Bob Crum

My affair with the Fair this year is over. Uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms have begun but my feet are delighted.

The exciting Jr. Livestock Auction was last Friday. A few hundred giggly buyers purchased various animals. One such buyer bid $1,200 for three roasting chickens. Were I that buyer, every bite would take so long the meal would last five hours as I savored every juicy morsel. I digress.

Photographing the junior livestock auction is never without anxiety. There are no retakes. No second chances. The goal of photojournalism is to capture a photo that in itself tells a story. Multiple elements – participant, animal, auctioneer – all animated, make timing of the photo capture critical. I'm also constantly moving in order to line up the elements for the composition. Stress redefined.

Light in the Judge William P. Clark Pavilion adds more angst. Outdoor light from three large openings combined with overhead fluorescent lights create white balance funk. Visualize a pink pig with a green tint.

Auction shoot done, it was on to the interviews with the kids whose animals were awarded special merit. Another round of anxiety. Some kids are naturally talkative making the task easy. Some require tons of coaxing to say something, anything! After all, their story is my whole story. (see separate auction story)

Auction photos and interviews done, my stomach was growling. The cheddar bratwurst with a side of German-style potato salad quieted the grumbling. For the moment.

Digital photography – not phonetography – entices, even encourages experimentation. Observe any ride on the midway and you quickly realize that it can be photographed a hundred ways by various combinations of shutter speed, aperture and ISO depending on desired result. Simply delete crappy photos and shoot again. The Fair is a great venue to grasp an understanding of the ISO, shutter speed and aperture relationship. The paramount pair: Practice and Patience.

For example, the Sea Dragon and the Midway Big O. I noticed that at certain times, the swinging motion of the Sea Dragon would take the mouth up to the top of the loop of the ride behind it. When the planets and rides align perfectly, the Dragon appears to gobble up a rider on the Big O. However, when the Big O was running, the Dragon was not. When the Dragon was swinging, the Big O was not running. Stand and wait. And wait. Whoa!, both are running. Bingo! Umm... not yet. The Dragon's mouth too high. Wait... wait... Bingo! Not yet. Dragon too far below the Big O riders. Wait... wait... nailed it! Exposure, composition and timing perfect. Success equals ecstasy! A reason that photography is so delightfully addictive! By the way, I'm legally allowed to have such fun!

Attended the rodeo on Saturday which is another action-packed fun event to photograph. Again, no retakes. Get the shot or endure woe! But sometimes there's a perfect excuse for a missed shot: I was too engaged in watching the action to remember to press the shutter button! Lousy excuse, I know. Nevertheless, the rodeo is fun to watch.

Next event: Wings Over Camarillo air show this weekend at the Camarillo Airport. Besides aerobatics and World War II warplanes in action, the show includes an awesome ground display. Stroll among the magnificent planes of all types. Plentiful, tantalizing photo ops! The ground display combined with fabulous flying machines makes for a fun air show to attend.

Photo of the week is my all time favorite Fair event: Alaskan Racing Pigs.

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