The Fair Project So far

As fair season is winding down I find myself feeling a bit like it's the temporary pause on a meaningful project that has taken me all over the western part of Washington. This isn't the end of my work on the project - I see at least another year of collecting images. Until then, I wanted to share a little bit of the images and some of my thoughts thus far.

I've asked myself if a single photograph can be the catalyst for a project. I don't know exactly where I land with this question, but I struggle to imagine pursuing this project without this image (above). I've gotten the question many times "why the fair?" and that is a complicated thing for me to answer. On the surface, there is this undeniable magic that takes place at the fair.

The way I see it, that "magic" comes from the fact that going to the fair is a very tactile experience. I've always felt this is a contrast to the large amount of screen time in my life - I don't think I'm special here. At the fair, people show and (sometimes) sell their animals, eat greasy food, play a carnival game to win a huge prize, or ride a rickety carnival ride.

Thanks for sticking around with this blog post, and this blog in general. I'm keeping this post short and sweet, as I will continue to make small posts like this as my thoughts become more obvious to me.
Thank you.