Today I entered my first ever photos into a county fair. I think I entered a photo contest when I was in high school, but I'm not sure. So this is kind of like the very first time.

Today was receiving, which started at 10:00 (Synchronicity Time). I got there early so I could scout out some possible synchro sites. I was struck with the emptiness of the fair grounds. Like most people, I'm usually at the fair when it's packed.

It was interesting to see the empty stalls,  waiting to be filled.

Since I had a few seconds left (thanks for those Tomitake), I looked for some detail and found interesting gate hardware.

I'm so excited that other people are going to see my photos. Win or lose, I think that's kind of exciting. Kind of the same feeling I get from Photographica.

Hot pork
mild Pork
lamb chops
drawing
 toys 01  toys 02  toys 03 (No,really look at the toys)
Found my boss.
Hold on
Smile layed back lady  skank eye Me and a friend
wiped out

I love going to the fair to see the animals.  We saw horses, cows, chickens, rabbits, pigs, a two toed  sloth, a kangaroo,  lion cubs, a monkey,  everyone knows what this is and a few other animals.

This past weekend my ex's mom came to stay with us. We had a really great time showing her around, although we certainly did not have enough time to do everything we wanted.  Still I am very glad she came.

The animals really liked her, and Gavin really wanted to help her with her yarn.  My daughter proved just how zany she is by running through the fountain at the park. But she was not quite so happy when she was dragged off to jail at the ren fest.

At the park we saw many  birds both in and out of the water. The fountains as usual were very pretty to behold.  We ventured a little further although there is still so much to explore. It seemed the Japanese Garden did receive some damage from Hurricane Rita, and much was under repair except here.

We had a great time at the Ren fest which was one of the reasons she came. We saw
 ded bob as well as many other interesting characters that make it worth it just by themselves.  This door led from a store.  And this wall just caught my eye. Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

Went to the Pullayup Fair (Washington State).  

We had to wait for Krystal as usual on the bench

This is my dad...Dad Happy

He buys ice cream at the same stand every year Ice Cream

As usual Moon and I were together
:-) Moon and Me

Remember Amy by the campfire? Amy campfire

She was with us at the fair.  She loves dogs
Dog Lover

The event is the County Fair about 3 miles from my house. The farm animals were a big attraction with Bunnies,Goats and Lamb.

The crowed loved the African critters stage show with a buzzard, fox, and snake .
And of course no fair would be complete without pony rides

Bull riding

A bluegrass band playing

Food and drink

An at least one cowboy.

Their were plenty of young people from  new born on up.

Some of the kids brought their own transportation and some adult could have used a ride themselves.

If you go you may want to bring your   cell phone, and of course don't forget to paint your nails and shave your legs in case someone takes a picture of your tattoo.

A couple of miles down the road from where we live in Woodstock, Illinois is the annual McHenry County Fair. We arrive at the not too imposing entrance Entrance . It's early so the Carnival rides have yet to be started Carnival . The lines aren't too long yet so we stop for some goodies Eats on our way to the 4H dairy judging  Pavilion . This youngster won his class Jersey Cow . Most fun was watching the pigs Winner,  Chops. We couldn't resist the Cow Wash  Wash . More next year.

Since getting the Pro1, I had not had a chance to do more than test it out. Last night, however, with a club I am a member of, we went to the Kentucky State Fair to take photos of the midwa after dark. Below are some examples. Other than resizing and/or cropping, these are not edited in Photoshop, unless stated in the description.

Perspective on Ole Glory - I shot this flag from the base of the pole. It probably went 100 feet up and the flag was HUGE. This was shot with the following settings: ISO - 400, Aperture - f/3.5, Shutter - 1/20 sec.
Ferris Wheel - This was a simple shot of a ferris wheel in motion. The lights were chasing from the central hub out to the edge, giving a nice effect. This was shot with the following settings: ISO - 50, Aperture - f/5, Shutter - 2 sec, -2 Exp Compensation, ND Filter
Ferris Wheel Composite - This is 2 images. In the first, the ferris wheel was moving and I captured it for 2 seconds. In the second, it was not moving and I captured it for 5 seconds. I put them together as a "double exposed" image in Photoshop.
Symetry in Chaos - This ride was wicked, for a carnival ride. It spun impossibly fast while swinging back and forth a huge distance. This was shot with the following settings: ISO - 50, Aperture - f/4.5, Shutter - 2.5 sec, -2 Exp Compensation, ND Filter.
Flower of Light - The man running this ride helped out by cutting his spot lights and spinning this at max speed. This was shot with the following settings: ISO - 50, Aperture - f/8, Shutter - 10 sec, -2 Exp Compensation, ND Filter

Last Friday, Shannon and I went to the annual Puyallup Fair (sorry if I mis-spell - no spell checker catches this). We saw ducks, and some cows. Course, seeing the cows reminded me of why I'm vegetarian, but seeing this reminds me of how fun it is to barbecue.

Oh yea - we saw lots of Roller Coasters