All the fun of the fair!

I don't know why but I've become obsessed with fair ground rides – not so much the actual rides themselves, but the way they are photographed and portrayed, enhanced, colorized – full of brights and pastels, with lighting effects, graininess, old world charm etc. Visually, they are stunning works of photography, full of nostalgia and so compelling. I didn't realise how popular a subject this is to photographers. I feel my feeble attempts at doing this don't compare to some of the works I've come across. I have a long way to go! But it's fun playing with colors and textures in photoshop.

If anyone has any info on how to create/simulate bokeh effects (the shimmery, sparkly, blurry lens effects that appear in some photos), please post your links here. In the meantime, enjoy these pics–the last one is mine!