In July 2018, I visited Columbus, Ohio, to participate in a Photojournalism Workshop run by the Leica Store in Miami.
Our instructor was the Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer William Snyder, who teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
The venue was the Ohio State Fair, which was my first state fair. I was surprised by the size of the fairgrounds, the variety of exhibitions, and the pavilions and buildings that were named after former Ohio governors. I’m from Cleveland, so I remember those governors.
I was out one evening taking pictures with my photo buddy, Tony Palazzo, who hails from New Orleans. Talk about ‘being at the right place at the right time.’ This happened to me!
We came upon a game called “Balloon a-Rama,” where participants tried to pop balloons by blowing air jets at them. A young lady popped a balloon and was asked to pick a prize.
I motioned to her to come towards me, as there was a Winnie the Pooh bear she might like. That is what she did, and the following photos document her getting her prize.