Carnival Noir at The Monte Cristo

Carnival Noir, featuring sculpture, magic, fire, and music. What more do you need to know...

I’m a naturally shy person, and a group of burners and goths at a rooftop party is not exactly my natural setting. Still Charly Gienau, one of the organizers, made me feel very welcome there, and I certainly had a blast shooting it!

I was originally drawn to the idea of Carnival Noir by the fire performers. I had a great time shooting the fire art at the Xavier Cross Benefit in March, and I wanted an opportunity to further hone my fire photography. I certainly got that at Carnival Noir!

There were three fire performers outside that night, lit almost exclusively by their own fire. It made for a challenging shooting environment. One gentlemen was blowing huge fireballs in the air, which, although spectacular, were incredibly hard to shoot. The best shot I got of that was a torso and overexposed legs sticking out of what looks like a nuclar explosion. Still, I managed to get a few shots I was happy with, that seemed to capture some of the energy and excitement of the moment.

I particularly like this shot of one performer using his hand to transfer fire from one end of his stick to the other.

Charly’s band, “Many of Odd Nature,” was a pleasant surprise — I really enjoyed their set! There music was high-energy and well-done, although the crowded stage caused me some problems as a photographer.

There were burlesque go-go dancers on platforms in front of the stage for part of the night — lit better than the main stage, I’ll add.

All in all the band displayed a high level of musicianship, and I’d gladly see them again.