Dayton Celtic Festival 2008

Saturday was a busy day with the Dayton Celtic Festival in full swing.

Friday night, my wife and I hit the festival and enjoyed the music. We met up with Larry Fortson and 9 Castle Close before their 10pm set and made plans for me to photograph them during their set on Saturday. I also got to meet the Kreellers and agreed to swing out at 11:30 for their early set.

We ended the night listening to Gaelic Storm and headed home for the night.

Saturday morning, I was looking for a parking space, thanks to the Dayton Dragons game, but got to the stage before The Kreellers performed their set. First of all, these guys were great. I loved the set and had to get one of their CDs and I've been listening to it on my iTouch whenever I get the chance.


After their set, we headed over to a cool spot I noticed on my walk in and did a few promo shots. This is one of my favorites. The guys were a blast to work with and we got some great shots against this old building.

Hey, how often can you get a guy in a kilt leaping off a ledge for a shot?

I ended up having several Guinness with these guys as we listened to several other bands play.

I took the opportunity to shoot Homeland and Gaelic Storm before heading over to the over tent to catch 9 Castle Close.

Homeland put on a great show as well. I love watching these guys play. I had some great shots of Ric from St. Patty's Day at the Dublin Pub and it was fun to give the guys some photos from that show. The first shot in this post is from the stage when they were playing.

After Homeland, I took some shots of Gaelic Storm. It's crazy when these guys are playing. You can't get in front of the stage for good shots and I didn't want to block anyone's view. I settled for shots from the side or the back of the stage.

I didn't get a chance to see Dulahan play as it was time for 9 Castle Close and I headed over to the other stage after grabbing a bite to eat.


The guys put on a nice set even though it had gotten hot and humid! I was sun burned and tired so I know the guys were hot up on stage. It was a blast to see the guys play and I got quite a few shots before they ended their set. Unfortunately, we weren't able to do a band shot as they had to head out for the Dublin Pub for the after hours party.

Military Funeral

Military Funeral, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

I received a call Tuesday evening from a family friend asking me if I could photograph a military funeral. The family had learned that John, as a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, was eligible for a military color guard and 21 gun salute and they wanted to capture the moments as there were family individuals that could not make it.

I remember when my father passed, a retired Chief as well, and we had the military funeral. It was a powerful memory that I wish I had captured as well.

I posted this image just as a reminder for the men and women serving over seas and for the retired military that served when needed.

Bee at Cox Arboretum

Bee Macro, originally uploaded by BillyCrafton.

I finally made it out to Cox Arboretum to check out the Butterfly House on Monday. Unfortunately, there weren't many butterflies flying around but I did get to chase a few bees around before it started to rain.

I liked the light bouncing off this little guys wings.