After taking a short break from festival going – my last
music festival was Reading 1993 – I had the chance to go to Bestival at short notice
a couple of weeks ago. The festival was running from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th
August, and followed on from its sister festival, Camp Bestival , the week
before.
Based on the Lulworth Estate surrounding Lulworth Castle in Dorset,
the festival looked like a short hop from my home in Weymouth, which would
allow me to commute in. Four days of good weather were forecast.
So, leaving my tent at home, I took the train and shuttle
bus, and had a look at the opening day on the Thursday afternoon. This turned
out to be mainly a recce day for me. A lot of activities and areas were being
set up, and – as a 50-plus year-old man – I was already wondering if I was
getting a bit long in the tooth for an event that’s popular with uni students.
Unlike Reading 1993, neither New Order nor Trumans Water seemed to be on the
bill.
I was interested in photographing the event, and could see
straight away that the papers would be full of great or serviceable photos of
bright young things in sequins and glitter, and long-lens photos of music
headliners on stage. I couldn’t really compete in that arena.
So, how could I make sense of this festival – both to enjoy
and to photograph? I came home on Thursday night and took a look at the
festival website and Wikipedia entry.
There was a promising section on the festival website called
It’s Not All About The Music. OK then, I’ll avoid photographing the music, especially as
everyone else will be doing that… I’ll photograph all this other stuff. I noted
down a few terms and ideas that interested me, including this year’s festival
theme, Circus, and returned for Saturday and Sunday…
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| Thursday afternoon. Things were being set up, and this was mainly a recce day for me. Here's some practising on the high wire. This year's festival theme was CIRCUS. |
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| On to the Bestival weekend. Two pianos with accompanying people in the Ambientland area. |
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| Not medical emergencies but festival-goers paying for the intravenous vitamin drip experience. |
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| Blossom in front of the Utilita power tree (a USB phone charging point and DJ booth). |
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| An ancient, imaginary proverb says "a peacock is always just out of reach". |
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| Couple with parasol in front of the USB charging tree. |
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| Umbrella and litter pickers in The Lawn area - a genteel bit next to Lulworth Castle. |
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| D&F Bros Grand Indian Circus after a performance next to Lulworth Castle, with the Love-Bot robot in the background. |
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| Generic revellers shot. Thanks guys. |
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| Hula twirling while watching a performance in the Caravanerai. |
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| Fire engine as communal fancy dress. |
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| A huge disco ball and The Big Top - the Bestival festival's second stage. | |
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| Relaxing outside a tent in The Lawn area. |
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| Umbrella, tent and helter-skelter at Bestival. |
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| A large illuminated leaf in Ambientland. |
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| Relaxing in the wooded area of Ambientland. |
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| Tightrope rehearsal |
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| Tightrope performer and son. |
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| It was four days of almost continuous blue skies and heat, so trees were suddenly very popular. |
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| Taking a break from some sort of golf-related activity to watch the main stage at Bestival - the Castle Stage. |
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| Tightrope walking in the atmospheric Caravanserai area in the evening. |
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| Free water and Bestival officials rocking the B&Q look. |
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| Heading towards the exit. End of the day, Sunday... |
Next up - photos from July 2018. Or maybe a compilation of my photos from the Melplash Country Show.
