Manual Focus

St. Patrick

i've been sitting in front of the computer for a while.  The Weepies are giving me a personal concert from my lack luster desktop speakers.  I'm trying to figure out how to do the shoot today any justice.  hopefully the pictures will speak for themselves, but i'll fill you in a little bit on what went down.

Patrick is the most incredible person.  He has written a book of poetry in which each of his works sits next to one of his late mother's paintings.  [i can't wait to get mine in the mail!] and all the profits of his book sales go to non profits... a man after my own soul! [see the :e:nrich program on my website] he's a pretty wonderful writer - you can see some of his poetry and musings on his blog here [he wrote a wonderfully kind entry about our shoot today - definitely give it a gander] He runs this unbelievable education through arts program in Jersey. He runs his own theatre company.

Much greater than his many accomplishments was the brightness of his soul. i had the joy of hanging out with this person who is actually making the world a better place - not just talking about doing it.  enjoy the photos, and definitely stop by his blog and whatnot above. you'll be glad you did.

well... he definitely mentioned the fact that he was a dog in another life.  we met up with this little guy and he just couldn't get enough of Patrick...

seek the joy!

:e:

let's talk gina:D

this woman.  what really can i say. except that if you don't know her, you REALLY wish you did.

yeah, that is flour.  this woman bakes the SICKEST treats.  [you should see the photos i took of the indiside of her fridge... anyone need any butter?  she has half a pallet in there] i left the shoot today with a brownie and the second i took a bite, i almost fainted.  AMAZING!  One of my favorite things about Gina was the fact that she was so warm and friendly and willing to just hang and have a fun time while we shot.  wanna see her old headshot?

yes.  that is a BLACK AND WHITE picture... !!! time for some awesome color shots. So we hung out in Jackson Heights snapping a bunch in her apt and the surrounding area. fun light, sweet textures, and a great smile made for some dope pictures... days like this make me wonder how i could possibly be doing anything else with my life.

seek the joy.

:e:

The First [and best] noel

Noel is from some ethnic place. DC, I think.

We had a total blast today.  Because he's up the Hudson performing Richard and As You Like It [Orlando, of course!] right now I decided that instead of making him take his only day off and come into the hot smelly city, I'd just go to him.  So we met up in Cold Spring [a great little trip on the Metro North - recommended for anyone looking to get away for a day] and shot there.  We actually spent the whole shoot right at the train station.  The light was great, it wasn't too hot, and there was an ice cream place nearby.  Good times.

So Noel [pronounced just like the holiday season.  at least i think.  that's how i pronounced it all day] has his MFA from Alabama Shakes and because of that, we have bunches of common friends.  So it was fun to play the "hey, do you know _____ ?" game.  for a little bit.  Then we talked about life and marriage, hiking, volleyball, his sweet new hair cut, and riding one's bike to one's headshot shoot.  What else is cool about Noel is that he MAY [keep your fingers crossed here folks] be at the Denver Center next year for one of the PREMIERS!  We'll see how that goes.  Here's some of  what happened when i shot him in the face today :

seek the joy!

:e:

jesse means business

Jesse

This guy had the worst night/day ever.  He was out at a recording studio in Jersey last night helping out a friend doing some backups - he left the studio w/out his keys and then realized that the studio was locked and couldn't get back in, so he had to hang in the parking lot until 7am this morning and he could go in and get his keys.  Then he came home to dramas in his apartment.  Oh dear, we don't like dramas, do we.

Despite the gods warning us otherwise, we continued with our shoot.  And of course wouldn't you know, I lost my entire compact flash card wallet on the way home - including the ones with Jesse's shoot.

hee hee hee

Just kidding Jesse.  Wouldn't that just be perfect icing to your day though?

