The FREX (Fredericton Exhibition) is in town, and I spent some of last evening there with my son and his friend. The word that comes to mind right away is the latest one to describe everything a little "off" and outdated............sketchy. Rough, dented, dirty and a tad unreliable this annual event which is always an end of summer highlight around here looks like it has seen better days. So do the carnies who were running the show. But, I guess that's all a part of it. And maybe carnivals have always been sketchy, even when I was a kid attending the CNE in Toronto. Maybe I just didn't notice the faded glory all around me because of my excitement of swirling in the tilt-a-whirl, zipping upside down in the zipper, zooming backwards on the Matterhorn and seeking out a delicious sno-cone. As a parent standing around with camera in hand, and watching the scruffy little ragamuffins scamper on and off the rides which seem to have seen better days, I couldn't help but think..........hmmmmm.........................sketchy!
For the life of me, I couldn't slip back into the days when attending the end of summer carnival was magical. Perhaps it was just my frame of mind, or perhaps I knew one too many faces there and know some of the struggling stories behind them. Reality reigned over the magic of the place.
This week's thematic photography word is "faded." Carmi, you are so timely! Love it. If you are interested in seeing more faded angles, check out Written Inc.
18 comments:
Gorgeous!!!
I love the colors, I love the shapes, I love the motion.
I think I love your blog.
Nice to meet you. I'm pinky.
You've brought me right back to my childhood, in a now-defunct place called Belmont Park, hard by the river near my house. This picture could have been taken there!
I love how your photography nails the spirit of where you were when you shot it. Not many photogs can do that.
I Loved this. I too remember the days of our carnivals here in Texas and sadly, as an adult I see things as you do. The wear and tear on the rides and the worn haggard faces of the carnies. Beautifully expressed both in word and picture.
Pinky....so nice to meet you and welcome to my blog. I think if my name wasn't Muskie, I think I would like to be called pinky.
Carmi....thanks Carmi. Interestingly, I had no idea what your theme was going to be before i headed out to the FREX with my camera. I actually thought I would find a few bright bold lighted up things......and what I've found was faded glory....so thank you.
Ann....i find it interesting how we all have similar memories and similar reactions to the summer carnival. Thinking about it, I don't believe they have changed. I think we have. if we can't see beyond the sketchiness of the carnival and see the magic, may we find that essence somewhere else....
I love the Zipper at 12.00 on new Years last year my best mate and I were counting our blessings at midnight while being thrown aroun looking at the light down the Gold Coast lol
Here we got the same in NZ. In Holland it is called kermis. Every city, town has kermis and because there are so many of them it is good business and all the rides ; roller coaster, big wheel etc. are high tech and modern
shaz.....I love the zipper too, though didn't go on it last night and regret not doing so. maybe the magic of the place would've grabbed me as I spun upside down. I think you'd be a whole lot of fun to go to an amusement park with.
marja...my favourite has always been the roller coaster, but this carnival doesn't have one because it is one that packs up and moves onto another venue. The closest I've come to a roller coaster in the past couple of years has been an inner tube water ride. not really the same, but very very FUN!
Our Royal show started today and I will be dragged along on Thursday. I used to enjoy this yearly event but like you I feel a bit jaded by the whole thing.
One of the things I resent about it is they make it so expensive and beyond most families' reach. The prices of everything are scandalously over inflated and every year it just gets worse.
Whatever happened to good old fashioned family fun. It's all about the almighty dollar now.
Have a great weekend Dana.
Your first photo would have been great for last week's theme of Colorful - what is it? It such an interesting combination of patterns, shapes, and color.
This sure brings back memories, I used to love the tilt-a-whirl! And carmi, I remember Belmont Park too. Last summer we went la ronde in Montreal, we went on the kiddy rides... :) with the granddaughters.
A fun post, I enjoyed.
I wonder if the carnivals - and their carnies - were always this faded, even those we remember so fondly from our childhood, and if our childish eyes just kept us from seeing the rust through the magic.
Very poignant photo set off beautifully by your commentary.
hey Gypsy....it's bloody expensive and such a rip off these carnival/exhibitions. I agree.
Enjoy your weekend too, which in Oz is half over? I can never keep track of how far ahead of us you guys are.
Mamie...it would've been a great shot for the colourful theme. i thought the same thing. The picture is of the back of the tilt a whirl compartments you sit in. they look a bit worse for wear dont they?
Carol....Belmont Park reminds me of an amusement park that was set up close to where I grew up in Southern Ontario. It was located under the big skyway bridge that span across the Hamilton Harbour where all the steel companies are located. Nice locale eh? The park was across the street from a sandy beach on Lake Ontario. We used to swim there when I was very small, but then the whole area went seedy when the waters got too polluted and the amusement park just seemed to fade away. Now, I think the water has been cleaned up enough to swim in again.
Robin. I was thinking the same thing. I do remember the seediness somewhat when attending the CNE in Toronto....how some of the carnies seemed a wee bit scary. They were almost exotic because of how they looked and how their lives were so very different than my own. No doubt carnivals bring in an eclectic crowd to put it mildly. :)
Carnivals have always seemed quite over-the-hill to me....Everything looks like it could use a good sprucing up, you know? A good dusting. And the dents taken out and a clean and neat paint-job. Faded is the perfect word along with "tired" and "Old".
It's one of the things I admire about Disneyland---a place I have only been to twice in my life---It is so clean and fresh looking and it looks as if everything was just newly painted, etc. I think it impressed me so because all the Carnivals I had ever seen were tired and needed to be freshened up---Coney Island, too!
I can see how knowing the back story's of many of the people there and what they are struggling with would make it all look that much more faded and tired.
I have to say, I remember the FREX seeming rather, well, seedy, back when I went to thrumptysevix years ago.
Still, I had fun.... Thanks for bringing back the memory: I had completely consigned it to that part of my mind where I would never think of it again!
I love the close crop and the color pop of the first picture. Great interpretation of the theme!
Great interpretation of the theme.
I guess I am lucky in that I now have a 3 year old so even if it's faded with his young eyes it's still sort of shiny (if you squint hard)
I too have been brought back to my end of summer childhood memories of the carnival in town and to my fav. ride, the tilt-a-whirl!! Thanks! What brilliant colours and yes I agree with Carmi, you have truly captured the spirit of the carnival..we can all feel the thrill, the excitement, the smells of the carnival/CNE!! It is funny our perspective now as adults-VERY different than when we were kids! Good job!
I love this! Gosh - how fabulous!
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