I dreamed a journey. And when I dreamed that dream I never could have imagined the impact that it would have not only on those who gazed upon it but the one who dreamed it. The truth is I don’t feel like a photographer. I am just a man who stumbled upon the Goodness. More like fell into it face first. I have no desire to become rich or famous. No, that would change me and undermine all that I have endured in order to become me. But sometimes, just sometimes, I feel as though I am chasing the unattainable. This one thing that I can taste on my tounge, bitter and sweet, and it is in my pursuit of this one thing that I cast aside my fear of failure with reckless abandon in hopes finding it, and maybe even finding myself along the way.

Introducing Hammers and Strings: The Collection. My dream, my journey come to fruition. Beginning October 13, I will set out on the experience of a lifetime with my beloved piano in tow seeking to change something about myself and the way that I look upon the world I am so grateful to reside in. And I would like to invite you to join me. Nine couples in nine of the absolutely most breathtaking landscapes known to man. From White Sands to Yellowstone, the Goodness will abound in all who take part. I promise this. Obviously spots are extremely limited as only one couple per location will be allowed to reserve their date and locations.

Please help me get the word out about this once in a lifetime opportunity by tweeting and facebooking the hell out of it. To download a PDF version of the brochure just click HERE.

The original Hammers and Strings session can be enjoyed HERE.

In order to inquire about available locations please use the contact form found on my main website. All other questions should be directed to Clayton@claytonaustinlovestories.com

I saw it in the corner of my eye. In the horizon, about a quarter of a mile down the shore, far from the throngs of people gathered for a lazy afternoon on the beach. I won’t lie. It looked a little sketchy. Sharp, jagged rocks jutted from the cliff face and the little voice in my head questioned just how much am I allowed to ask of my clients. I mean, is there a line that shouldn’t be crossed? Then the answer came to me in an unexpected way. As I turned to grab my gear bag I noticed another couple not too far from us posing for a photographer. An obvious engagement session. He was sitting in the sand in the ”elbows to knees” textbook pose. She was methodicaly propped against him with his arms wrapped around her shoulders. The photographer was shooting about twenty feet away with a 70-200 lens and somewhere over the crashing waves and screaming seagulls I thought I heard him yell “Now just look at me and give me a really big smile!”  And though they looked happy I realized that their images, however pleased they may be with them, will be one of a thousand engagement sessions on this very same stretch of salty sand. Forever lost in a sea of forgetfulness. Now I realize that I may very well catch slack for my blunt honesty here. But I am an honest man. It seems that there is an unwritten rule in the photography/wedding community that its simply taboo to look upon another’s work with a critical eye. But being an honest man I can say that I truly believe it is only in our ability to compare and contrast that pushes us beyond the safety of ourselves. That asks us to simply be better than our peers.
I looked back towards the rocky coastline in the distance and turned to Maria and Jimmy. “Follow me” I said and took my first step to the unknown. The couple watched us pass with a hint of “Where the hell are they going?” in their eye while the photographer looked more disdainful at the fact that I had the nerve to show up to an engagement session of my own in an old pair of raggedy cargo shorts, torn up flip flops, and my favorite Texas Longhorns hoodie. 
“This is how I roll” I thought, as I lead Maria and Jimmy to the edge of the beach. 

You see, a few months back I received a quick note from a young photographer named Sarah.
“Dear Clayton. I just wanted to let you know how inspired I am by your work. I have never seen anything like it and even though I know you must be very busy I was hoping you could give me some tips on how you convince your clients to take so many risks in the photo sessions. Do you pick locations and do you have to get permission from your clients prior to the shoot? Any help would be awesome. Thanks!”

Permission? What a funny way of looking at things, I thought. The more I pondered the letter the more I realized that in a sense, we give each other permission to be our very best.

When we arrived I quickly realized that maneuvering through the steep and slippery crevices of the cliff face was going to be substantially more difficult than I had originally anticipated. Many of the rocks had been smoothed to a sharp edge and many more were completely covered in slippery green moss.  But just beyond the most sketchy stretch of the journey was a flat terrace where the waves threw themselves against the black rock sending a salty spray fifteen, sometimes twenty feet in the air. It. was. beautiful.  
I turned to Jimmy and Maria.
“I say yes. But I need to know how comfortable you are with this” I said.
The couple looked at each other, each one questioning the sanity of the other. A moment later Maria’s lip began to curl up into an evil grin of sorts. She looked into Jimmy’s eyes in a way that suggested “With you, I am not afraid.”
With a shrug of his shoulders Jimmy looked at me and said, “We’re with you man. Whatever you think.”
I laughed out loud. “Wrong answer buddy. Wrong answer.”

