It’s great to live near the State Capitol–you don’t have to travel far to enjoy State functions. So why did it take me 15 years to go to the California State Fair? I’m pretty sure it’s because it’s held in the middle of the summer heat! But my Toastmaster Photography Club got lucky because on our scheduled attendance evening, it was cool! So our small group in All About Photography Toastmasters met at 6:30 p.m. and enjoyed the evening.

I hung out with Linda for the night. Since I wanted to experience what I could in the short amount of time we had, we walked quickly and covered a lot of ground. My only disappointment was not finding the animals.

It was easy to get lost. There were at least three ferris wheels and additional duplicated rides. You couldn’t say, “Meet me at the ferris wheel!” It was Linda’s first time using slow shutter speed to catch effects and using the zoom technique for abstracts. She started out slow, but caught on and got some great pictures.

You won’t go hungry at the fair. Food booths were all over the place. You could eat somewhat healthy with chicken skewers or go totally wild with a deep fried Snicker bar covered in whipped cream and fudge. Ouch!

Linda and I ate before we arrived and just indulged in an iced mocha (me) and smoothie (Linda). I’m thinking I should have tried the funnel cake instead!

Hopefully there will be some cool days next year because I intend to go back during the day and shoot more. I’ll also be entering some photos in the competition. So why don’t you take a look.

Color attracted fair goers to game booths.

I don’t know how high this ladder was, but this guy was determined to show off before he jumped. I’m not sure what he jumped into, but I’m thinking air bags.

We were far away and buying our drinks while this was going on. Here he is about mid way through the jump. Next he had a suit on and made the same jump while on fire. Sorry, I was paying for my drink at the time. No shot of that!

Just a typical scene walking through one of the created streets.

Musician and singer.

This eating place was nicely covered.

Just some patterns and lines.

A rainbow in a fountain.

Food!

More food!

Our National and State flags flying at half mast in memory of the recent police officers killed. The setting sun gave them a somber tone.

The ferris wheel shot at a slow shutter speed.

Another ride shot at a slow shutter speed.

This zoom effect left the sign readable.

Another zoom effect.

People waiting for their ride to start at sunset.

The sun setting behind a ferris wheel.