So we had the fair here last week and I decided to check it out purely for the photography opportunities. The fair officials were ok with me brining my gear and tripod, and with all the bright rides at night, I figured I would be able to get at least one interesting shot. My gear for the night was a Canon 5Diii and Canon 24-70 2.8L though I did have a Canon 600 Ex in one of my pockets.

Here is my favorite shot of the night. f20, 20″, 125 ISOThis is a surprisingly easy shot to get, but I will make a few notes:

1. You definitely need a tripod. The camera cannot move for the 20 seconds (or more you will need to pull it off).
2. If there is a lot of traffic, you will have to stand in such a way that you prevent people from walking into your tripod. I had to do this all night.
3. Go with a lower ISO, your colors will be richer and cleaner.
4. Stop your aperture down as needed to compensate for the longer shutter speed.
5. Look for interesting foreground elements to include in your shot, such as people. If they are standing still they will still show up in the shot. If walking, they will be invisible.

As soon as I found the Ferris Wheel, I set up and took a test shot. f2.8, 1/60Then…just started slowing my shutter speed down….. f8.0 6/10″Slowed it down even more…stopping my aperture down as needed… f22, 22″ ISO 100It also works on Merry-Go Rounds…As well as other rides….Sure is fun to tweak the shutter speed to get different effects….If you ever shoot at a fair or amusement park…be sure to try it out!