After triple checking that my camera was safely protected by two large towels, I threw my gear bag over my shoulder, tossed my flip flops off to the side, and grabbing an edge I pulled myself upward. Slowly but surely we made our way to the crevice I had seen earlier. The tide was coming in fast and the crashing waves were becoming more and more relentless. With only minutes remaining of golden, buttery daylight left we safely reached our destination and it was everything I had expected it to be and more. The Golden Gate Bridge towered overhead and flocks of white, feathery birds floated overhead watching curiously.
“We have to move fast” I said to Jimmy. “The tide is coming in.”
I asked them to lay down on the black shimmering surface. The cool San Francisco wind blew over us and Marie cuddled into Jimmy’s embrace to keep warm.
In the distance I could feel the synergy of the Pacific Ocean gather unto itself sucking every ounce of water from the shore.
At that moment I remember thinking three things. One. This is going to be one big wave. Two. Jimmy’s shoes look really expensive.

The wave gained momentum as it thundered straight toward us. I lifted my camera to my face with one hand and braced for impact with the other.

Just then the third thought entered my mind.

Three. Jimmy…Maria…you have my permission to be absolutely amazing…. 

Stephanie asks:

“Hi Clayton, I’m sorry to bother you as I am sure that you get tons of emails from newbies like myself asking for advice and such but I thought I would give it a try anyway. I really enjoyed your post last week about your post-processing techniques  and am really looking forward to more of those in the future. And like everyone else I am waiting patiently for you to begin selling your beautiful photoshop actions. But my question is more about gear as I am looking to invest in a good “go-to” lens and I was hoping for some suggestions. What is one lens that you just couldn’t live without?”
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Hi Stephanie!

 And yes I do get frequent emails and as much as I wish I could find the time to answer them all individually, I am hoping to knock off a few birds with one stone here.  I would say that you are definitely on the right track as your glass is the absolute most important investment one can make as a photographer. I would even go so far as to say that the glass is even more important than the camera body itself. I learned this the hard way but that is a whole other post. As far as the one lens I couldn’t live without goes, well, that’s a difficult question because my “go-to” lens is not necessarily my favorite lens. For instance the most important lens in my bag is my 50mm f/1.2. Because I like to use as much available light as possible I can always open that baby wide up if I need to. In fact, with a smaller bridal party (4 on each side) I could easily shoot an entire wedding with just this one lens if I needed to. Of course with its amazingly wide aperture comes a down side. As with Canon in general there is a real inconsistency with autofocus, even if I was absolutely sure I had locked on. If you are not planning to shoot wide open than the 50mm f/1.4 is a quarter of the price and is still a magnificent lens. But as I mentioned before, as much I depend on the 50mm, it is not my “favorite” lens by any means. That would be the Tilt-Shift f/2.8. In fact my TS is permanently attached to one of my bodies and seldom moves from there. Not only is it multi functional but with a little practice is tack sharp. The creative possibilities are truly endless. Unfortunately this too comes with a slight down side. All of Canon’s TS lenses are manual focus and manual focus at a wide aperture setting is easy to miss with the standard focusing screens on most of Canon’s current DSLRs. And thankfully the Canon TS-E 45mm f/2.8 Tilt-Shift Lens has minimal flare-resistance. Loves. it.
Typically the TS lens is used strictly for selective focus which is used to direct the viewer’s attention to a small part of the image while de-emphasizing other parts. This is known as Tilt and is the result of changing the lens’ plane of focus but that too is an entirely different post.  Occasionally you may also Shift the lens which is primarily used to photograph tall buildings while keeping the sides of the building parallel. For those who may not be able to afford this particular lens there are ways to imitate its effects in photoshop though once you begin using the real thing, the fake action has an odd way of making your left eye twitch. So please avoid faking the funk when at all possible! For a full list of my gear please check out my For Photographers section here on my blog. Any other suggestions for a favorite “go-to” lens??

This is my wish for you this Friday: Comfort on difficult days, smiles when sadness intrudes, laughter to kiss your lips, sunsets to warm your heart, hugs when your spirit sags, beauty for your eyes to see, friendships to brighten your being, faith so that you can believe, confidence for when you doubt, courage to know yourself, patience to accept the truth, and most importantly, somone to hold on to when the sun sets.

