DIXON, CA (MPG) - In attending his second Republican Convention, DIV Photographer Nicolas Brown was pretty ecstatic about his photo of Kevin McCarthy, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, taken at the Republican Delegate Convention held at the Hyatt Regency in Sacramento in mid-March.

“The first time I went as a delegate and had a simple, point-and-shoot camera,” he said. “That was before I learned all that I know about photography. I’ve been doing this since 2008 but this is the first time I was a delegate and the first time I’ve gone as a full-fledged photographer.”

Brown “stepped up his game” thanks to the County Chair Michele Guerra who encouraged him to get more involved.

“So, I decided to wholeheartedly get involved in the matters of the state party and became a delegate. It’s a process to be sure but I jumped in and said yes!” he explained. He enjoys meeting up with other friends in the party and at this convention, he got to be one of the votes for people running for positions.

“Walking into this year’s, I was running on pure excitement,” he said. “We had lunch with Kevin McCarthy, and I got a number of shots of him speaking to the crowd. Toward the end of his remarks, I got about 45 seconds of time to get in close and capture great shots of him speaking.” Brown took a total of about 300 photographs over the three-day event and has posted several on social media.

Brown also attended meetings of the Rules Committee and the Chair of Chairs meeting.

“That is the heads of the Counties of the State so there were like 58 people at this huge table. It was crazy,” he said with enthusiasm. “I also went to another meeting helping people decide whether or not they want to run for political office, but I feel I would fit in well as a staffer.”

The next one is in Anaheim but Brown is hoping they come back to Sacramento next year since being a delegate is only for two years.