A Day Out at Duluth's Oktober Fest

For this essay I wanted to only use photos from one event; luckily one of my friends was going to Oktober Fest with her German club. I asked if I could tag along since I’ve never been before and thought it would be a great place for taking all kinds of different photos, especially as someone who has never been before. After going, I feel as though I achieved my goal and got more photos then I thought I would and enjoyed the event just as much as the photos I got.

Rules of Third

My friend and a family walking to the helicopter that was at Oktober Fest. They were doing paid rides that fly over the lake and event.

When we got to Oktober Fest we didn’t expect there to be helicopter rides. My friend saw it and immediately wanted to go on a ride, since she never had before. I knew it would be a good shot of getting her going on or walking to the helicopter, especially with the Lift Bridge in the background so you could get an idea of what she was about to fly over, and the rule of thirds I felt like fit that story of her about to get on and what’s going on in the background.

Balance

What you see when you are exiting Oktober Fest or getting another drink. The opposite side of the entrance view, getting to also see the backdrop of downtown Duluth.

When we were waiting for a couple of the people in our groups to get drinks I noticed the backdrop and thought it would make a good photo. At the same time two people lined up perfectly with the two tents and the two buildings. I thought this is perfect for balance, since there is a straight line right between the three different sets of two. Which balances out the photo greatly, even with the colors mainly being tan for the set of twos, but it would’ve worked nicely for depth too.

Patterns

The side of a building in downtown Duluth that you can see while waiting for the bus on W Michigan St.

The side of this building right next to a bus stop and the lamps on the inside make a great pattern. I saw this and knew it would look good for this composition with the patterns in the lamps, the arches at the bottom and the windows being spaced evenly.

Low Viewpoint

A little girl running up a hill to join her family and friends, while a helicopter is preparing for landing in the background. Both trying to reach their desired location.

This was taken from the bottom of a hill, my friends and I saw these little girls rolling down the hill and the helicopter rides being right behind this, and thought it could make a good shot. As the girl runs up the hill, the helicopter also is going up, which I think makes it a good viewpoint shot, since you can see the two both being lined up together in a way.

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Leading Lines

Walking over a bridge to get to Oktober Fest and seeing the highway and rail roads underneath the bridge. Also being able to see the overpass that leads to AMSOIL Arena.

As we walked to the fest I saw all these different leading lines all in one and thought it looked cool. With all the train tracks, poles, cones, and the highways all coming together to make lines that mostly lead you in the same direction paired with the overpass that leads you in two totally opposite direction when you follow the other lines there.

Framing

Helicopter in flight over Oktober Fest through the trees, and on its way to come back down to the ground and take more people for a ride.

I got this shot when I got way too many of this helicopter, but this was one of my favorites. I just loved the way it frames through the tree leaves and the direction of the helicopter’s blades. The helicopter was also going down to land in this photo and there being no leaves at the bottom of the shot really helped to accentuate that.

Close-up

My friend getting a snow cone and picking her flavoring out, since she loves always getting a sweet treat while we are out.

When I saw my friend getting this snow cone I knew I wanted a close-up of it, especially when she was putting the flavoring onto it. The way you can see the flavoring flowing down onto the cone, along with the all of the other flavors already on there just felt satisfying to me. Also the glow on the top, the handles and her nails was just a good look to me too.

Depth

German club member in front of the main tent at Oktober Fest. Along with people spread out in different sizes, all doing their own thing.

The closeness of the first person looking off to the side and the huge structure far behind I think really showed just how far the structure and tent were. Even with the other people slowly getting smaller as they walk towards the main tent at the event or are resting their things on a barrel, it really shows the depth in this shot, and the lights slowly getting smaller as they go towards the tent too.

All of these photos were taken on a Canon Rebel T8i