun, just standing around waving a flash light. I am so glad I work with such a fun bunch of people I call my friends. We regularly meet up outside of work too.

Lighting the group

Not so great attempts at lighting faces

A few years ago, on my way to work I saw a 'decorated' horse. Huh - it was interesting. A couple of days later I saw another and then another - all of a sudden there were these neat looking ornamental horses popping up all over Rochester. I was new to the country and those were the 'pre-Google-it' days - so to feed my curiosity I did it the old-fashioned thing and asked a few people (gawk) - turns out it was Rochester's 'Horses on Parade', like the 'Cows on Parade' .

I must admit that initially I found the concept rather amusing. But now I am fascinated by it. In some of my travels I have been pleasantly surprised to find 'Bears on Parade' in Zurich, Switzerland.

'Dresses on Parade' in Chicago

'Mannequins on Parade'  in Dubai - well these were actually just part of a display at a mall, but they have been filed away in my picture collection as 'On Parade'.

Kodak.com had it's own 'Flamingos on Parade' competition a couple years ago.

For the Labor Day weekend, we went to Chicago, Illinois, to visit friends and experience the city. As is normal, obligatory conversations about my trip followed, which led to animated debates and strong reactions to my statement - Chicago made me uncomfortable and confused. I could not shake off the feeling of deja vu, whether I was in downtown, in the suburbs or on the highways. It took me a while to clear the fog in my mind and realize - that walking in downtown on the Magnificent Mile was reminiscent of Manhattan and the suburbs were strangely reminiscent of Rochester - hence taking away the thrill of 'discovering a new place.'

That having being said - I really did like Chicago, the architecture in particular. I fell in love with the 'bean,' enjoyed the architectural boat tour and gawking up at the tall buildings (and discovering the Simpson family in the windows of an office building).

The icing on the cake for me was the trip to Oak Park - the home and studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and the neighboring houses he designed. Photography was not permitted inside his house and studio, but here are images of the exterior and neighboring houses. Being well known for the Prairie style of architecture, I was surprised to find that he had actually designed Victorian style houses as well (I am just developing a keen interest in architecture - and have a lot of catching up to do - Oak Park being the first of many such trips).

I recognize that not all of these are great pictures - the downside of traveling light and hurrying up. My husband and I love traveling and sight-seeing. To get through 8-hour days of walking and discovering new places, we try and remain hands-free, carrying as little as possible - which often leaves me yearning for a better camera, tripod, etc. Most of the pictures we take are from a point and shoot. My husband, though supportive of my interests, doesn't share my need to 'set up the scene,' 'walk an extra 10 minutes to get the perfect angle' or 'wait for the sun to cast a softer shadow.' I try and keep the Top Ten Tips in mind to compensate for the lack of professional gear.

My in-laws, from Mumbai, India, visited us earlier this summer. Being their third trip, they'd already seen the usual suspects (Niagara Falls, Finger Lakes, etc) and we were on the lookout for something different. The Sterling Renaissance Festival, aha!

As soon as we crossed the gates, it felt like we'd time-traveled and entered "an authentic English Renaissance Village." We walked around in a daze, looking away from the ˜normally' dressed people who were a constant reminder that this was merely a festival. What struck me the most was to see how much effort had been put into recreating the atmosphere and how splendidly they'd pulled it off. And I couldn't help thinking - wow, all of this for a couple of months?

That thought didn't last very long as I walked around and got absorbed in the activities that swirled around me.

The pictures can replace my thousands of words to give you a glimpse of the period:

The Village

The Clothes and Shopping

The Games & Rides

The Grand Finale - Joust Aplaisance

One of my favorite things about an Indian wedding is the Mehendi ceremony. It is usually a day or two before the actual wedding ceremony and traditionally is a women's only function. Professional mehendiwalis (women who apply the mehendi) lay out intricate designs using a cone filled with mehendi paste (similar to icing a cake).

The bride gets mehendi applied to her hands and legs. The guests also get mehendi applied, not as intricately as the bride though. Her mehendi takes several hours to apply (mine took about 6 hours) and you have to let it dry overnight. The result of this endeavor is beautifully stained hands and feet that stay that way for a couple of weeks (it lets you skip out of house work - no newly married girl wants to do the dishes in any case!).

The event is fun-filled and festive where the women sing, dance and share stories of married life, preparing the bride for her new life. It is considered bad luck for the bride to meet the groom after the mehendi is applied to her hands. But these days people clump the mehendi ceremony with the Sangeet (song and dance) ceremony which is attended by most of the close friends and family of the groom and bride.

Mehendi, also known as Henna, is made by crushing dried leaves of the plant Lawsonia Inermis. It is native to India, Egypt, Sudan and most other North African countries and is a decorative art that is applied as a part of daily life, festive occasions and weddings. The bridal mehendi designs are typically inspired by Mughal paintings or Ras Leela (Lord Krishna's flirtations with his girlfriend, Radha and her friends) mixed in with motifs of paisley, flowers, elephants and peacocks. Drawings of a bride and groom or the bridal procession are common as well. To add a little playfulness to the first night of wedded bliss the mehendiwali will hide the name of the groom in the design, which he has to find before he can consummate the marriage!