Wedding Season 2014 Has Begun! Well, a while ago. But still.

Wow, I neglected this blog for a bit! Have you been waiting here long?

How is everyone's 2014 so far?

This year has been a funky one as far as schedules. I'm more booked than I ever have been, but all my bookings are crammed into a 6-month period this time. Usually it's bit more evenly distributed throughout the year.

So for me, wedding season is about 3 weeks into full swing... and it's gonna be a fun one. George is with me once again this year, and if you see these two photographer clowns at your event, you made a smart hiring decision:

George Woods and Clay Lancaster. Photo courtesy of the groom.

Obviously I do things other than weddings as well. Earlier this year I did some photos for my friends in a band called Black Map (made up of members of Dredg, The Trophy Fire, Far, and Crosses †††). Here's one from Bottom of the Hill:

Black Map (dredg, The Trophy Fire, Far)

Next up was Crosses at the Independent. The Deftones' Chino Moreno fronts this "new" group with members of dredg and Far, and they put on such a fun show. No photo pit at this venue, so I got knocked around quite a bit by the sold out crowd:

Chino Moreno of Crosses (and Deftones). Photo by Clay Lancaster. 

Crosses at the Independent in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Much of early spring was spent on personal projects, taxes, and a trip to Las Vegas before all the weddings were scheduled to kick in. Now it's all started, and George and I are super excited to see all the wonderful faces that have us scheduled for 2014!

-Clay

I'll leave you with some of my favorite shots so far:

San Francisco Zoo Wedding

Indoor ceremony at Murietta's Well. Livermore, CA.

Happy New Year! A Great 2013.

Very thankful for the year we've had here at Lancaster Photography. We met a lot of fantastic people, were welcomed into a lot of family circles, spent time in many photo pits, and traveled around the US and the world... all because of the lens and being decent at using it.

Personal thanks to all my clients from this year for choosing my work (which even included Sony Music Entertainment and Ben Folds), huge thanks to my 2nd shooters and assistants, and to the staff at theFIVE10 Radio. 

A very Happy New Year to all of you!

-Clay

www.claylancaster.com

www.lancasterphoto.net

Paris: Finally Finished (fingers crossed)

Eiffel Tower from the Trocadéro. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Hello hello.

We've had a fairly busy last 10 days, and after this evening I should comfortably be able to say that the Paris portion of the film is in the can (which is like 90% of it).

The ending was re-written and a B-story was added. Our first few days were spent re-shooting the ending with our lead actress, as she had another project to get to. I flew from San Francisco to New Jersey, then New Jersey to Paris... hopped on the RER train into Gentilly, met up with everyone here at the studio, had about 30 minutes to get settled, then we started rolling.

The remainder of the week we worked with our lead actor/writer (as well as a new actress) on the new side story. It was challenging.

A big problem with not having much of a budget is that we have to shoot where we can shoot. That means spending hours on crowded riverbanks - take after take - trying to avoid loud boats, loud people, rain, onlookers, lighting issues, potential security issues, etc.

One of our scenes took about 8 hours to wrap. The scene is only about 5 minutes long.

This scene is about 4 seconds long. Yet we needed 5 takes. I labeled the slate accordingly.

The majority of our people are now gone, leaving Keith and me here in this art studio on our own. We spent the last day and a half doing some much-needed sleeping in, some pub-drinking, some bicycle riding through the city, some wine drinking, some photography, and some Formula 1 race-watching. After our mini pizzas come out of the oven, we're gonna jump on the Metro with the RED camera and go film some establishing b-roll. Then tonight we pack up, and jet back to San Francisco tomorrow morning.

Band photo.

It's been a blast. At the start of 2013, I surely didn't see myself going to Paris this year... and definitely didn't see myself going twice. Now it has become a running joke that we'll all just be right back here in a another few months to film something else.

To my clients who have been patiently waiting on their wedding photos, thank you! I'll have them to you soon.

Enjoy some of these photos, and I'll see you guys back in the States in a couple of days.

-Clay

Out and about during Nuit Blanche. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Night Filming.

Keith and Kevin discuss... something.

This time Kevin brought a remote-controlled quad-copter for arial shots. We crashed it a lot.

...like this:

Sunrise shot.

My roommate. He watched me while I sleep across the room. Good guy.

Awkward filming moment. Barbara, Kevin, and... me (technically) in the back.

Weddings, Promos, Bands - Let's Catch Up.

Hi. How are you? 

'Tis wedding season, which means I've been busier than normal (i.e. now I work 3 days a month!). 

Let's see... I guess I'll start with some wedding shoots and personal-ish news: If I've done photos for your wedding, you've probably met George. He's been my "consistent assistant" for most of them. That is, until a pallet took a wrong turn coming off the loading dock at his day job and crushed his foot, breaking 4 toes.

He's almost back to normal now, and the trooper has hobbled his way through weddings this month like a champ. That even includes an almost 10-hour wedding shoot a few weeks ago. In 95 degree heat. Wearing a plastic boot from the doctor that prevents him from bending his foot.

Suffice to say, my assistant is more badass than your assistant.

Here's the big guy in the ER right after it happened. I spent 3 hours with him, and drove him around to get lunch, medications, etc.

There have been a bunch of fantastic weddings lately. I'm honestly very lucky in the sense that I get to work with some great couples. Couples that will even lovingly call me an asshole during the wedding, because they get my sense of humor. Not to mention that 2012 is apparently the year of TIPS (hint hint). Here are a few of my favorite shots:

Thank you indeed. That's me with the signs.

