I am currently on a 2-week adventure in Europe. Why? Just cuz. Started in London, then to Lisbon (where my new iPhone 4 was stolen by gypsies), currently in Madrid, then on to Paris, London again for a day, then home.
With all the photos I take during a wedding, you can imagine how I'm blazing through memory cards over here.
I'll post photos eventually, but I gotta say some highlights have been:
-seeing a musical in London's West End
-drinking in a bar made of ice (glasses too)
-hard cider from the tap at a pub
-a 12th century castle overlooking Lisbon & the ocean
-a smokey, crowded bar listening to traditional Fado singing
-a smokey, crowded club listening to live jazz until 2am
... And there's still more to come
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
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.
This was an interesting shoot for a few reasons.
- It's Eric Clapton.
- It was one of the biggest venues I had taken photos at.
- I had to shoot behind the soundboard.
- The soundboard was the farthest away I've ever attempted to shoot from.
- 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).
- I had to wait in a conference room with the other photographers shooting that night in between Los Lobos and Clapton.
- 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.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Mark & Michelle - Auburn, CA Wedding
No, not the candy. Although that might be interesting.
I'm referring to the lovely Northern California couple Mark & Michelle, who recently wed in the quaint town of Auburn, CA. It was a somewhat traditional ceremony in an ornate church that was constructed in 1858, followed by a not-so-traditional reception in a small restaurant which goes by the name Monkey Cat (not kidding). The owner closed the restaurant down for the afternoon so the bride and groom could sip on drinks and mingle with their guests in a room that seemed almost entirely made of dark wood.
This was the first time I had photographed a wedding without meeting the couple in person before the big day. With about a 2 hour drive between us, it seemed easier for both parties to rely on email and phone calls... but I'd never have guessed it, as within minutes it felt like we had already met numerous times.
I'm referring to the lovely Northern California couple Mark & Michelle, who recently wed in the quaint town of Auburn, CA. It was a somewhat traditional ceremony in an ornate church that was constructed in 1858, followed by a not-so-traditional reception in a small restaurant which goes by the name Monkey Cat (not kidding). The owner closed the restaurant down for the afternoon so the bride and groom could sip on drinks and mingle with their guests in a room that seemed almost entirely made of dark wood.
This was the first time I had photographed a wedding without meeting the couple in person before the big day. With about a 2 hour drive between us, it seemed easier for both parties to rely on email and phone calls... but I'd never have guessed it, as within minutes it felt like we had already met numerous times.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course Wedding - Seaside,CA
"It happened in Monterey..."
Ok, I know Sinatra was singing about a different Monterey, but for the sake of this post we'll pretend it was Monterey, CA.
January 2nd I shook off my New Years' party and headed two hours down the coast to take part in Jordan & Serena's wedding at the Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA.
Most brides stress and fuss about the planning of a wedding... well how about the wedding, plus a week in Hawaii, then moving across the country 2 days later? Jordan serves our country in the US Air Force, and has been transferred far from Serena's home in Monterey. That's quite a schedule, and it amazed me how calm and upbeat they were the whole time. Not to mention the bride had to do all of the planning while the groom was away with the military.
A break in the rainy weather proved useful that day, and here's what we ended up with!
Ok, I know Sinatra was singing about a different Monterey, but for the sake of this post we'll pretend it was Monterey, CA.
January 2nd I shook off my New Years' party and headed two hours down the coast to take part in Jordan & Serena's wedding at the Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA.
Most brides stress and fuss about the planning of a wedding... well how about the wedding, plus a week in Hawaii, then moving across the country 2 days later? Jordan serves our country in the US Air Force, and has been transferred far from Serena's home in Monterey. That's quite a schedule, and it amazed me how calm and upbeat they were the whole time. Not to mention the bride had to do all of the planning while the groom was away with the military.
A break in the rainy weather proved useful that day, and here's what we ended up with!
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| Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA |
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| Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA |
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| Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA |
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| Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA |
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| Bayonet Blackhorse Golf Course in Seaside, CA |
My personal amusement was attributed to:
a) being one of THREE Claytons in attendance, and
b) the guest list:
"Booyakasha!"
Friday, December 10, 2010
The Gracious Few - San Francisco, CA
Remember the 90's alternative bands Live or Candlebox? I certainly do. In fact, the band Live was my absolute favorite for almost a decade. And yes, they were very much still around until officially dis-banding in late 2009 (their last record was 2006). Candlebox, on the other hand, reformed after a few years off and had their most recent record in 2008.
Why am I telling you all this? Because three of the four members of Live formed a new band, and enlisted Kevin Martin (the singer of Candlebox) to front the new group. He also brought with him Sean Hennesy, who has been with Candlebox since 2006. The new collaboration was later dubbed The Gracious Few.
Their debut record hit in Fall of 2010, and was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads (who had also produced for Live in the past).
Tuesday night the band made it to San Francisco on its last leg of the tour, and performed at The Independent with Jerry Harrison as a special guest on a few songs. Not only was I asked to shoot that night, but we also landed a pre-show interview for theFIVE10.com. Needless to say, this was one of the most important projects I've worked on (for me personally) and they certainly did not disappoint.
Here's a couple of shots from the interview backstage:
Why am I telling you all this? Because three of the four members of Live formed a new band, and enlisted Kevin Martin (the singer of Candlebox) to front the new group. He also brought with him Sean Hennesy, who has been with Candlebox since 2006. The new collaboration was later dubbed The Gracious Few.
Their debut record hit in Fall of 2010, and was produced by Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads (who had also produced for Live in the past).
Tuesday night the band made it to San Francisco on its last leg of the tour, and performed at The Independent with Jerry Harrison as a special guest on a few songs. Not only was I asked to shoot that night, but we also landed a pre-show interview for theFIVE10.com. Needless to say, this was one of the most important projects I've worked on (for me personally) and they certainly did not disappoint.
Here's a couple of shots from the interview backstage:
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| Kevin Martin and Pat Dahlheimer |
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| Sean Hennesy |
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| Chad Gracey and Kevin Martin |
Catch the interview soon on theFIVE10.com. It's quite entertaining, and oddly informative.
The show was just straight energetic rock and roll. The band was exceptional (to be expected I suppose... they're all seasoned players) and Kevin's vocals were spot-on, despite his being "under the weather".
One of the highlights of the evening was a guest appearance by legendary musician and producer Jerry Harrison (of Talking Heads and Modern Lovers fame). Jerry jumped on stage with The Gracious Few to jam along for two Modern Lovers tracks.
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| Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads performs with The Gracious Few. |
The Gracious Few is comprised of: Kevin Martin, Chad Taylor, Chad Gracey, Sean Hennesy, and Patrick Dahlheimer.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Margaret Cho - San Francisco
Margaret Cho recently graced us with an interview on theFIVE10.com, and gave us tickets, meet & greet passes, and a photos pass for her show at the Nob Hill Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. So I hopped in the car with our host JC and headed into SF. Needless to say, the show was hilarious. I think we were two of the only straight guys in the audience.
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| Clay & Margaret Cho |
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
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):
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):
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