Ok! I'll bring the blog back!

Howdy all!

I stepped away from updating the blog this past year because I figured potential (and current) clients could see what we've been up to by browsing the Facebook feed, which we keep up to date. I guess people liked the blog as well, so here I am! It's easy to forget that being a wedding and event photographer doesn't just mean snapping photos. It's important that you guys get a chance to know me and my work on a more personal level.

So, if you're even entertaining the idea of booking a session (whether it be an engagement shoot, wedding, family, promotional, event, whatever) then please get a hold of me! Let's chat, have a drink, have some coffee, go bowling, etc.

2015 was a super fun year for us. I was able to work with some incredible couples at some really fun events, got to take photos of some legendary musicians, and had the pleasure of working with some new second shooters.

We hope you all had a blast this year as well, and we're excited to see everyone in the coming year! In the meantime, have a very happy holiday season and browse through some of my favorite moments of 2015 below.

Geyserville Inn Wedding

Engagement shoot in Aptos, CA

Van Halen in Concord, CA

Some of the best bridal procession reactions ever. Diablo Ranch. Walnut Creek, CA

First Look in Geyserville, CA. Anthony swears he wasn't crying...

Billy Idol in Reno, NV. The Grand Sierra.

First dance at the Purple Orchid in Livermore, CA

Pre-ceremony meeting between bride and flower girl. Cupertino, CA.

Evening bride and groom at the UC Berkeley Botanical Gardens

Paul Meany of Mutemath risking bodily injury for our entertainment. Brick & Mortar, San Francisco.

Even a photo of me! Photographer photographing a photographer. Photo: Galen Ducey

Friends celebrating at The Ridge in Lake Tahoe, CA.

Stephen Tyler with Aerosmith ay Harvey's, Lake Tahoe.

How do people sleep at night, knowing that they cut into such a pristine wedding cake?

Slash. A personal guitar hero of mine. The Fillmore, San Francisco.

Sunset wedding stroll. Palmdale Estates in Fremont, CA.

Noel Gallagher of Oasis, serenading us at The Warfield in San Francisco.

Megadeth - The Warfield, San Francisco. December 18th, 2013.

Dave Mustaine performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Last night was my 3rd time shooting Megadeth for theFIVE10.com. I learned to play guitar by strumming & picking along with their 1992 record Countdown to Extinction, so it's always a big deal for me to bring my camera to these shows.

Enjoy! All photos by Clay Lancaster (Lancaster Photography). Click an image to enlarge.

www.claylancaster.com

Megadeth set list for the Warfield in San Francisco

Dave Ellefson performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Chris Broderick performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Chris Broderick performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Chris Broderick performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Ellefson performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Ellefson and Dave Mustaine perform with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Mustaine performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Ellefson performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Mustaine performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Ellefson performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Ellefson performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Dave Mustaine performs with Megadeth at the Warfield in San Francisco. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Back Home and Not Slowing Down

Hey hey.

This post is gonna have a lot of photos. So bear with it. Although, I am a photographer... so maybe you should expect it.

After 3 weeks in Paris, we were able to wrap all the filming we set out to wrap. Long days, lots of wine, but a ton of fun. Very glad I decided to join the project.

Me (left) with my brother (center) filming Kevin for a quick scene on a bridge in Paris

screen shot from the film

We even had a few days left to take a toy remote-controlled boat around the city and drive it in some famous waterways (at the Louvre, at Luxembourg, in front of the Eiffel Tower, etc).

Kevin drives our speedboat at the Louvre

After saying our goodbyes to all the wonderful people involved, Kevin went back to Los Angeles, my brother Keith left for London, and I caught a plane to Istanbul.

It was my first time in another country by myself, and was quite an adventure. If you've been keeping up on all the news lately, Istanbul is the center of an uprising that is involving a lot of police brutality. It all started a couple of blocks from where I was staying 3 weeks ago, so it's weird to see all these places I recognize on the news.

New Mosque in Istanbul. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Among the people I met over there, I got to know this rap artist from Tunisia. He liked that I did camera work, so we did a small photo shoot on the Bosphorous waterfront one evening:

After sharing a bunch of beers on a rooftop night after night, looking at the river, he and an employee of the hostel (where I was staying) came up with a music video concept and asked if I'd film it. I figured "why not?" and it was certainly an interesting day.

After a good 17+ hour travel day, I finally arrived back in San Francisco after being gone for almost a month. My new condo was still packed away in boxes, so I immediately set to work getting my new home set up. I still need some sort of blinds for the sliding glass door, but the rest is pretty much good to go!

My first endeavor back in the States was shooting the Napa Bottle Rock Music Festival. We interviewed a lot of cool people on theFIVE10.com, including Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam, comedian Jim Breuer, and some of the cast of the Daily Show.

Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction at Bottle Rock. Photo by Clay Lancaster

Then I jumped straight into wedding season, and have had some wonderful couples so far. I have a LOT of editing to finish:

Finally, yesterday was the international release day for Ben Folds Five: Live, which showcases a photo of mine on the front cover. I'm thrilled to be a part of it, as BF5 has been one of my favorite bands for about 15 years. I see my photo popping up all over the internet... iTunes, Amazon, Target.com, blogs, magazines, etc. It's crazy.

Ben Folds Five Live on Target.com. Cover photo by Clay Lancaster

Ben Folds retweeted a photo from Japan that shows a big in-store display:

Ben Folds Five Live store display in Japan. Cover photo by Clay Lancaster

...to which he said to me (via twitter):

Super cool!

We're almost half way into 2013 and this year has been nuts for me, but really exciting. New home, new travels, new people, new accomplishments, new projects, new clients... and this is also shaping up to be the best year for my business since I started it.

Thanks to everyone who's been so supportive, and thanks to everyone who's found my work good enough to throw your hard-earned cash at it :). It means a lot.

Makin' Progress!

First off (it was finally announced, so I can talk about it now) one of my favorite bands of all time, Ben Folds Five, is releasing Ben Folds Five Live... their first-ever live album on June 4th. The coolest part (for me) is that they got a hold of me to license one of my photos from their tour this past January, so now my work is featured on the album cover:

Ben Folds Five Live. Photo by Clay Lancaster.

Secondly, filming has been extremely successful so far. Some long days in there... lots and lots of walking & train-hopping around Paris, lugging video & audio equipment everywhere we go, shooting in the rain, etc. But last night we managed to wrap all scenes that involve our lead actress, Ms. Barbara Probst (good luck trying to read her wiki if you don't speak French). We've lovingly renamed her to "Blahblah".

After filming all day yesterday, we celebrated with a large dinner for cast/crew/friends and a lot of wine. Like, a lot. Some of us are hurtin' a little this morning.

Enjoy some candids from filming so far!

Kevin discussing a character with one of our actors

Filming on the Metro with Barbara Probst and Kevin Clark

Heated discussion in the studio with Barbara Probst and Kevin Clark

Yours truly monitoring some dialogue audio

I look thrilled to be a part of this scene.

Left to Right: Keith (cameras), Barbara (lead actress),  me (sound), and Nadia (script supervisor)

Notre Dame evening.

Clay Lancaster, Kevin Clark, and Barbara Probst

Lancaster brothers on the train after a day of shooting