In one of the craziest adventures I've had in a long time, I left the studio at 4:30a to head down through the snowstorm to meet up with Grey and her lovely French speaking ladies as they hunkered down to prepare for their day amidst the snowfall. What normally would have been a  20min drive took me over an hour and a half, but it was so worth it :] To listen to the beautiful language bounce off the walls of the little salon was the best thing to start my day with.

Eventually we made our way out to Gibbit Hill and met up with Shane who, much to his dismay, ended up rocking it out on the dance floor. All in all? Awesomesauce. Wonderful friends, delicious food, warm beverages and at the center of it all, an incandescent relationship. What more could you ask for? Without further ado, I humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Gray and Shane [click me]

seek the joy

eric

My second celebration of love and family in 2010 was centered around a wonderful couple that met on the rock wall. Angela and Brian spent the day together at the Publick House in Sturbridge, MA - charming, classic New England, wonderfully mysterious and intimate. Truly reflected the lovely couple.

Behavior defines character and environment shapes behavior so whenever anyone pays special attention to being in a space that is important to them and reflective of who they are, I always find it very important, through the imagery I capture, to place them in context of their environment, thusly strengthening and highlighting their behavior which, in turn, sheds a little light on who they/we are. Environment shapes behavior and behavior defines character. Strong composition and attention to space and expression gives us a wonderfully wide window into each other's lives through hope, dream, and release. So without further ado, I very humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Angela and Brian [click and clack]

seek the joy

eric

Many times when I travel for headshots I have some random nights free in some pretty random cities. That means random shoots on random nights in random places. Always fun playing around in front of a camera... and raiding the costume shop, or putting on something sexy, or putting on something crazy... no rules. no plans. no guidelines.

Getting a chance to play in front of a camera can be a very liberating experience. Especially when the photographer is playing with you. There's something about gaining a better awareness of your body and how it moves that is key for folks that utilize their bodies for storytelling - performers, dancers, actors... and play is the key to learning and betterment. play play play. something good always comes of it. or not. but hey, it's play :]

seek the joy

eric

The year has started off with a smash... shot a handful of weddings, a bunch of actors and performers, and convinced my puppy that peeing outdoors is definitely the way to go. So all's good in the :e:hood.

There's something kind of incredible about spending a serious amount of time noticing the small subtle moments in people's eyes. Whenever I teach classes on shooting headshots and marketing material one the biggest points that I try and drive home is that fact that it isn't portraiture, it's journalism. The moments that you're documenting are on a much smaller scale and all happen within the confines of the eyes, but it's journalism. Marketing yourself is all about who you are, not what you are. I am eric. That's who I am - a unique individual with a distinct prospective and experience. What I am? I'm a storyteller... for the time being ;] I'll contend any day that who someone is will forever be so much more alluring and attractive that what someone is. Thoughts for the day.

seek the joy

eric

it's here. BOOYEAH!! 2009 was a wonderful year of headshots and working with actors, writers, photographers, producers, marketing execs, musicians, models... all sorts of great folks. That means we get an extra exciting crate contest this year. Don't know the background of the crate shot? head over to my headshot site and read up on the history as well as see last year's finalists. Good times.

Because if the volume of shooting I did this year, I was faced with the arduous task of culling down from 182 crate shots to the finalists you see above. It was pretty fun to revisit all the headshot shoots from this past year - and the selection process was extremely difficult... but I finally present to you the finalists of the 2009 Crate Contest! So now it's up to YOU, reader, to vote for your favorite... keep in mind, the rule of the shot is that it must be 100% the creation of the subject. No photographer input allowed. All I do is stand there, maybe move someone left or right, and then push the button. I encourage you to vote on the creative merit of the idea, not necessarily the technical execution of the photograph. Winner gets a $50 Amazon.com gift certificate! Voting ends at midnight on New Year's Eve [when I will undoubtedly be asleep.] HINT :: if you click on the image above, you can just use the arrows on your keyboard to navigate through them]

Scranton, PA. Birthplace of our VP. The setting of that American TV show that, try as it might, just can't come close to living up to it's British predecessor. Home of Lackawanna Station which housed the lovely Jesse and Craig and their celebration of joining forces :]

I've known Craig since middle school - we were actually in Mrs. Buckley's 5th grade class together. One day, I invited him over to play and we were skateboarding in my driveway when he tried to pull a 'Back to the Future' and the skateboard popped up and cracked him in the nose - breaking it straight through. Awesome. I got to meet Jesse for the first time at a wedding last year and she is absolutely delightful. These two are peas in an incredibly well traveled pod... adventuring the world over!

Their celebration was beautiful and a fantastic way to close out 2009. Highlights included [but were not limited to] Jesse wearing a babushka, flips on the dance floor from Craig's gymnast friends, a stunning desert array prepared [I think, don't kill me if I'm wrong] in large part by Jesse's bonus mom, incredible singing by Jesse's grandfather, a hysterical speech by Craig's best man [his younger brother and rock climbing extraordinaire Dave], and seeing all my wonderful old Wakefield friends :] I now, most humbly present to you,

the most beautiful story of Jesse and Craig [click me]

seek the joy

eric

This wedding almost didn't happen... well... this wedding almost didn't happen for ME, I guess I should say. There were some crazy storms and swells the day I was supposed to get out to Martha's Vineyard and all the ferries were closed down and not running. So I started running through emergency situations. Let's see - I could commandeer a rowboat and row my way to glory, buy really big arm floaties and put in to practice those years and years of swimming skills, dust off the old scuba gear and buy some underwater housing, learn to fly a plane really quickly... well wouldn't you know that while I was hatching a brilliant plan the swells died down just enough for the last scheduled ferry that night [10 hours after I was slated to leave]  to take me to the island. Success! Though, to be honest, I was really looking forward to telling stories about how I had to club a Great White with my 70-200mm while blinding an octopus with my speedlight and showing up to the wedding dripping wet draped with seaweed. [sigh] alas. Just took the ferry over. Got crazy seasick if that counts for anything, though.

Amy and Kevin are some super cool cats - they live out in Cali but met out here and decided to wed on the Vineyard. Amy, in fact, pretty much made the whole wedding herself - did all the flowers, decorated the reception, created the invites... she's one talanted lady. She's also a fantabulous interior designer... you may want to check out her SITE. Fun times :] Kevin is a total rockstar - mellow and hilarious... it was so incredible to spend the weekend with these two. So now, without further ado, I humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Amy and Kevin [ca-lick]

seek the joy

eric

Stacey and Dave are both from my hometown. It's pretty great to reconnect with folks after many many years and see what has become of their incredible lives. Wouldn't trade it for the world! Some fun facts - Stacey took me to her Jr. Prom. Dave and I played soccer together. Stacey is on her way to becoming an ASL interpreter and Dave is one of the big sports writers for the Concord Monitor.

There day began in Stacey's home and they made their way to St. Vasilios for their orthodox ceremony. After the crown thingy and the ring thingy and the chanting, singning, and walking around the altar, [all of which was quite awesome, I might add - this was my first Greek orthodox ceremony... excited for more :] we hopped on the party bus and made our way to Wentworth by the Sea for a wicked good party. Wonder ensued. So did the singing of Don't Stop Believin'. I now, very humbly, present to you...

the most beautiful story of Stacey and Dave [press me]

seek the joy

eric

Laura and Ray are quite the pair. The urban legend has it that in order to win the heart of this Egyptian princess, Ray had to complete a Queste set forth by the ancients that led him all over the globe... but that is legend. The truth is that he showed up in her dorm room to fix her computer when it was giving her issues. "Fix her computer." "Issues." :] Anyways, they are completely awesome and it was such a special treat to be there with them on their day. Wouldn't you know, Laura's maid of honor was Vicki... remember her from earlier this summer?