This guy was a powerchamp.  Take a look at his shots and you'll see what I mean.  Also, you are DEFINITELY gonna want to go here.  Trust me.  The yodeling clip of him is the best.  Jimmy Kimmel Live, people!  One of my favorite things about Jesse is that he's a teacher - he teaches elementary school music about a block and a half away from his apartment.  Just from hanging with him today I could tell that he's probably worshiped at that school. It warms my heart to see quality educators flooding into our public school systems.  One last thing - Jesse's starting his own video production business - if anyone is in need, drop him a line.

seek the joy!

:e:

Dathan the apparition

returning from his off-Broadway stint as the ghost in Hamlet, Dathan set out in search of some new color headshots. and he arrived [quite wisely, i might add] on the doorstep of eric laurits : photography. which, yes, incidentally is also visualawesomeness.com.

So Dathan is the man.  and not just because i said so.  Here's what you need to know : he teaches in the NY school system about equality and acceptance [and that's the bomb], he knows more about the Tony process than you would ever want to know, he has the richest and most articulate voice i have heard in a looooooong while, and he's just plain the man.

So we headed out to Ft Tryon and shared nightmare director stories, Sondheim appreciation tales, and love of good music.  fun was had by all and he got some absolutely stunning photos. Check them out ::

[side note :: prior to our shoot, Dathan was all like "I have no like for shots where the top of your head is missing - I know that lots of folks do this but it just makes me think that my brain has been cut off." So of course i had to take at least one during the shoot... ha ha ha ha!]

seek the joy!

:e:

the fatal behlmann

yeah, I know what you're thinking. like... Behlmann, AGAIN!?!?!

well now that he's uberfamous, he needed some new pictures.  'Cause that's the way famous people roll.  True, John just won a Tony.  That's cool.  but the COOLEST thing about him, is right before our shoot he had just finished reading for a lead on ABC's new Caveman show.  Yup.  It just may happen folks.  It's a good thing, too. After you see his ugly ugly photos you'll notice that he'll barely need any makeup for the show.

I first met John when I was at first year at the National Theatre Conservatory.  He was in his second year and playing Claudio in Much Ado about Gay Pirates.  [note: the cover of the NTC brochure is actually John rehearsing that role - one of my first photos taken at the NTC] It was... well... it was.  John was great.  Me on the other hand - I didn't bother learning any of my lines because i spoke in the thickest most indistinguishable "Scottish" accent you've ever heard.  What i learned in three years.

So anyways, KEEP YOUR EYES ON THIS FELLA.  He is already [one year out of gradschool] in a Sam Mendes film, on Broadway, a Tony winner, playing with cavemen, and reading for Indiana Jones IV! Destined for big things, this boy is.  Keep watch.

seek the joy.

:e:

Michael and a beautiful day

This summer!  Get your tickets now to see Michael in Lend me a Tenor.  Other cast members include some Broadway bigwigs [Jennifer Cody, Hunter Forrester, blah blah blah] .  But Michael is the REASON to be there.  [he needs some top billing and here at eric laurits :: photography we're very willing to provide...]

Michael and I had a pretty rocking time today.  We spent the afternoon on the upper West Side and the park snap snap snappin' away.  When I first met him, he was in Denver doing the world premiere of Jesus Hates Me speaking through an electrolarynx.  Good times.  I also accompanied him on a rousing rendition of Billy Joel's Captain Jack at an open mic night... ahhhh those were the days.  Simpler times.

So.  Something you should know is that Michael was the AD on the acclaimed Pirates! which has been all over and is now at the Paper Mill Playhouse.  There is some seriously talk of it appearing on the Great White Way sometime in the not too distant future.... keep your eyes and ears tuned...  By the way if you EVER need some interior decorating tips - this is the dude.  His apartment is straight out of Better Homes, I swear.

So i've typed you ears off, so now for some images.  Like I said, we had a blast.  We needed to get in the "windblown Michael" shot as well as the "I'm so cool I'm in a tunnel Michael" shot.  Enjoy!

seek the joy...

