2021 Asian Lantern Festival - Cleveland Metroparks Zoo

I still have a couple of short doll show related posts to write up, but until I get everything set for those, here are some pictures of the Asian Lantern Festival this year. If you want to see my pics from 2019, go here.

This beautiful butterfly display was near the front entrance. The colors on the bigger butterflies were constantly changing, and the small butterflies' wings were moving.

There was a lot of color changes and movement going on this year.

That was at the entrance. After you came in, you could go through this beautiful tunnel of wisteria.

There were some lights shaped like different animals. They were pretty, but I didn't find them as interesting as other displays.

Ju-Ting came along to be my doll model. Since we only went through the zoo in the dark this year, it was hard to get pictures without her being too backlit. Here she is underneath a morning glory lantern.

Here she is in a walkway lit up on each side by red and white lanterns. The breeze was blowing her hair in the first picture, and I like the effect.

This year there were moving light effects on the ground.

And this peacock display was magnificent.

It was another enjoyable trip!

A Walk in the Park

I've been a little out of it lately. I use a light box from about September through April, to help with my Seasonal Affective Disorder. Basically, when we get less sunlight here during these months, and the sunlight is less potent, my body wants to hibernate. A half hour or so sitting in front of my light box helps. But I hadn't been using it reliably, making me more tired and depressed. I'm trying to change that and get back to regular light box use.

ANYway. Meg and I went to a local park back on October 21st. This park is made for walkers, runners and bikers. There is a long paved path that takes you from one neighborhood to another, a paved path on one side which also takes you through one part to another of my town, and a dirt path. As it was a gorgeous day, there were lots of people out there enjoying the day, but no one seemed interested in what a middle-aged woman was doing taking pictures of a doll. Many people were friendly and said hello. Most of those people were walking dogs. A correlation perhaps?

The main path through the park. Doesn't this look like a magical place? I would like to get out here during the winter when there is snow on the ground and get a picture.

We found a few slender long branches (trees?) which had formed into arches. Meg discovered that the branch bounced up and down when it was pushed. She had fun "riding" it. If I weighed less, I would have enjoyed a little bounce as well.

The best place for photography, at least for me, came when we found a place where city park workers were clearing out trees. Not only did one of these large sawed up pieces make a great seat for Meg, there was a bench right next to it, which provided a comfortable seat for this middle-aged woman to take pictures. :)

We wanted to find some leaves that were more fiery, like Meg's hair, but this park didn't have a lot of those.

Lastly, a somewhat blurry picture of five does having their dinner in the park. Despite my area being suburban, there are an awful lot of wild animals around, including foxes and coyotes, of all things.

What I've been lacking is large blocks of time to go out and take pictures. This photo time was a rush job, done in between picking up my youngest daughter from school, and going out somewhere that night. Good planning and more energy will hopefully help with that. In the meantime, I do have some new doll purchases which need photo shoots of their own so I can show them to you. Do you find it hard to find time to set aside for doll photography? Or do you accomplish it in small bits?

Meg Checks Out the Beach and Hangs Out at the Park

I decided to have Meg's first photo shot at a local beachfront park. It didn't go as well as I wanted. The water was very choppy yesterday and the tide was high, so there wasn't much actual beach, at least where I was at. But I think just doing it, even if it didn't turn out perfectly, was enough for me to plan a next time.

Meg is wearing Barbie capris (on her, they are just jeans) and a top that I made for her.

Meg spends some peaceful contemplation time before we head down.

The waves crash on the shore.

Driftwood is very common on the local beaches. Meg leans on a piece for support as a wave covers her feet.

The park is named Veteran's Memorial Park, and so there are several memorial plaques for those who came from this little town, and died in service to their country.

Meg found a good place to perch behind a 105 Howitzer cannon that sits in the park. This is probably an original shell painted over. She also lets her feet dry off.

Meg reads the names on a WWI Memorial. Some of those names can still be found in the community.

And my favorite shot of the day. Meg just looks so happy to be outside in this nice weather.

I liked being outside in the milder autumn weather too! Meg and I will be going out again.