American Carnival by David Skernick captures the magic of the rides and games and the carnies and clowns who make the carnival their home. Meet Kat the sword swallower, Ember the fire eater, and the Human Fuse, Brian Miser, who sails through the air on fire! As day fades to dusk and the lights come up, smell the cotton candy, feel the vertigo of the Silver Yo Yo, and hear the laughter and screams. The panoramic images allow you to see the fair as if you were standing there yourself.
American Carnival is a look at the surface of carnivals. The games, the rides, and the people. Some of the images were stunning, and I loved the work with lighting and the way he let the subjects of the images choose their own poses and stance. I do wish we could have seen more, perhaps some of the less bright and bold of the carnival, but I am more interested in the down and dirty of the work that actually goes into making this look that exciting than the facade. The photography was well done, but and some of the little stories about taking them were amusing, but I felt like there is so much more that could be done with the subject matter.
