I was the first photographer to successfully photograph with no flash allowed, the 2007 free Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival at a church hosting it annually. Two of my Sunday School students from a different church participated. A newer Canon 7D in 2009 produced better results for the Jan. 2010 event, but it has the same limited light-sensitivity and focus "struggles". My aging equipment can only do a fair job of photography for the 150 actors and church staff involved. The church putting on this Boar's Head Fest and investing money and time in making costumes, rehearsals, free programs, music production, and carpentry deserve the best that technology and I can now produce. This means the quickest low-light focus (-7.5EV) directly on a subject's eyes, the sharpest lenses, the best color accuracy, detailed raw files allowing correction of low light exposures, and a dependable, reputable system. The silent Nikon Z8 can do these now and their camera line for decades has had high color-accuracy.

   Every January is my chance to voluntarily capture photos but my constant clicking is disturbing to the audience, and the missed-focus or blurred shots are upsetting to myself (and any who don't know what they are missing that's actually possible now). Renaissance-style outfits' details are missed from too-small of a sensor (17.9 mp APS-C), some fogged, aging Canon "L" lenses, too-slow shutter speeds, digital noise, and a 2009 camera's inability to low-light focus add up to hundreds of missed memories.

   I will soon attach some photo successes with good and bad light and some failures but the camera is programmed to not take a picture without its focus confirmation. So I cannot show you examples where the camera could not focus thus not shoot in low light as there are many such unrecorded misses or blurs from dark lighting.

   The bad news for me is new professional cameras like the Z8 and latest Z lenses are more expensive than ever and, due to circumstances like Magic, our German Shepherd for which I paid in 2021 with all my regular savings for the best hip dysplasia operation out-of-town that failed, then went into debt for a re-do the doctor wanted, which failed even more quickly, and the Plandemic-market-crash where I lost 95% of my separate retirement savings the year before, sad to say. I take good care of Magic with Gentle Giants food, walk her every night before bed and though she is crippled, still gets around on her own with prayer, daily leg stretches, and love (wuvzin').

   The current retail when not on sale of the 45.7mp Nikon Z8 at B&H Photo is $4324 (may not be on sale when able to purchase) and with the two sharpest, fastest "S Mark II" lenses needed ($2800 24-70mm, and $3200 70-200mm) plus a $300 Fringer converter for using some still-sharp Canon "L" lenses on the single Nikon body (really should have two Z8s for quick camera-switching in this and any other active venue), adds up to $10,600 without a 2nd camera, nor 2 spare batteries, B+W lens-protection UV filters, spare memory card(s) and CF-Express B card reader I've never before needed. This does not count extra lenses and other accessories but it may get me started by early January. I have the B&H credit card to save the tax. I also volunteer for Citizens Defending Freedom, the Election Integrity Project (my pics displayed under 'Meetings'), and sometimes our free Texas Jazz Festival.

   For donors, I hope to offer views of pictures you helped me create from the next Boar's Head and Yule Log Festival scheduled in January if you give me the opportunity to purchase this equipment.

Thank you, and God bless you whether you can financially help or pray, Bruce Switalla, 1 Cor. 15:1-4, Eph. 2:8-10.