I have been photographing the North Carolina State Fair since the early 70’s. One of my oldest memories was the yearly outing of my family going to the State Fair in North Carolina, starting when I was 6 year old…. I didn’t say “fondest” memories because any outing with my family was at best tedious, and at worst a fiasco.
As a teenager I would use my camera (sometimes with a strobe) as an excuse to ditch my parents, and go hunting for shots. I loved using an old Hasselblad camera, because I could hold the camera at chest height or lower, look down to focus on my subject, and then look up so that when the moment was right, I could trip the shutter while looking directly at my subject, all the while maintaining eye contact. I have always been frustrated by modern SLR cameras which cut off the viewing of the image at the exact moment I want most to see it ! The color images (selected from 2015-2019 visits) continue this protocol as I do not look through my 35mm viewfinder while shooting, preferring to hold my flash in one hand and my camera in the other, firing the shutter when the picture feels right… I scanned 6cm x 6cm negatives, the color work originates as digital files. As with all my other work, all images are full frame, un-manipulated images. [Official Website]
