The aspect of the carnie lifestyle and the essential types of life it portrays has possibilities but it all depends on the balance of the lives shown. In “American Carnival” [David Skernick/Schiffer/ 128pgs], some of the lives shown are interesting and the poses natural and telling. But there is not really as much context for what is being shown. Granted the book is a collection of photographs of various fairs and carnivals between 2010 and 2015. Some of the images are undeniably textured for sure but it would have been better with perhaps one or two more sentences with each one. Skernick speaks of panoramic photographs but these seem more large format wide angle. Panoramas from a more specific point of view bring to mind imagery that actor Jeff Bridges has captured on his movie shoots for years. One specific photo the author here captures has is a swing ride where the panorama didn’t quite gel so some of the riders are half cut out. It is not really abstract as seen in the digital age. It comes off more as sloppy. A couple of the photographs like a pizza maker smiling, two carnival game girls showing their foot tattoos and an elephant handler responding to the stinky part of his job have a certain humor that again would be better keyed in by context of a story or verbage. There are a few photos like of a swing ride from the top of a funhouse or a slide just before a storm which have a lyricism but also a one sentence story behind them. There is some interesting potential here but so much more possibility especially in layout and structure that could have been done. C-

By Tim Wassberg

This is clearly a passion project for the photographer. I appreciated the techniques he employed. I just wish there had been more of a juxtaposition of the photos he took in Ohio with his most recent photos.

American Carnival by David Skernick captures the magic of the rides and games and the carnies and clowns who make the carnival their home. Meet Kat the sword swallower, Ember the fire eater, and the Human Fuse, Brian Miser, who sails through the air on fire! As day fades to dusk and the lights come up, smell the cotton candy, feel the vertigo of the Silver Yo Yo, and hear the laughter and screams. The panoramic images allow you to see the fair as if you were standing there yourself.

American Carnival is a look at the surface of carnivals. The games, the rides, and the people. Some of the images were stunning, and I loved the work with lighting and the way he let the subjects of the images choose their own poses and stance. I do wish we could have seen more, perhaps some of the less bright and bold of the carnival, but I am more interested in the down and dirty of the work that actually goes into making this look that exciting than the facade. The photography was well done, but and some of the little stories about taking them were amusing, but I felt like there is so much more that could be done with the subject matter.

I am a huge fan of photography books. I love taking photo's and I love looking at pictures. There is so much beauty in pictures. This book is filled with photos from fairs, carnivals, and festivals all over the United States. There are some black and white photos but most are very vibrant color photos. If you have ever been to a fair you know from the paint used on the booths and the rides and the neon lights are all bright and vibrant colors. These photos bring these beautiful colors into the palm of your hand through the photos. There are pictures of the booths, the rides, the people and so much more. Each photo tells you where it was taken and tells you something about a lot of the photos. The book is fun all but the snake page. It is an uplift to your spirits, you can almost smell the funnel cakes and popcorn. You can almost hear the shrieks coming from the rides. David Skernick has done an amazing job with this book. I can flip through the pages over and over again.

I received this book from the Author or Publisher via Netgalley.com and chose to leave this review.

I enjoyed these photographs. It reminded me of the carnival from when I was a kid. But we didn’t have a lot that were pictured. These photos make me want to travel and go to other carnivals.

The nostalgia I experienced paging through this book was so much fun! Each year growing up I’d look forward to the Show (regional Australia carnival) coming to town. It would be in town for three days each year and it was a big deal; we even got a day off school on the Friday because it was a regional public holiday when I was growing up.

I’d feel like the most important person in the world when the ferris wheel stopped at the top, allowing me a bird’s eye view of the other rides. The local newspaper would list all of the different show bags that would be available, including all of the treasures you’d find inside them, and I’d carefully make my wish list and then agonise about which ones I absolutely had to have when I was told how many I could actually have.

I loved thinking I was a driver as I roared around the dodgem car circuit and still have photographic evidence of the one time my ride turned sour when an older kid rammed into my car and I somehow managed to hurt my hand in the process. I eagerly anticipated the fairy floss melting on my tongue and changing its colour, and was fascinated watching the vendor make it before my very eyes.

I desperately wanted to win specific toys in the games I played, the toys themselves losing some of their shine when I got them home, the sense of accomplishment remaining. I envied the bigger kids who were tall enough to go on the scary rides and waited for my height to catch up to my excitement.

It was loud. It was dusty. There were bright lights everywhere. There was so much to see, smell and do. It was magical!

In ‘American Carnival’, photographer David Skernick has collated a series of colour and black and white photos (predominantly panoramas) that bring to life the carnival experience, from the rides and attractions to the people who work there. Each photo is accompanied by a brief description. I would have been more engaged had the portraits included more information about the people they picture, for example, a quote regaling a humorous, touching or otherwise interesting experience they’ve had working at a carnival.

