Erie County Fair Photography - August 2025

In April, I wrote about my love of nighttime/low light photography (Marcy Casino) – and in that post, I wrote, “I love bringing the night to life with my camera. The movement of people and lights, illuminating areas that may seem otherwise dark, and capturing the beauty of the night.”

Here we go again in August with another nighttime image – this time from the Erie County Fair. There may be no better place to capture the essence of capturing lights and the movement of people. And, combine that with my love of fireworks photography, this may just be one of my favorite locations each year. 

The Fair is one of those great Western New York traditions, with people marking their calendars for the “best twelve days of summer.” And as my love of photography, and specifically night photography, grew, I quickly realized what a mecca the Fair was for someone like me.

About 7-8 years ago I started to make the Fair a regular subject in my photography calendar each year. And every year, I have been able to look for new angles to shoot the motion of rides, the movement of people, the sights and signs, and of course the fireworks, which happen every night.

During the process I have come to partner with the company that provides the rides for the Fair, James E. Strates Shows, on a number of projects for them, including a magazine cover and their annual Christmas card.

I have also received inquiries from a few fairs from around the country to see where I was located and if I would be willing to capture photographs at their fair or carnival event. None of these have worked out, but maybe I’ll become a traveling Fair Photographer, lol.

One of the other great rewards of my photography journey happens every year when I post photos from the Fair. There are a few people who comment that they are no longer able to go to the Fair, but that the images bring back memories and help them “attend” event when they aren’t able to do so because of health issues, distance, or other factors.  

So, it’s Fair season. Enjoy the August image, and click here if you’d like to see some more. I hope they can bring you some of the excitement of the best 12 days of summer.

Calendar Cover Image

February Image

March Image

April Image

May Image

June Image

July Image