In the village where I live, the end of summer always means two things: back to school and our county fair. The rest of the year, the area where I live is quiet, with most traffic meaning a few cars backed up behind a tractor. In late August, our population swells, we plan our supermarket trips around busy fair hours, and dinner just might be a blooming onion. My children are grown now, I don’t have farm animals, and rides don’t agree with me, but I still love going to the fair to take photos (and yes, eat fair food). There’s no other time of year when I can find so many people and colors and motion within walking distance of my house. This year I went two times, with four film cameras. Sadly the 35mm camera I was testing fell and opened, exposing its film. Those were the photos of animals and food and the demolition derby. I’m sad, but I wasn’t even sure the camera would work, so I can live with that. I also brought two instant cameras that shoot mini and square Instax film and my Pinsta pinhole camera.

Our village is back to its sleepy self, and the children are back to school, and a little part of me is already looking forward to next year’s fair and retaking some of those lost 35mm photos.

~Deirdre