Standing in the Mighty Midway at the Minnesota State Fair, Catherine Hennessey was snapping photos when she looked up and saw a flurry of swirling colors above her head. She quickly focused her Canon Rebel camera on the image and captured Swinging View of the Minnesota State Fair, which won first place in the Activities and Events division of the annual Picture Saint Paul photo contest.
“What I like about that photo is that I can feel that thrilling [feeling] in my stomach,” says Hennessey. “Kids love it, adults hate it,” she adds with a laugh.
The photo features the fair’s giant swings ride, which Hennessey remembers from years ago when she and her husband had an argument about who had to accompany their young son on it.
“I won and didn’t have to go,” says Hennessey. “My husband had to and he was terrified.”
Hennessey says she enjoys taking pictures at the fair because it’s a dynamic place where “you see people at their best having a tremendously good time, and people at their worst, when kids and adults are cranky and hot; it’s the whole gamut.”
A longtime hobbyist, Hennessey is working on a photography book focused around the theme of joy.
Grab your camera and take some photos for our 2016 Picture Saint Paul photo contest. Submissions are being accepted August 1-31. Check out more details here.
