UGA students photograph a day at the fair

Juju Lockwood (left), from Peachtree City, Ga., rides on the swings at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Lockwood says she comes to Perry every year to attend the fair. (Sydney Fordice / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Fair goers ride through the air above the Georgia National Fair on Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. The Agri-lift transported attendees from one side of the park to another overrides and vendors with a birds-eye view. (Kathryn Skeean / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

A ferris wheel rotates at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. At night, the fair lights up with colorful rides, games and vendor stands. (Sarah White / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Emily Troxel, 17, of Brooksville, Florida, laughs at her horse Hennen on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. Troxel placed second during the braiding competition with her Clydesdale. (Kathryn Skeean / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Harper Brindell has her face painted at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, I nPerry, Georgia. Brindell is visiting the fair with her friend and mother. (Sarah White / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Friends look on as Stevie Bland, 12, from Jackson, Georgia, rides a mechanical bull at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 9, 2021. (Larry Meisner / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Lynn Johnson of Ooltewah, Tennessee, applies makeup in the horse barns before showing her friendÕs horse, Piper, on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia. Johnson entered a class dedicated to her sister Rebecca Cannon, an active member of the draft horse community, who died of cancer earlier in the year. (Kathryn Skeean / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Kyla May, a carny for the Georgia National Fair, smiles and gestures to her stall on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. May, now 30, has been involved in the fair scene since she got a job at age 16. "It's not just a job. It's a lifestyle," she said, explaining how the energy and unique aspects of the fair, such as traveling and meeting people, are what keeps her around. (Basil Terhune / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Charlie-Sue Ogletree from Dublin, Ga., kisses her Shetland pony at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, October 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. Ogletree won the Baby Miss Peach Blossom pageant and rode in a carriage pulled by her pony, Mickey Blue-eyes, in the fair parade. (Sarah White / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Evan Krepski flips through the air during the Nerveless Nocks Extreme Water Ski and Stunt Show at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia on Saturday, Oct. 9. The Nerveless Nocks have been entertaining audiences around the world since 1954. (Alex Arango / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Makenzie Dotson peers out at passersby while working a pina colada booth at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga., on Friday, Oct. 8, 2021. (Sydney Fordice / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Caroline Howell sits with her lambs, Barbossa and Jack Sparrow, at the Georgia National Fair on Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. Howell, 14, has been showcasing animals for seven years while her mother has attended the Georgia National Fair nearly every year since its inception in 1990. (P Foster Steinbeck / UGA Photojournalism workshop).

Guests slide down the Euro Slide at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. (Abigail Vanderpoel / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Cliff Certain lays on his cow, Ole Trump, at the Georgia National Fair on Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. Certain traveled from Franklin County to showcase Ole Trump in the fair's Chi-Influence Junior Market Beef competition. (Foster Steinbeck / UGA Photojournalism workshop).

Naenoa George performs a fire dance for Cirque MaÕceoÕs show at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, October 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. George, from Hawaii, learned baton twirling from his parents at a young age and now travels across North America performing his fire dances with the show. (Larry Meisner / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Terra Southerland holds her goat Bailey on a bench at the Georgia State Fair on Saturday Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. This year was Southerland's fourth year competing in the livestock competition; she and Bailey placed 12th. (Sarah White / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Jase Staines, 8, of Lennox, Georgia, tips his hat on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry Georgia. He and family made the trip to the Georgia National Fair to watch his sister show her cow. (Kathryn Skeean / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Journee Watson, 6, stands on the counter of a booth as her mom hands her darts to throw at balloons for a prize at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Watson, from Macon, Ga., won a stuffed pink dog for popping a balloon. Sydney Fordice / UGA Photojournalism workshop

The silhouette of Barret Buchanon (9) from Americus, Georgia exiting a bumper car at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 9. This is Buchanon's first time at the fair. He says that coming to the fair has been both exciting and fun. (Alex Arango / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Harmony Whitley and her mother Mackenzie Whitley pose in front of an entertainer at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. While many of the other kids were scared of the eight foot tall character, Harmony laughed and said that she "loved the robot." (Basil Terhune / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Xavier Joiner, 11, drives a bumper car at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia on Oct. 9, 2021. Joiner traveled from nearby Warner Robins to the fair with at least three other people, two of which joined him in the bumper cars. The fair was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so this marked the first time in two years that Georgians gathered in Perry for games, rides, food and agriculture competitions. (Julia Walkup / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Justin Moody looks on as his daughter, Ellie Moody, tries her hand at the Ring-A-Bottle game at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 9, 2021. He and his wife, Autumn Moody, brought their children Ellie and Addison Moody from McDonough, Georgia. It was AddisonÕs first trip to the fair. (Larry Meisner / UGA Photojournalism workshop

