fairs & festivals Archives

Check out 2019 Indy Mural Fest

Posted on November 5, 2019February 19, 2021 by Zach Dobson

Inaugural Indy Mural Fest

We love to celebrate art and artists, so I was excited to photograph a new event in Indianapolis: Indy Mural Fest. I appreciate their mission to have a festival full of LOCAL artists, so the full talent of our city is on public display.

Another important factor is that all artists are paid for their work. As a working artist myself, I know how much of a reward it is to be hired for your own vision, so it’s great to see others provided that same opportunity.

See it Yourself

A great thing about this mural art is that it’s on display around the clock in public places. Take a look at this map and go see the art for yourself!

Director’s Cut

If you’re interested in seeing even more images from this event, subscribe to our newsletter for a full gallery. Click here to sign up. After entering your email, you’ll see this past week’s newsletter containing a link to a password-protected gallery.

Our newsletter is the place we give a first-looks and extended galleries of my weekly stories. It also includes extras like free downloads, tips, discounts on prints and more.

Into art, artists and just general creativity? Check out these other posts.

Carmel Artomobilia

Posted on August 29, 2019August 29, 2019 by Zach Dobson

Carmel Artomobilia is an auto show in the heart of the Arts & Design District. What could be better than world-class cars just a few minutes from home? Here are a few shots from this year’s show.

If you’ve been following this blog or my Instagram page for any amount of time, you’ll see that I post cars from time to time. My car memories go back to when I was a kid: a ride in my dad’s friend IROC T-top; my uncle’s 1975 Corvette; that poster of a white Lamborghini Countach; and a whole host of Hot Wheels and Matchbox cars.

Some of my favorite cars at the show were the 1969 Lamborghini Miura (below) and the 2019 Ford GT (above). The 1959 Cadillac Eldorado that leads off this post wasn’t too shabby, either.

If you want to know more about Artomobilia, or want to register your super-amazing car, visit their site here.

You have to wait another year for Carmel Artomobilia, so in the meantime, check out these other posts about super cool cars and trucks.

Happy Birthday, America!

Posted on June 28, 2018May 8, 2019 by Zach Dobson

One of the things I enjoy most about shooting this time of year is the diversity of people that come out to celebrate America’s independence. It’s a great reminder that we all love this country and we all are welcome here.

Here’s a slideshow of some of our favorite images celebrating America…

A handful of these images are available to order as prints on our online shop. 20% of proceeds will benefit Exodus Refugee Immigration in Indianapolis.

For more patriotic inspiration, check these out:

Refugees in Indiana

Carmelfest

Carmel Artomobilia

Posted on August 31, 2017August 29, 2019 by Zach Dobson

I try to get out every year to check out Carmel Artomobilia. The crowd was huge this year! I always take my kids with me, so navigating four little-ones through a crowd and making sure they’re not climbing into cars tends to limit the number of shots that I take. I’m happy with the selects, though.

When shooting at car shows, I embrace the crowds and the shooting conditions. That’s why you’ll see a lot of people in my photos (I don’t look to get wide shots of entire cars) and a lot of detail shots. I also look to incorporate the surroundings, so you can see how the cars look within the environment of a specific show.

Let me know what you think in the comments below! What car are you wishing you could get a closer look at? Have you been to any good car shows lately?

Carmel Artomobilia Related Content

Check out these posts for more cars & trucks. You can also learn more about Carmel Artomobilia on their website here.

Fair Photography

Posted on August 9, 2016August 7, 2019 by Zach Dobson

As a born and bred Midwesterner, I love documenting fairs and festivals. I grew up in Fort Wayne, Indiana attending the 3 Rivers Festival. Each year, my family would travel to my father’s boyhood home in Wayne County, Ohio to attend the fair. The animals, funnel cakes, disorienting carnival rides and tractor pulls were rites I looked forward to each year.

Now that I have a family of my own, I really enjoy experiencing the simple old-fashioned fun that a fair offers to my young children. Petting cows, feeding goats, consuming ridiculous fried food and lemon shake-ups, and of course those exact same (literally) carnival rides all feel like a step back in time to my own childhood.

I took the Ferris wheel image above at the Italian Street Festival in Indianapolis in 2010 and that inspired me to begin traveling to document events across the state. Since 2010, I’ve photographed a couple dozen festivals and fairs which I’ve compiled into my Indiana Fair Project.

County fairs and town festivals are often long-held events where communities gather to celebrate what makes them distinct. By visiting all corners of the state to photograph these annual happenings, I’m seeking to document how the traditions of these events connect Hoosiers to their past and to each other.

The Indiana State Fair is happening now, so keep an eye on Instagram for new images. Plus, I’ll be posting old favorites from the Indiana Fair Project. If Twitter is your preference, follow @zachdobson for some highlights of fairs and other interesting stuff.

Thanks for reading my blog and be sure to share this post with someone you know who loves the fair. Who doesn’t love the fair?! My wife assures me no one!

20_fair_6410 — The Annual Balloon Glow. Elkhart County Fair. 2012.

03_fair_9358 — Fried Foods. Indiana State Fair. 2010.

004_fair_2528 — Goat Bath. Hamilton County Fair. 2010.

005_fair_0390 — Hot August Day. Indiana State Fair. 2010.

006_fair_3209 — Hog Wrestling. Delaware County Fair. 2010.

08_fair_5297 — Cowboys. Portage County Fair. 2010.

007_fair_5228 — Rodeo. Portage County Fair. 2010.

008_fair_4425 — Showtime. Elkhart County Fair. 2010.

009_fair_3316 — Beauty Pageant. Fulton County Fair. 2010.

010_fair_0993 — Demolition Derby. Gibson County Fair. 2010.

002_fair_5608 — Warming Up. Indiana State Fair. 2011.

21_fair_5529 — Funnel Cake Down. CarmelFest. 2013.

012_fair_9515 — Tilt-a-Whirl. Bremen Fireman’s Festival. 2010.

CarmelFest

Posted on July 10, 2015July 3, 2018 by Zach Dobson

CarmelFest is a big Independence Day celebration held every year on July 3rd & 4th in Carmel, Indiana. Since 2012, I’ve participated in the event as a sponsor and “official photographer”. I enjoy living in a smaller city where I get to see so many people I know celebrating our country together as a community. It’s also nice to have a shoot where I can drink beer and eat fried dough and it isn’t frowned upon.

Every color, race, religion and orientation is welcome in the United States. And that’s a lot of what makes it a fantastic place to live. As descendants of immigrants, our household proudly celebrates this heritage. I love this theme of diversity in America so much that we created a slideshow to celebrate it. You can see it here.

One of my favorite aspects of shooting festivals & fairs like CarmelFest are the common themes of: joy with family and friends, a sense of community, service, respect for veterans, the enthusiasm of children, and the bonding qualities of music and food. And don’t forget about some good ol’ fashioned American entrepreneurship!

And let’s not forget fireworks…Fireworks are tricky to shoot, which you probably know if you’ve ever tried to get a decent image of them in action. Maybe in the future, I’ll pull together a “how to shoot” fireworks post. In the meantime, I hope you’ll enjoy mine.

If you’re in the sharing spirit, send this post along to some friends & family. And we’d love to hear about your favorite July 4th memories in the comments below! Prints for these events are available in our shop and we always share 20% of the proceeds for prints with a partner charity.