Shortly after arriving at The Greater Baton Rouge State Fair, I came across a couple on the verge of winning a prize at a carnival game. Gianna Vaccaro and Dreu MacKenzie hit their shots of darts after words of encouragement from the carnie, earning them a big prize. Vaccaro immediately picked out the big stuffed longhorn.

As I went from ride to ride photographing the fair, the couple kept appearing in my frame. The humor of them lugging around a large longhorn was enough to keep me taking pictures of them despite trying to get photos of others.

Later in the night, I sat in front of the ferris wheel for about 15 minutes, waiting for something to happen within the circle of the wheel. MacKenzie unknowingly gifted me a great photo when he tossed up the longhorn with perfect timing as he walked in front of my camera, not noticing I was there.

After looking at the picture, I chased down the couple and explained how I’ve taken a few good photos of them and asked if I could continue to photograph their night together. They excitedly agreed. Their first date was at the state fair last year.

Tags