The sun sets on the third day of the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. The fair started in 1990. (Foster Steinbeck / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Lance Trice helps his daughter, Leah Trice, roll up her sleeves before her livestock competition at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia on Oct. 9, 2021. The Trice family, from Forsyth County, Georgia, has been showing pigs for several seasons, but this is their first season showing lambs -- a breeding ewe named Maymay. Leah and Maymay got ninth place in Leah's seventh-eighth grade age group. (Julia Walkup / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Amea Watson struggles to hang on to a bull ride at the Georgia National Fair while her family watches and records on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. (Basil Terhune / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Patrons of the Georgia National Fair line up to buy cheese curds from the Hot Wisconsin Cheese food stall on Friday, October 8, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. This stall is one of 39 different food companies selling food at the fair this year. (Lilli Dickens / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Blake Coker prepares to throw a metal dart as apart of a carnival game at the Georgia National Fair on Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Georgia. Coker lives in McRae, Georgia. (Foster Steinbeck / UGA Photojournalism workshop).

Jim Fox, from Tampa, Fla., flips pork chops at the Silverado Grill booth at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Fox spends his time traveling and working with different fairs. (Sydney Fordice / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Tyler Wise from Tifton, Ga., trims the top of a cow for the livestock show at the Georgia National Fair on Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Ga. This styling, known as "fitting," gives the cow the illusion that they are bulkier than they really are for the competition. (Denali Lerch / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

JD Morris from Sioux City, Iowa, grooms the calf Liberty to prepare her for her showing at the Georgia National Fair livestock competition in Perry, Georgia on Oct. 9, 2021. Liberty belongs to Lauryn Edwards from Hoboken, Georgia. Morris is shown using glue and a comb to stick Liberty’s tail up for showing — Edwards said this, along with fluffing the cow’s hair, is used to achieve a certain appearance that the judges look for. (Julia Walkup / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Lawrence Funnell from South Bend, Indiana, smokes meat at the food stall he works at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Ga. Funnell works a few different fairs throughout the year, but the fair in Perry is the "GOAT," he says. (Lilli Dickens / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Austin Walstad water skis on shoe skis as part of The Nerveless Nocks water show at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 9, 2021. The skis Walstad wore were not much bigger than regular shoes. (Lilli Dickens / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Twenty year fair employee Soup hands a young guest her prize at his balloon popping station at the Georgia National Fair on Saturday, October 9, 2021 in Perry, Georgia. Soup credits the fair with getting him sober and saving his life.
(Abigail Vanderpoel / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Two pigs race into a pool of water during the Robinsons Racing Pigs event. During the event, pigs are released into a circular pen and center pool where the winner races to an Oreo cookie at the end. (Denali Lerch / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Shadows of fairgoers pass a cotton candy stand at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Morgan Phillips / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Cousins Jase Stains (left) and Metts Stalvey (right) play corn hole outside of the Horse Barn at the Georgia National Fair on Sat. Oct. 9, 2021, in Perry, Ga. The boys came from Alapahos, Ga., to participate in the fair's livestock showcase and are carrying on a family tradition of winning blue ribbons. (Denali Lerch / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Fairgoers take a ride on the YoYo chair swing ride at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, October 9, 2021. (Morgan Phillips / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

Crowds gather at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. (Morgan Phillips / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

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Juju Lockwood (left), from Peachtree City, Ga., rides on the swings at the Georgia National Fair in Perry, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2021. Lockwood says she comes to Perry every year to attend the fair. (Sydney Fordice / UGA Photojournalism workshop)

By Mark E. Johnson – Senior Lecturer Photojournalism, The University of Georgia

Oct 11, 2021

For the last eight years, students in the Advanced Photojournalism course at the University of Georgia’s College of Journalism and Mass Communication have headed down to Perry for a long day covering the Georgia National Fair. Starting at 7:30 a.m., the students spread out across the fairgrounds to show the story of a day at the fair. Surrounded by thousands of attendees, the students have a simple charge: Don’t show what the fair looks like, show what it means.

Across the street at the Perry Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, a mini-newsroom is set up. After an hour or two on the grounds, students come in, download memory cards and sit with professional photojournalists from around the region for feedback on their work. New knowledge in their heads, they then head right back out to show more stories.

About the Author

Mark E. Johnson

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UGA students photograph a day at the fair

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