After spending the morning at Mom and Dad's house in Chevy Chase, we headed over to the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church for their ceremony. I actually wasn't allowed to shoot the ceremony [though just because I wasn't supposed to doesn't mean I didn't discretely snap a few frames...] in part because of the historical significance of the place. You can still see Abraham Lincoln's pew and hymnal in there - very cool... After the ceremony, everyone walked across the street to the National Museum of Women in the Arts - where the kilts and gowns were intermingling on the dance floor... funny, this is the first wedding I never heard any of the groomsmen mention anything about their pants being too hot. Sit back, relax, brush up on America's history and click the link below as I very humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Laura and Ray [click me]

seek the joy

eric

We all spent the day in the shadow of Mt. Monadnock enjoying the brisk fall air. Plus, on top of all the awesomeness that happened that day, there was a kickin bonfire to seal the deal. very awesome. So sit back, grab some mulled cider, snuggle under a lil down blanket with someone you love, and get cozy... as I very humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Kate and Zach

seek the joy

eric

Grey and Shane have an upcoming celebration in January and we decided we'd hang out a little bit in Charlestown [right in the middle of the day, mind you, so we had no fancy sunrise or sunset to fall back on] before the big day rolls around. They are wonderful people both with an incredible curiosity about them. Oh, where their fantastic adventures will take them...

seek the joy

eric

It is such a joy, spending time with Anna and Matt. They were married out on Peaks Island - right off the coast of Portland, ME. Though the rain came down something fierce during the ferry ride, their spirits weren't dampened in the least. Island life is so fascinating to me. 

One of my favorite things about these two is how humble and honest they are - such an inspiration! I picked up on it when we had our first consultation here at the loft and I knew, no matter what, their imagery had to be just as beautifully truthful as they are. It had to reflect that in every way... and I think it maintains a very crisp and clean honesty to it... just like them :] A little while after their wedding, I flew down to DC to spend some time with them out there for their Together Session and I got the personal tour of the route that they traveled the day that Matt proposed. It was quite a wonderful lil trek - ending right by the White House. So for now, I humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Anna and Matt

seek the joy

eric

Skirting right around the crazy great white sharks, the Obamas vacationing on the Vineyard, and the impending rain Jen and Jason were able to pull off a wonderful day of celebration at the Chatham Bars Inn. The weather held off for the ceremony and cocktail hour... which was just perfect.

I was able to go down a day before their celebration and we hung out on the beach and had their Together Session. Beautiful day with a beautiful couple. I love how a simple walk on the beach with someone you love can be, in itself, a work of art. Also, I ate some bad seaweed that night was hallucinating. So there was that, too. Turn up those speakers as I humbly present to you...

the most  beautiful story of Jen and Jason

seek the joy

eric

Nikki. Michael. Awesomesauce. I love these two.

They were planning on doing the whole getting married thing on the top of this beautiful hill overlooking Bradley Lake at the remarkable Bluewater Farm but Mother Nature had a little something to say to say and in a ridiculously last minute miracle, Leslie and the rest of her miraculous team from The Wedding Belle transformed the lodge into something seriously fantastic. I was seriously impressed.

The day went off without even a hiccup - they have such a wonderful group of friends and family - some folks who can do some seriously boogieing as well as a grandmother who likes to get a little frisky with the photog on the dance floor. Who knew?! Fun times :] I now humbly present to you...

the most beautiful story of Nikki and Michael

seek the joy

eric

I think Kathy and Matt might have won the badass of the year award for their willingness... nay... EXCITEMENT at getting up while it was still dark to share their Together Session with the beautiful D.C sunrise. I have known Matt for many years - dating back to when we were little littles. I am hoping there are no audio [and video] recordings of the songs we used to write and parody. My pursuit of public office would be officially terminated.

So I was up just 4 short hours after my wedding the night before prepping and getting ready. Walking through the streets and monuments of D.C. when it is completely silent and still is just incredible. I stopped and chatted to a few park rangers about monument maintenance [cause I was curious] and even got to see and hang out with Ron who was treating the reflecting pool. Très cool. [there's a cool little image of him at work on my facebook page HERE.

Anyhoo... It was such a treat to spend some time with them both - we even got to bum around GW for a little bit [where they met]. Fun times. Can't wait to spend some more time with them at their celebration next September.

seek the joy

eric