I get excited every year around this time. The daylight stays around longer, the temperature rises, and plants and animals come to life. It also means I get to wander around the festivals eating too much and snapping my favorite kinds of photos. The candid, photojournalism style. There’s something special about capturing people being real, and festivals offer uncountable opportunities for that.

The last few days I’ve been going through old photo archives from past festivals. It brings back good memories. Not just of the actual festival itself, but the people who were patient enough to go with me and endure my annoying habit of scurrying off to capture a moment before it disappears forever.

I came across a photo of Mac Arnold from the Freedom Weekend Aloft a couple years ago. It took me for a little trip down memory lane. That event was the first all-day outing for me and my wife (girlfriend at the time). It was stupid hot. The relationship was somewhat new and we were all sweaty and funky around one another. And it didn’t matter. She’s cool like that. It was also the first time either one of us had heard of Mac Arnold and Plate Full O’ Blues. It turns out he’s got a long history and a good story to tell, and some mighty fine music and musicians to boot. My wife and I spent many nights sitting around the house, grilling out, drinking good beer, and listening to Mac Arnold’s album Nothing to Prove. Top notch stuff. I highly recommend it if you like yourself some blues.

Here’s the photo that triggered the trip down memory lane. You can see more event photos here, with more coming soon.

Cheers to festival season!