I’ll admit it: I love amusement parks. I grew up going to Rye Playland, home of the 87-year-old Dragon Coaster, and I guess listening to the recurring clackety-clack of the ride’s ascent, and terrified screams on its way down, left their mark. Give me some cotton candy and a Whack-a-Mole game, and I’m a happy girl.
Every time my family sets out on a carnival or fair adventure, I’m breathless with excitement over the potential for fabulous photos. I love the challenge of harnessing the bright colors, movement, tastes and sounds with images that bring back the whirlwind of the day. I want to win a goldfish for a buck, or ride the Ali Baba 12 times with no theme park Fast Pass, and capture it all with my camera. I want to snap my funnel cake and eat it too.
Below are a few favorites from Coney Island, Rye Playland, the Santa Monica Pier – and my town’s annual Fol-de-Rol fair, where kids run from ride to ride after dark, faces flushed from sugar and exhilaration, with oversized stuffed animal prizes in tow.
Several of these are on the wall of my basement rec room, BIG – so my kids can feel like there’s a little bit of carnival every day.
Really, they’re for my kids. Honest.
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