Friday is about preparations. Greeting friends you haven't seen in too long. Washing dishes, picking apples, making salsa. Pulling up the parachute for the first time, a man or woman posted on each tree. Lucy Goosey (the pup) learning to pace herself. She isn't as young as she was last year, none of us are. The excitement builds, everyone is smiling. Dinner prep started right after breakfast and once the first band starts to play the weekend gets its soundtrack. By evening most people have settled in, and the appreciation we feel for our surroundings makes everything better: the food tastes amazing, the musicians are pure talent, and the locale could not be more serene. And just when the second band has found its groove, and the stars are bright overhead, it's popcorn time.

For more photos and to purchase prints from Friday, click here.

Learn more about the Dead on the Creek festival here.