Fresh Fest 2025
I almost didn’t make it.
Arches a-blaze, calves a-twinge. After spending the day photographing Inkbuator 2025, I was looking forward to getting some well-deserved R&R at home. But I remembered that I’d applied for a media pass at Fresh Fest weeks ago, and I didn’t want it to go to waste. So I threw my photography gear in the car and headed down to Otter Ave for this year’s Fresh Fest.
If you don’t know what Fresh Fest is:
The mission of Fresh Fest Cleveland is to celebrate the arts and urban agriculture, promote health and wellness, showcase fresh and local food, all while breaking down the barriers of this unified and fertile neighborhood and emphasizing cultural unity.
Their festival every year offers food, music, family-friendly activities, and cool vendors.
I went last year but left pretty early because it was way too hot. This year, it was a little cooler, and I was determined to make use of my media pass. I saw friends, ate some good food, and picked up a pair of earrings I probably didn’t need. 😬
The headlining feature at this year’s event was MC Lyte. When she hit the stage, everyone was rapping and singing along. I got some great shots of the crowd from the media pit.
Oh, side note: I rented Fuji’s new 16-55mm and the 50-140mm for my weekend work. What a winning combo. What a WINNING combo. I might have to save up to buy both. They were an excellent duo while photographing the conference.
Anyway, I’m going to share photos from last year’s festival and this year’s.
Fresh Fest 2024
Fresh Fest 2025
What I like most about this year’s photos are the colors and composition. The first four photos have a very nostalgic, documentary-esque feel to me. I owe that to the zoom lens. I think I was at 16mm for most of those photos.
For the performance photos, I zoomed all the way in to 140mm. I understand now why concert and performance photographers have such long lenses on them. It’s the only way to get those nice, up close photos. But dang, that 50-140 was heavy.
Anyway. It’s nice to see myself growing as a photographer. I think I’ve found an editing style I like.
Off to edit Inkubator photos. Til next time!