Morning Sex
by: Clayton Austin

As I lay on my side
propped up on one shoulder
I can just just make out the sounds
of St. Catherine Street eleven floors below.
Strong French accents fill the air
as people emerge from the metro
en route to the Second Cup
for their Caramel Macchiatos,
for their Cafe Lattes.
They are oblivious to the two lovers
wet and sticky
from twisted tongues and tangled feet
breathing hard lying on the floor
in the corner of their two star hotel room
shared by close friends pretending to be asleep.

I want to tell you something.
That my very life hangs on your lips.
But instead we disappear beneath the sheets
by light of morning in Montreal
and I imagine that I am saying the words
that we both long to hear.
And it feels good to feel you again…

“It smells like rain” I told myself as I stood there in the middle of a wide open expanse reminiscent of the Bonneville Salt Flats. The rain always takes me back to the days when I was just a young boy growing up in the dust bowl of New Mexico. The first April showers always kicked up dust from the parched, cracked ground and it always smelled like today. The cool wind nipped at my face and the mist gently fell all around us as a storm brewed on the horizon. And somewhere deep down, the Goodness gave my soul a hug.

“Just tell us what to do!” Anna yelled from across the distance.

I cupped my hands around my mouth. “Give me one sec!” I fired back. “I just need to finish up a few things and we’ll get started!”

Truth was I didn’t really need a minute. What I needed was a lifetime. To just be here. To take this all in. The churning clouds on the distance, the white salty ground, my beloved piano, but most importantly the journey and the patience that lead me up to this couple and this day that would produce what I would now consider one of my finest images.

__________________________________

This story actually begins about 6 months earlier.

The listing was on craigslist and it read “Vintage Piano to good home. Needs lots of TLC but may be salvageable with the right person. Must be gone by tomorrow or it will go to the dump. First $50 takes it.”

Piano? How on earth did my search for vintage shoes return a listing for an old beat up piano? Curious indeed. I was just about proceed to the next listing when a still small voice urged me to wait. To just wait. Throwing my feet onto my desk I leaned back in my chair and took the last swallow of a lukewarm Diet Coke. 

“Piano?” I pondered aloud tossing the empty can into the corner waste basket, missing by a long shot. Cerveza, my while lab, inquisitively cocked her head to one side as if the word “piano” was synonymous with “squirrel” or “ball.”

I read the listing again. “…needs lots of TLC….right person…to the dump…”

I closed my eyes, place my hands behind my head, and took a deep breathe as I gathered my thoughts. I began to imagine the piano in a busy intersection, on a beach, in a field of yellow Bitterweed, but never in a landfill. Two lovers sitting there, her head resting on his shoulder as he played her a melody. The soundtrack to their lives. Something in the key of A Minor, melancholy yet beutifully tender at the same time. Moments later I dialed the number provided in the ad and offered to pick up the piano that very evening if she would take twenty dollars cash. She accepted. When I arrived the piano was covered in boxes of old VHS tapes some of which were actually labeled “Walker, Texas Ranger.” Yeah, that was aweome. By dinner the piano was taking up what little real estate was still available in the corner of my garage.

Days turned into weeks and weeks into months. Clients came and went and still it sat. I never forgot about the plans I had for the piano but it had to be just right. It had to be a day such as this.

 __________________________________

I watched Tyler tinkle with a few of the keys. “Play something pretty.” I said, half joking, half hoping.

Tyler gazed down at his hands and methodically placed his fingers on the keys, mostly white with a few black, and pushed down.

The piano could definitely use a good tuning. No question there. But regardless, what came forth was something not only beautiful, but painfully honest. A feeling. An expression of his love for her manifested in strings and hammers.

Anna gazed over at him. “I didn’t know you played the piano.” She sounded surprised.

Tyler moved his hands until it felt right and once again pressed down.

“I don’t” He said. “Not until today…”

I imagine that being in a relationship is like learning to play the piano, or any instrument for that matter. There is no sheet music for life. You hit a couple of notes and sometimes you get lucky and they actually sound pretty good together. But more often than not, you immediately forget everything that you just did and in searching for the same sequence of notes you actually stumble upon a completely different melody that is even better than the original. Such was the case with Anna and Tyler. After having fallen in love and then being separated for three years, it was a weekend in New York that taught them that sometimes, just sometimes, the second verse is better than the first.

She wrapped her arms around his and rested her head gently on his shoulder. “Play it again” Anna whispered and closed her eyes. She smiled.

I lifted the viewfinder to my right eye and released the shutter and at that very moment I became the most accomplished photographer to ever live…