Blake Stepan \\ Durham, NC

While Stelth Ulvang of The Lumineers was in town for his show at The Pinhook, he brought with him a double bass player.  Blake Stepan.

Blake plays for numerous bands but his favorite is Spirits of the Red City.  You can see Blake playing here with them on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert entry that the band submitted.

I got to spend some time with Blake before and after shooting musician portraits of him at Full Steam Brewery in Durham, NC.

5 things I learned from spending time with Blake:

1.  He was the valedictorian of his college. 

2. He works with pre-k students

3. He is funny, passionate and extremely intelligent.

4.  He started his music career by playing on the street

5. He won't stop smiling.

My goal for Blake was to portray him by seamlessly meshing my urban portrait photography style with his free, deep and fun-loving spirit.

This shoot took about 3 minutes and I did it in the front room of Full Steam Brewery in Durham, NC.