Introduction

Shooting at festivals, fairs, carnivals and the like can be a mixed bag for a street photographer. The obvious benefit of shooting at these events is the bang-for-your-buck factor. What I mean by this is there’s a large amount of people in a relatively small space. It’s a target-rich environment that offers big value for the street shooter. Providing great opportunities to sharpen skills, these events are a godsend to the photographer who doesn’t live in an active urban setting or is pressed for free time to shoot. The only drawback I’ve seen with collections of festival shots is the feeling of sameness, that I’m left with. Often, I’ve seen what amounts to be hodgepodge clusters of “character” shots. Now some are excellent quality, depicting some truly unique and colorful characters. However, quite a few groups of these photos fail to capture the atmosphere, flavor or spirit of these events. There’s a lack of “moments”.

Chris J MacDonald’s ‘Field Of Dreams’

That being said, receiving Chris J MacDonald’s ‘Field Of Dreams’ zine in the post was a delightful surprise and a visual treat. Self-published this past fall, ‘Field Of Dreams’ is a brief, but gloriously colorful and vivid essay on British summer music festival culture. In just 23 images, MacDonald taps into the essence of these festivals with an entertaining mix of characters and moments.