Yesterday my husband and I attended the North Carolina State Fair. It was sunny and the high was 72°, which made for a beautiful day.

If you haven’t been to a county or state fair before, I encourage you to do so. There are so many photo opportunities! You’ll find rides, games, animals, vendors, competitions, food and more! Also, it’s easy to find smiling faces. Everything is so colorful too. Once it gets dark, the fair takes on a whole other life too – the sky is lit up by rides and the day is capped off with fireworks.

I like photo opportunities like this because it gives me a chance to come up with a theme for the photo shoot. My theme was “a day at the 2017 North Carolina State Fair.” Before I headed out to the fair, I came up with a list of things I felt were representative of the fair. I knew I wouldn’t be able to capture everything on my photo scavenger list, but it gave me a goal. Your theme may differ. Maybe your theme is to capture your family’s enjoyment of the fair.

I should add that while I had a goal in mind, I kept reminding myself to be flexible too.

My Photos

Below are my favorite photos for representing “a day at the 2017 NC State Fair.” These photos were taken with my Nikon D60 with 18-200mm lens or my iPhone 5c (yes, I know it’s old, but it works!).

In case you’re curious, the oversized pumpkin that took first place weighed 1,237 lbs. and was for sale for $1,200.

Special thanks to those who permitted me to take their photos for this blog. I hope you had a great time at the fair!

Viewing Others’ Photos

One stop that we always make is to the Kerr Scott Building (map) that showcases all the fine arts and photography entries. I enjoy looking through all the entries from students, amateurs, and professionals. I also enjoy studying the entries that were judged to be the best in show/scene winners, award winners, and ribbon winners.