Photographer’s Note
This is the second in my carnival series.
As I mentioned in the notes for the first photo, Great times, bad food, and scary rides, it's always seemed to me that the carnival is a place for fun, but fun of a very particular kind:
scary fun,
bad-for-you fun,
skipping-class-and-escaping-school-for-a-day fun.
So you gorge on cotton candy and hot dogs, take rides that make your stomach churn, and hey, smoke 'em if you got 'em. And if you're out of smokes, folks, we have this little booth right over here to set things right. Step right up.
The carnival is a haunted kind of place, like all of Hallowe'en happening in one location, and while this picture isn't technically perfect, for me it does capture a little of that otherwordly, dreamlike, ghost-infested feeling.
Forget the fake haunted house, sometimes it's scarier out in the bright light of day.
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Critiques | Translate
Furachan
(0) 2005-09-09 18:20
I must say, Lee, you've found your voce with this series. This one, besides the lovely colors that POP, has some grit to it, a docu feel suggested by that lady on the right in half shadow. brilliantly seen and orchestrated, that.
And there is a definite TILT here that I also salute, having no choice in the matter...;D)
This is a very rich image, Lee, that can be read any of 50 ways (even in the light of the recent horro in New Orleans and those left behind...)
Best,
Francis
RandomCameraGuy
(3063) 2005-09-09 23:11
Cool composition, red hot colours!
I suggest selecting the sky and the woman's face to sep layers though. get more blue in the former and more lightness on the latter (a soft fill flash woulda worked wonders here).
Cheers!
rosiegirl
(2042) 2005-09-10 0:20
I love the wrinkle on the woman's nose- a dissatisfied, but curious look. I just came home from a country fair tonight- over the border in California, they're better there. I love the 'skipping-class-and-escaping-school-for-a-day fun' part of your note. A few of my friends who are from the farming community missed school to spend a day at the fair- with permission of coarse. ;) The red is really great in this. Well, great job again.
Rosie
mrbialy
(2568) 2005-09-25 10:18
Hello. Very colourfull and very good quality. I really like your foregrond with that lady and red smokeshop and blue sky. On the background in my opinion is small mess. good luck
Luko
(13896) 2005-09-28 11:14
This one is absolutely brilliant. I vote it best or tied best of your carny serie (second option in case I have skipped another gem of this class in your gallery).
I can find within your shot the combo that summarizes the carny spirit in any country, Canada or France. Humanhood, lousy food and phoney attractions, in this order from front to back... everything lit up with contrast.
Attractions and rides are not, I guess for anyone, the motive to attend to fairs : amusement and theme parks have taken that leisure business to a higher level of interest. Hence I like that you tucked the yellow starred tent in a corner of the pic, like a piece of context rather than the main topic. Btw, have you noticed how tacky yellow stars can be, just show me a dozen of imprinted yellow stars and I'm bored to death : I fear the attraction behind benefits from the same boredom power.
I believe it's our gregarious genetics that push us to melt into the packed fair crowd, our need to rub our elbows against the neighbor's, waiting for nothing except the worst, be it food or amusement.
Well, I can find this echoing in your shot : crowds, a sense of disorientation, contrast and bright colors.
If I had something to pick, I would say your foreground woman needs some additional processing in order to get the ray of light on her face more obvious, a bit like the lit part of the hay. But all in all it's a picture I would have been really proud to take. (if it means anything... )
I've seen Alex' WS : that's the way it should be IMO.
Discussions
- To lollie: Salut! (1)
by ElSato, last updated 12-08 09:57 - To Luko: Thank you (1)
by ElSato, last updated 10-02 00:23 - To RandomCameraGuy: Hey man! (2)
by ElSato, last updated 09-28 11:56 - To mrbialy: Thank you very much (1)
by ElSato, last updated 09-26 22:11 - To rosiegirl: Nice coincidence! (3)
by ElSato, last updated 09-13 21:25 - To Furachan: Real thanks Francis (1)
by ElSato, last updated 09-09 22:06