:e:

Benny and Dad

so my life is in a truck right now.  I'm in Boston stopping on my way [sort of.  well, not really on the way at all, but whatever] towards my new place in NYC.

I'm here at my parents house [will always be referred to as "home" to me] and i parked this massive truck and who comes running out to see me?!?!?!  No, not my family, they couldn't care less [joke.  love you mom and dad!] but Benny, my sister's new puppy.  She [sister] is a vet-Tech in a nearby city and living at home for the time being and just got a brand new pup.  Benny's a little bit of a Heinz 57, but definitely some golden, maybe a little husky, too.  I tried to take some photos, but Benny was having none of it.  He has more energy than a packet of pop rocks.  I don't know how Anne does it!  Here you go!

And HAPPY FATHERS DAY, DAD!   My father has been THE source of inspiration and encouragement [along with my rockstar mom] my entire life.  I owe them so much.  Like a blog post. Make sure you take the time to thank your loved ones for everything they do for you...

Dad, I love you. You're my hero.

Be Joyful.  Seek the joy of being alive.

:e:

American Apparel and Backwards Shirts

two up two down.

Dude.  Seriously.  Buy stock in American Apparel.  I'm telling you as long as Tim's around that store will NEVER go under.  He brought in, like, 50 different tops from there.  So here's the deal with Tim.  Sick dancer.  Wants to do the lead in Parade but he's a little young.  So he's thinking he'll ride out the dancing wave until he's old enough and then it should be just about time for a Broadway revival.  So he's finishing up Forum here in Denver and then heading out to Middleofnowhere, USA to do A Chorus Line and some other musical that I forget.  Then he's moving to Astoria.  Where I AM!  He also thinks the Wrangler is sketchy.  Me too.



Gillian is a SENIOR at Denver School of the Arts. Gillian drives a cool white Beetle. Gillian can't put her clothes on right.  So, we're shooting, right? and all of the sudden, she's like "Why is this shirt so itchy?" And I'm all like "I dunno, is it llama?"  And she's all "OHHHHHHHH it's on backwards!"  But that's how cool Gillian is - she can wear her clothes backwards, inside out and on the wrong body parts and still look great.  So she's auditioning for a bunch of conservatories this summer.  If her acting is as great as her personality, she'll have no trouble at all.  Best of luck, G.




seek the joy.

:e:

terry, michelle, stacey, and scooter

Here are some more pretty people to look at.  And a dog.

Michelle had so much fun last time we took pictures, she stopped by for some more.  This time we tried something a little different with the bangs.  Now that she knows I'm a sucker for Starbucks' Vanilla Frappuccino, i'm sort of at her mercy.  Good times were had by all, and we didn't even talk about the NuBra too much! One cool thing you should know about Michelle is that she spends about 33 hours a day on Match.com.  She's probably stalking you RIGHT NOW.  Only a couple more weeks to go see her in Forum!!  Get tickets now here.

Terry was number two for the day.  Hanging out with Terry is like drinking 50 Red Bulls and then doing the 100m dash.  He's THAT much fun!  We listened [and sang] to some kickin' MJ tunes, and took some stellar pictures.  Bet you can't tell from the photograph but Terry is like 7'4" or something.  He's tall as heck.  And he can dance you into the ground.  But best of all, he has sweet hair.

Next came Stacey and Scooter.  Scooter is a little dog with sick ups.  Did you know he can jump SIX FEET HIGH!?!?! Dude.  Soon he'll be dunking.  And then he'll be able to leap over Terry.  I want him on my team.  Then Stacey had her turn.  Stacey just graduated from grad school in Boulder where she got a degree in Experimental Performance or something like that.  Basically that means she walks around all day in a black turtleneck muttering things like "The world just doesn't get me yet.  I'm before my time."  She's married to this hifalutin lawyer who is there to get her out of trouble when she's illegally doing Experimental Performances.  Peas in a pod, I tell you.

seek the joy!

:e: