Oh, friends, I'm a wily one.

Last week, while I was interviewing my friend Paul, he revealed that his wife Cheryl, she of the gorgeous, completely hand-made Stash bags, had scheduled a photo shoot for their latest products. As a result, she was buried in preparations.

"You know," I said, as innocently as I could, "if she needs any help -- someone to run errands, bring bagels, whatever -- I'm happy to do what I can."

"Huh," he said. "I'll let her know!"

So he did, and she contacted me. "I'd love your help," she said. "And you can take behind-the-scenes shots, if you'd like!"

Score.

So yesterday, I trekked over to the incredible studio of local photographer Debora Smail, and made like a fly on the wall as I watched them work.

Man, it was so awesome: unlike the way I work, which is pretty much a solitary affair -- I shoot by myself, and then I go off and process my work -- yesterday I watched an entire team work together to create an image. Debora was there, of course, an amazing talent and consummate professional, with her camera hooked up to a huge screen, so that every time she took a shot, it was immediately viewable by everyone in the room. Cheryl was there, naturally, ensuring that the shots captured the spirit of her work and her business. There was a hair stylist, a clothes stylist and a make-up artist, all incredibly focused, doing their art. The models were amazing -- warm, friendly people who stopped everything and Turned It On when the camera lens was trained on them. There were photo assistants, and styling assistants and ...

... me, doing whatever Cheryl asked me to do between taking my photographs, and trying like hell not to get in the way.

Man, it was such a rush being around them, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Cheryl, for allowing me to tag along; also to Debora, for enduring me in her studio while she worked. Yesterday was a beautiful reminder that there is very little I love more than being around creative people while they do their thing.

(Incidentally, Stash's new designs will be available Spring 2015.)

Song: Don't tell 'em by Jeremih. This was playing during the shoot -- in case you want to know what the day sounded like.