Capturing the Excitement of the Fair

To me, the fair has always meant fun and a whirlwind of motion, smells and sound. I’m only a short distance to the Carp Fair which turned 147 this year. Billed as Canada’s Biggest Little Fair, it’s stuffed with everything you could want: midway, mini donuts, tractor pulls, horse shows, exotic animals, RCMP Musical Ride and 18 hours of music each day. This year’s fair saw Colin James and Chilliwack as big name talent. Well, of the bands I recognize.

Best laid plans and all, I had planned to spend the majority of Thursday night at the fair, looking to capture the essence of the midway. Unfortunately, it was raining pretty hard and without the patrons, the midway shut down at 9:30 instead of the scheduled 11 pm. That left me with 15 minutes of shooting and wiping the lens. I have an Optic rain guard to keep the lens dry, but that doesn’t keep the front glass dry when shooting upwards.