A couple of weeks ago I had the joy of shooting Stephan Jenkins... yes, he is one of People's 50 most beautiful people... and a nice guy to boot. We shot at the Clift Hotel in San Fran which, if you haven't been there, is totally worth a trek. The shoot was for the premiere cover of Surf and Sound Magazine as well as for a spread on the band's new independent album, Ursa Major,  which is being released next week. Head over to the 3eb site or check out the first single, Don't Believe a Word. Good stuff.

A few days ago I had a shoot up in Maine for a fantastic musician by the name of Matt Cusson. Haven't heard of him yet? Just wait. Currently he's the keys player for Brian McKnight - and the dude can seriously play the ivory - but he's getting pretty big in his own right thanks, no doubt, to his ridiculous voice. Go have a listen at his myspace page and judge for yourself.

This was one of those shoots that I spent some serious time planning, going over lighting diagrams, running over setups again and again... then I get to the shoot and throw it all out the window and do something else. True story. I had this great space to shoot in, went in, set up about a bajillion lights, tested and tested. He walked into the space and I shut everything off and lit it with a bare light bulb. Yup. Just felt right. Guess just goes to show that you can do all the planning and scheming that you want but when you actually get to the shoot, you have to go with what feels right. And in this case it was a light bulb attached to some hideous lamp from the 70's.

much.love goes out to Christina Elfar for styling and for Shyla for coming and helping me out and putting up with my crazy ideas even when they might not have made any sense.

seek the joy of music

eric