Meghan, Matt and the Ainsley House Wedding

This particular wedding was a special one for me, as I had the honor of shooting the wedding of my beautiful friends Matt Fazzi and Meghan Criswell in San Jose and Campbell, CA.

It wasn't too long ago that I was introduced to Matt at Shoreline Amphitheatre after his set with his then-band Taking Back Sunday (on the Blink 182 & Weezer tour). He was on crutches from his recent leg injury, yet he still hobbled up to our seats with my buddy Isaac to meet us and say hi.

After pumping my work on the TBS Myspace page, he and Isaac commissioned me to do promo work for their side project (at the time), Happy Body Slow Brain.

Fast-forward a couple of years and we had all invested hours of our time and energy getting HBSB off the ground. I've since done multiple rounds of promo photos for them, as well as a "making the record" documentary for Happy Body Slow Brain's debut "Dreams of Water", and a series of live in-studio performance videos. I am very proud to be a part of the the HBSB family.

However, I was even more proud to be a part of Matt & Meghan's family when they asked me to photograph their wedding. Not only do I love them to death, but many of our wonderful and talented friends were also in attendance.

The ceremony had a sort of vintage circus theme to it, with a reception at the historic Ainsley House in Campbell, CA. This was the first time I ever saw the groom be his own wedding band, as Matt performed with "The Zack Attack" (a cover band he formed with a bunch of old friends). The next day, the party continued at the Blank Club in San Jose as Happy Body Slow Brain performed with Lex Land and Gavin Castleton for a crowd of friends, family, and fans. The whole weekend was a blast.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the day. Congrats to the newlyweds! You both looked outstanding, and I can't think of a more pleasant couple to be involved with.

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

photo by Clay Lancaster

Jason Holthouser, Ian Fazzi, Matt Fazzi and Isaac Bolivar perform as "The Zack Attack"

Eric Clapton - San Jose, CA

Braving all the "rain" that my iPhone claimed was supposed to occur last night, I hopped in the car and trekked to the San Jose Arena (also known as HP Pavilion, also known as The Shark Tank) to shoot the legendary Eric Clapton.

This was an interesting shoot for a few reasons.

1. It's Eric Clapton.
2. It was one of the biggest venues I had taken photos at.
3. I had to shoot behind the soundboard.
4. The soundboard was the farthest away I've ever attempted to shoot from.
5. I left my killer 5D mkII camera at home, in favor of a little Rebel XTi so I could use the crop sensor to my advantage (with a 70-200L lens).
6. I had to wait in a conference room with the other photographers shooting that night in between Los Lobos and Clapton.
7. It's Eric Clapton.

Despite the hassles and not having the option to borrow a barrel of a lens, I got some killer shots.

Eric Clapton and his band. March 2nd, 2011. 03-02-2011.

Weezer - Memories Tour (San Francisco, CA)

My birthday was Sunday (yay), the 28th. So as a present to myself, I bought tickets to see Weezer on the 29th and 30th at the Nob Hill Masonic Center in San Francisco. I already had photo passes for both nights, but I wanted to stay and enjoy the whole thing (rather than the 3 songs that press is allowed).

Monday night was show #1, The Blue Album. This was my first attempt at shooting from the back of a room (normally I'm up front in the pit), so it's also my first attempt with a 200mm lens. The benefit from being in the back, however, was the nice little high-five that Rivers slapped me as he ran toward us and up to the balcony.

Here's a few photos from night #1 (The Blue Album):

Night #2 was the Pinkerton night. The energy was crazy again, and although Rivers didn't run around quite as much, he sure gave us something to shoot. Rather than a high-five this time, he ran straight up to my lens and sang into it for a bit. Unfortunately I couldn't use a flash.

Photos from night #2 (Pinkerton):