The photos follow a short foreword by Heidi Gray and an introduction by the photographer. Spanning from day to night and including some vibrant sunsets and atmospheric storm clouds, I don’t know if you could see these photos without reminiscing about your own carnival experiences. While the day photos provide details you don’t see at night, it’s the night photography that truly brings the carnival to life, with the bright lights and blur of rides in motion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. for the opportunity to read this book.

A fascinating book about the American carnival, full of photographs of various carnivals and the people who work with in them. This book perfectly captures the colours, lights, and you can almost feel the excitement of the fair leaping of the page. Very different to the work of Diane Arbus, these pictures show how times have changed.

With thanks to Netgalley for a free review copy

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I found the photos to be really good but I thought the curation and the order of the photos lacking. Most of the photos could have been at any carnival/State Fair. The most interesting ones were the Zombie Halloween photos because that was a distinct event. I get that the intent was to show the similarity across events but I sure would have liked to see more of the individual carnivals" personalities pop out in the photos. I also really liked the portraits of the carnival workers.

A collection of pictures of different carnivals across the United States, American Carnival shines a light on the people and places that fairs bring to life and does it well.

These photos are truly taken beautifully and really showcase the people who work on these carnivals, the portraits in particular really highlight those who work so hard on these fairs and they make for incredible viewing. The shots, like the one shown on the cover also just make you feel you need to get up and leave and go to a fair as soon as possible, the capturing of the lights difficult to ignore.

However I do feel like so much more could be done with this book. The passion for carnies Sernick has would have made this collection of photography a wonderful book and would have loved to maybe with the portraits had a sort of ‘humans of the carnival’ style to it. I want to hear the stories of the people he has taken pictures of and I feel this book could be something so much more than it is with that added human element.

There is no denying these pictures are really good, I just feel I need more from this book for it to be extraordinary.

Ever since I read Stephen King’s book Joyland, set in a 1970’s amusement park, I seem to be drawn to anything relating to American Carnivals. In the UK we had (and still have, to some extent) the travelling fairground and I suppose it had its own attractions, but the ones of my memory were always sleazy and felt slightly dangerous. The American version stimulates thoughts of romance and glamour – at least from afar. So grabbing a look at this book with its many photos of people and rides and all that jazz was a complete no brainer for me.

The pictures were taken between 2010 - 2015, with just a few from the seventies thrown in for good measure. And to my eyes David Skernick has nailed it here. The first thing that leaps off the page is the colour. Nearly all the pictures are big and bold with primary colours blazing away at you. There’s loads of eye catching yellow and skies that are a deep, brooding blue or even jet black. The images assault your senses as your eyes fight for somewhere to focus. There’s movement here too – loads of movement – with blurred images of people flying around on rides called The Fighter and Orbiter and Zipper. Then there’s the people: the clowns, the sword swallower and the Iguana guy, all with faces seemingly carved from years of focus and effort, and maybe boredom too. But my favourite photos featured the stalls advertising the grotesques: The Headless Girl, 3 Eyed Bill, 2 Headed Racoon and others.

This is a book full of fun, excitement and, probably for many, fond memories of visits to the County Fair. I absolutely love it.

What a stunning collection of photographs of carnivals across America. Definitely a great coffee table art book for the photography enthusiast in one's life. Also, there's a lot of study of light and of portraits in this collection that are very interesting.

David Skernick does a wonderful job of capturing a slice of Americana - the carnival (or fair) through photos. The panoramic photos are outstanding, with my favorite being the “Peeling Swing”. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced reader’s e-copy of this book. I really look forward to seeing the printed version!

I love the carnival although I have long outgrown the rides and the oddities just don't seem so horrendous as typically described. But for me, this book was a walk down memory lane. As a child, when the fair came to town it signaled Spring Break from school. We would always go one or two nights, never during the day, to the small county fair. Upon arriving, we would wind ourselves through the buildings lined with local vendors until we finally reached the midway. It was truly a magical moment and memory for me. This book gave me some happiness I had forgotten I had.

The photographs were beautiful, raw, and real. Skernick highlighted most everything one could or would want to see in a fair, although it would have been interesting to see some local agriculture events like my fair had. As I flipped through the pages, I wondered the about the stories of the carnival workers and how they ended up there -- that would be a book worth writing and reading.

I enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to anyone seeking out a slice of nostalgia and Americana.

Skernick’s photos capture that uniquely American phenomenon, the carnival or fair. From fried everything on a stick to midway games that no one can ever really win (at least the big prizes) to nauseatingly violent carnival rides guaranteed to make you throw up that fried whatever it was you just ate. There is a mesmerizing kind of beauty, of the lights, the carnival barkers, even the artery hardening food that seems to be the same from Maine to California.