I’ve attended the Celtic Festival in Nevada City with my son for many years and photographed it. With two cameras in hand, I set out for the day with a clear goal: to capture people enjoying themselves.
I used a Nikon Z-50 paired with a AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8 and a Nikon D-750 with the AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8 lens. Although my cameras aren’t the newest, the lenses are among Nikon’s finest. I’ve previously written about why I replaced my broken Z-50 with another of the same model and why I haven’t yet upgraded the D-750.
Why carry two cameras? Simple: it lets me switch focal lengths instantly without fumbling with lenses in the middle of a moment. Sure, a wide-to-telephoto zoom could cover the range, but that often means compromising image quality or paying far more than my current setup demands.
It was a full day: I arrived at 10 a.m. and didn’t leave until 6 p.m., steadily roaming the fairgrounds in search of compelling scenes.
The festival’s approach to photography is refreshingly straightforward: if you’d rather not be photographed, this probably isn’t your event. In practice, though, nearly everyone I met was eager to be in front of the camera. For a photographer, that kind of openness is rare and invaluable.
Although this time, I had an assistant who helped carry my equipment, by the end, I felt it: hours of crouching, walking, and carrying gear take their toll. Covering an event like this requires real stamina. With nothing on the line beyond complimentary entry, I had the freedom to shoot instinctively and later share a curated set of images with the festival team.
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Wall Art landscapes and miscellaneous
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It is all about the light 
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