Brides, if you're stressed out... take notes from Sarah here.

Photo by Clay Lancaster. www.lancasterphoto.net

Probably the happiest groomsmen I've come across.

Then I shaved. I've had a beard for months and months, so it's a little weird looking so young now:

I also did a promo shoot for the very talented Lisa Marie Johnston. It was highly entertaining to have the metal band Testament walk through this particular shot as I was working.

Lisa Marie Johnston. Oakland, CA.

Since we're on the topic of musicians... last week I joined JC of theFIVE10.com for an interview with the band Carolina Liar, and shot their set (currently touring with Kelly Clarkson).

Carolina Liar. Concord Pavilion. Touring with Kelly Clarkson.

Also, I was (I think for the first time ever) a model. My very dear friend Chelsea wanted to have me sit for her for a project she's working on. She runs Glam Rock Magazine, which I highly suggest you go take a look at.

My brother Keith is currently in Paris studying fashion photography, and someone took a great photo of him. So we did this one to compete (brothers... we always compete).

Clay Lancaster (left) taken by Chelsea, and Keith Lancaster (right).

Oh, and I helped one of my besties Jen (of Calibree Photography) on her shoot with the band Smash Mouth in San Jose, CA. I didn't shoot, but I helped with lighting, and I drank on their tour bus. So I did my part...

Clay Lancaster with Smash Mouth shooting a music video in the background

And on a personal note: you may have seen my posts about our house burning down last November. This photo is courtesy of my step brother (who I'm very close to), which shows the empty lot after it's been bulldozed. Flowers are already starting to grow. It's kind of peaceful, actually.

Where our house used to be. Reno, NV. Pioneer Dr.

That should cover most of it for now. I hope everyone is well. If you've already booked me, get ready for some fun stuff! If you haven't yet... what's the matter with you? :)

-Clay

Mare Island Wedding - Andrew & Emily

I'm just going to pretend that you asked about it...

In the days of Yore (before I was a photographer for a living), I used to be a manager for a very large and well-known retail chain.

The company had created a new position, and I was assigned to get it off the ground... and I needed a team to help me do it. So thrown into the mix was this guy Andrew, whom with I had semi been acquainted as he already worked in a different area of our store. We quickly hit it off with similar interests (went to the same University even), and Andrew quickly became one of my best friends as well as one of my best employees. When I got more serious about photography Andrew's band was one of the local groups that would help me hone my craft, and he was always supportive of me hopefully taking photos for a living.

Andrew & me in a previous life.

As Andrew was still working on finishing his Bachelor's degree, he needed to take a leave of absence from my team at work when classes started up again. In his place, I took this girl named Emily that Andrew had recently begun dating.

Over the years, Andrew and Emily continued to date (eventually moving in together, and after that moved to Las Vegas). I eventually left my job to do photography full-time, and we've maintained contact ever since. I even went to Las Vegas and spent some time with them there.

Last Saturday (May 12th) Andrew and Emily got married at Mare Island in Vallejo, CA. They are also expecting a baby boy. Not only did I have the privilege of being one of Andrew's groomsmen, but I was also the photographer.

Yes, it can be done.

Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Smith. Congratulations on the new family. And congratulations on being the only Indian guy I know named Smith.

Here are some photos.

lacing shoes is hard for Andrew

Groomsmen. That's me, 2nd from left.

...and here I am sitting on a rocket. Yes, that's a rocket.

Andrew & Clay, present day

baby Silus is in there somewhere!

being supportive

Lancaster Media Promo

Well, with the multi-media direction I've been taking lately (as opposed to just still photos), it only seemed fitting to finally revamp the image of Lancaster Media.

In case you weren't aware, my brother and I formed Lancaster Media in 2007 with the idea of being sort of a tag team. In the years following, I focused mostly on wedding and promotional work while he (Keith) began his career as a cinematographer/editor in Los Angeles.

Fast forward a few years, and all of a sudden our interests and fields are starting to overlap again: I've been doing more and more video work, and Keith is headed to Paris this summer to learn some still photography).

Don't worry, I'm still very much for hire if you're getting married! In fact, my schedule is busier than it has ever been.

But to commemorate the resurgence of the Lancaster Media name, here is our new intro/promo:

Enjoy!

Clay & Keith Lancaster

Weddings, Foxy Shazam, and Rock N Roll

Hi folks,

It's been a little bit since my last post. What I thought was going to be a low-key first quarter of 2012 has quickly become a busy few months.

Weddings


A few weddings have come and gone, which spanned everything from fancy hotels to city hall, to a rainy spot on the California coast. Here are a few of my favorites:

Kids are funny at Weddings. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Stinson Beach, CA Wedding. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Stinson Beach, CA Wedding. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Foxy Shazam

I got to chat with Foxy in San Francisco for theFIVE10.com before their show at the Fillmore in support of The Darkness. Was a super interesting interview, enhanced by some crazy guy interrupting us in the park and calling me a liar for saying I was Armenian. Which I never claimed to be. Yeah.

Clay Lancaster and Foxy Shazam's Sky White

Rock n' Roll

I was also recruited to do some media work for a band called Dallas, which resulted in 10-12 hour days at Dallas Ranch here in the San Francisco bay area. Not all of that time was spent "working", but it's been a blast and hopefully there are some cool things coming down the pipeline.