Carter’s Steam Fair is a proper old-fashioned travelling funfair with genuine vintage rides (many truly steam-powered) that gets dragged around the south of England in a fleet of equally lovely ancient trucks.
Vintage trucks hauling vintage rides
It’s a tremendous day out and of course a photographic gem. Well that’s the theory anyway.
As it turned out, the day we planned to go coincided with Bath’s monsoon season. I know there’s a lot to be said for getting out in grotty weather but, call me a sissy, I’m not such a fan of huge metal things when the lightning’s having a boogie.
Grey skies. Boo to grey skies
So we held off and went the following day. Dry, but flat, grey clouds overhead robbed me of the afternoon light I’d been hoping for.
Mind you, murky light did give me a chance to drag the shutter speed down a bit, which is always fun, especially on the carousel and the dodgems
Compounding the issue, we ran into a lot of friends there as well. Now, I love my chums dearly but when you’re hanging round with a bunch of mates and their darling offspring, it’s kind of bad form to ignore them all for the sake of a nice shot.
So in the end I stopped worrying and just enjoyed myself. Of course I could have pushed on finding shots, making something of it, but this was a personal trip and sometimes it’s important to accept that it’s just not your day. Try again another time.
On which note, last year the weather was much kinder with no pesky socialising either. So we caught lovely late afternoon sun which was much more satisfying, and we stuck around ’til it went dark so I can’t complain really.
Stupidly I actually went on the DiveBomber. Though not at night
Sometimes you don’t get the light. And sometimes you do
Incidentally, the highlight this this time around was Voltini’s electrical sideshow which was splendid.
Sadly no photography allowed, which was a real shame because it would’ve made for great shots . . .
Not the best angle, but no photos allowed so I wasn’t going to push my luck
. . . so if you want to see that you’ll just have to go along yourself. And I strongly suggest you do.
Gettins Images 