I really liked the fist shot...I just had a flashback to a roll of Kodachrome 64 slide film I shot in the summer of 1982 at the Oregon State Fair...I made a few exposures similar to the first one of yours...errily similar, almost the same glorious time of day as well. It has a glorious match of the sunset skies and the Ferris wheel's neon adornments. And that yellow-topped carousel on the left, and the multi-colored neon marquees on the top right...OMG...I love this picture...it really resonates with me,personally. The lack of detail on the people at the bottom...only serves to remind me of my Kodachrome memories, and to hint at things, rather than reveal. K-64 dropped off very steeply in the shadows when exposed for a sunset--JUST like this shot does. That whispy cloud formation seen against the carousel's top, and the single, small,short jet con-trail high in the sky overhead remind us that people now inhabit the earth from ground level up to 35,000 feet these days. To me #1 is simply sublime. It's not fancy, it's deep, and multi-layered. I simply love it!
The secodn, while it has fireworks and chit...just does nothing for me. The center rotaing ride just breaks everything up.
At the carnival by Amanda McClure, on Flickr
Carnival by Amanda McClure, on Flickr
