Again with the Fair

Though still hot and dry in Southern California, Labor Day marks the official end of summer. To celebrate I bring you a few images I shot at the Ventura County fair in August.

As I was editing these, I heard the voice of Jay Maisel as he reviewed the 10 images I had brought from home for his workshop in New York. At about the 3rd image with a fair theme he said: “Again with the fair?” (or maybe he said “Again with the circus?”). This is how different it is to live in California. Today I will head to Santa Barbara and take images of the California scene. Shorts and tee-shirts, sand and surf. The fair, the circus, or just the leisure life of Southern California.

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Waves #1

Waves #1, originally uploaded by I Nancy.

Finally got to processing some more of my shots from my Santa Barbara and Ventura shoot in late December.

This was the last place we stopped, the beach in Ventura just across from the fairgrounds. The surf was up from a storm off the coast and the wind would just peel water off the top. The constrast in B&W made me go there. Seems I am doing a good 50% of my shots in B&W these days.

Through the Hole in the Wall

Through the Hole in the Wall, originally uploaded by I Nancy.

Another HDR at, what I’ll now be referring to as, the graffiti dairy. HDR, in this case, allowed me to correctly balance the bright stuff in the back room with the darker room upfront. It just made all the graffiti in the front room pop out.

Surf

Working with the new Canon 5D Mark II and the Canon 70-200mm f/4 L
This is surfer’s point in Ventura, California. It got increasingly difficult to shoot after about 8am due to the high-contrast scenes. Best shooting is probably between 7am and 8am.

Painted

The location is an old dairy farm in Ventura County which is now a graffiti magnet for local gangs. It had been rainy and the day was overcast. I went with two other photo buddies. Due to the odd lighting, unique location, and peer pressure, I took all photos on a tripod while bracketing exposures. I never anticipated that I would HDR them, just going for the best exposure that I could.

Right now, I would consider this one of my best photos ever. It is also my first HDR.