My Pictures

  Hey, Thank you all so much for the compliments on my photos! One thing I did notice is that you were really wanting the stories that go with these pictures.  As for the stories...Well the story here is really more mine than it is of anyone here that I have photographed. I went to this fair with the idea of getting over my fear of taking photos of strangers. I learned from a new friend and awesome photographer about an exercise he did in a photography class that he took, an exercise designed to help the students lose their fear of photographing strangers. The exercise is to go out and make 50 images of strangers,  images where the face fills the frame, and images taken with a 50mm lens so that the photographer needs to get in close.
 I took many photos of strangers this night at the fair, none where the face actually filled the frame, but images of strangers , and images that I am happy with. I did indeed need to talk to these people to get the closer up shots, but mostly I just approached the people and asked if I could take their photo. People at the fair are very excited to get their photo taken I learned...everyone is out to be seen and is happy when you have singled them out...for the most part. So, this is just one more exercise in my long education...It was the most fun I have had in a long time. I felt like I was doing "my thing".

Sparkles and Boots

Cowboy hats. Cowboy boots. Sparkly jeans and huge belt buckles.
We finally arrived in Texas. Stereotypical Texas where the smokers were going...smoke pouring out spreading the aroma of delicious smoked brisket or ribs or turkey legs...
 We had entered the Galveston County Fair...so so different than any county fair I have ever been to.
First off, it is only April. It must be to dang hot for the fair in August. Next, beer. They have beer for sale and you can just drink it all over the fair, just like a lemonade. And next... that delicious smell of smoked foods... We went to track it down, only to find that there are private parties set up at the fair. Parties with big smokers going. There were quite a few of these parties, surrounded by fencing with fancy entrances, complete with a cop to keep you out, if you weren't invited. What??
  No smoked goodness for us. I  settled for a deep fried Twinkie...ok, Cloud Cake since there are no more Twinkies. Yes, Gross. I knew it would be, but, it was the spirit of the fair...I was so  filled with the Spirit...and then the twinkie.
  The Galveston County Fair does not have a demolition derby like most of the other county fairs I've been to. Here, they have a rodeo. A real rodeo complete with bull riding, barrel racing, bronco riding, and even a rodeo clown. The crowd was just as entertaining as the actual rodeo. Everyone was out dressed in their finest.  It was a people watching dream...
 Then there was the skill. It was a junior rodeo, so the contestants were all young, teenagers mostly. I love to watch kids with skill. These kids could ride, and they could ride well. and you could see the pride they felt. That was what I loved about the rodeo.

Get a Turkey leg on the way to fair. We should have.

What we didn't win in the raffle. Oh we wanted to bring this home badly.

Not the yummiest beer.

private party

Boots and a forsaken cookie.