Making great images at a fair or rodeo is challenging. Yes there is color and action, lots of it. And therein is the problem - how to make a photograph that tells a story while separating the centre of interest from chaos in the background. Recently I took on that challenge at the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) in Vancouver. First I looked for an interesting subject. Then I watched for a moment and a story. If my photograph has a touch of quirkiness so much the better, I enjoy capturing those moments and find they resonate with people. Every bit as important, I got in close to separate the subject from the background, really really close. I made this image with my zoom on full wide-angle to make the horn occupy most of the frame.  But that meant I had to be almost in the horn. How to do that? In this case it was surprisingly easy. The audience had been standing back quite a distance and the band leader invited everyone to move in closer. So I did. Right up to the horn. (Of course, I didn't linger to avoid blocking the view of the audience for long.) As famed Magnum Photos photographer Robert Capa said "If your photographs aren't good enough, you're not close enough."

Posted by Ted Nodwell