Moonlight and Magic marks the beginning of the winter festival season in downtown Courtenay on Vancouver Island. It was a beautiful rain-free evening, and it seemed as though the entire Comox Valley came out to play.

My goal for the evening was to capture the energy of the event. To this end, I generally used relatively long exposures to illustrate the movement and flow of the crowds; my shutter speed for the most part was from 1/3s to 1/20s. Shooting mostly with a full-frame equivalent of a 90mm lens, and with all the shots being hand-held, the excellent in-body stabilization of my Olympus E-M1 was a necessity.  

Wishing for ramenNikkei Ramen-Ya was an oasis of warmth as the sun went down. Open lateThe crowds swelled and swirled around the lights of the stores and restaurants on 5th St. Something for everyone!Face painting was popular with the little ones. The streets were alive with the sound of musicMusic from roaming musicians, DJs, and pop-up choirs filled the street Float like a butterflyLights everywhere made for a magical evening The place to beAt times it seemed as though all of Comox Valley was gathered in downtown Courtenay Holiday spiritAll the businesses were dressed up for the holidays BubblesWhere else can you find bubble-blowing unicorns of a Friday evening? Under the bright lightsEven more music was to be heard at the stage on Duncan Avenue.