Carnival and Fair Photography - Take your Tripod
Carnivals and fairs offer such a wide variety of unique subjects, it really is one of the best opportunities to get different shots without having to travel too far from your home. From animals to people to the colorful rides themselves, take your tripod, wander the grounds and see what you can find.
![]() Most fairs also have photo exhibits and competitions with entries submitted from local residents. Be sure to check out the results of the photo competition, you just might find a friend or two that won first place. My friend and fellow Calvert Photography Club member Bonnie Bryant achieved 5 first premium awards for her work. You can check out her award winning shots here (flamingo), here (lighthouse sunrise), and here (gorilla portrait).
![]() The shot at the left (0.6 sec., f/6.3, ISO640) was taken just as the sun was setting and in this case I did use an ND filter. After sunset the light is low enough a filter isn't required. The shot at the very top was taken w/o any filter at all. As long as you've got your tripod you can capture photos like this. I was originally trying to capture this Ferris wheel above w/o any people. I setup the tripod low to the ground and kept trying to time the shot between people walking by. I didn't have much time to work as the sun was setting quickly. Toward the end the kids came by and "accidentally" got in front of the shot after I'd triggered the shutter. I chimped to see and I'm so glad I did because I liked the shot with the silhouettes much better than I did by itself. So I asked them to stand still for a few moments while I recomposed and rattled off a few more shots. This one ended up being one of my favorites.
The colors of sunset don't last long and then you're stuck with the dark skies. This is a time to concentrate on the lights of the rides themselves. Ferris wheels and any ride that has changing light patterns can be a great subject. I took probably 20 shots of this ride below within a couple minutes and every one has a different light pattern. You never know what it'll look like...the pattern you see with your eye changes unpredictably once you push the exposure to 1 seconds or longer.
![]() The lights in these environments are excellent backdrops for portraits and subjects with shallow depth of field. The bokeh can be spectacular, as in these two shots below taken with a 50mm prime...my favorite lens for bokeh and shallow DoF shots. The background blur in these shots is not the same as blur applied in post processing. If you're looking for photos with backgrounds like this you really need to get it right in the field as this effect is virtually impossible to recreate accurately on your computer.
We stayed until the end, letting the kids ride the rides until we heard the official "we're closing" announcement over the loud speakers. I ended the evening waiting for the kids to finish their rides while the waxing gibbous moon came up over the trees. If you find yourself waiting for the kids to finish their rides (or maybe the adults are riding too!), don't just stand around, keep your camera out and look around for opportunities. When you're stationary waiting, it's a great excuse to use your senses, do some people watching, or even shoot for the moon.
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