It's not easy for me to walk up to a stranger and ask to take their picture.  But that's the assignment I gave myself at Minnesota's State Fair.

Pictures that are most memorable - most remembered, most liked - are those that contain people. I read this somewhere. Although I no longer remember where, I suspect it's true. People watching is a favorite activity of ... people.

Taking photos of scenery and buildings is, for me, easy compared to asking a person, "Can I take your picture?" Even when I "sneak" pictures of people doing an activity, not asking them, I still feel a bit self-conscious.

At the 2012 Minnesota State Fair I wanted to capture the flavor of the fair ... and do so by capturing people. The results are in two photo albums/slideshows at the links below. And below that are sample photos from the albums/slideshows.

Instructions for viewing albums:  Clicking on small thumbnails make images larger. Each page also allows clicking "Slideshow." Right and left arrows keys work for controls. For slideshows, click "slideshow" in upper right.

http://zumach.zenfolio.com/p716303643

http://zumach.zenfolio.com/p208121439