The Bear Lake County Fair in Montpelier, Idaho is always a
wonderful event. There are rodeos,
entertainment, food booths, animals, rides, craft displays, and of course a big
photography display. But after dark the
fair really comes to life, and the lights are a great opportunity for
photographers.
Carnival photos are best just after sunset so there is a
little light and color in the sky. This
Ferris wheel changes color, and if you change shutter speeds you can get
anything from colorful spokes of light to a blurred circle in infinite
variations. This one was ½ second
exposure.
This is the same Ferris wheel from the other side, with carnival
game prizes in the corner. This one was
taken after the sky got totally dark, and the shutter speed was 1.3 seconds,
resulting in an entirely different pattern.
To reduce camera shake, a tripod is a necessity and a remote shutter
release or self timer also helps. If
your camera has image stabilization, turn it off while using the tripod.
This photo of entertainers Dave Anderson and Thatch Elmer
was taken on the outdoor stage. The lights
were bright enough to take the photo without a tripod, but in order to pick up
details in the light and shadow, three photos were bracketed two stops over and
under normal, and combined in the computer using Photomatix Essentials. The software did an amazing job removing blur
caused by people moving.
This food booth photo on the midway was taken with a 2.5
second exposure. It is fun to use these
long exposures to blur moving people.
Everyone becomes anonymous using longer exposures.
Longer exposures can also be used to make abstract images. This giant swing was exposed for 0.8 seconds,
but as the dangling swings were being lowered I increased the exposure to 2.5
seconds to create the abstract image.
So, look for bright colors, movement, and lights to get
unusual photos at the county fair.
Please note that my photos are copyrighted and must not be
used without permission, and usually a small fee.
