Funnel cakes, Fried Twinkies, Corn Dogs and other delicacies.

 

“Fat man sitting on a little stool
Takes the money from my hand while his eyes take a walk all over you
Hands me the ticket, smiles and whispers good luck
Cuddle up angel, cuddle up my little dove
We'll ride down, baby, into this tunnel of love.”

There’s something about a carnival. It’s certainly not something I would ever want to be a part of, it’s more about how they have continued all these decades with so many distractions that should have made them less a part of the American landscape.

I have been to many carnivals in my life…the one thing I can say for sure is, the cost to go has increased much more than my interest in being there. We have a carnival in our town every year (except this past year) and it is stunning how expensive they are and how they continue to bring kids and parents together to “enjoy” this tradition of American culture. 

There are some things that have changed and many that have not. Changes include a few new high-intensity rides but that’s really about it, but you can still count on such delicacies as funnel cakes, fried Twinkies, corn dogs and other yummy foods; once you have had them, they churn in your stomach while you’re spinning around on the rides.

So why am I going to the carnival? My kids really aren’t interested, but I am. I want to go take pictures and as innocent as my wanting to do it…I have been stopped and asked several times, “Why I am there?” One time I was told “Do not take photos of any of the workers and do not show their faces.” That really made me feel safe. Fortunately, I have made a friend at the annual carnival and he always says to anyone who asks…”It’s okay, he is only here to take pictures and he does a good job.” Why does he say that? I gave him a few of his booth/game a number of years back…and we are now “carny buddies.”

Over the years I have taken photos of rides and games being played that I am actually happy I took. Photography is all about capturing memories and even though I am not really interested in the rides or food, I am interested in photographing American culture—whether you see it that way or not.

The photo above was taken one night at the carnival; I am not sure where all the people were when I took this photo—-perhaps they were on the spin rides wondering how sick they were going to be in the next few minutes.

Thanks for stopping by.