Eric Hamilton is a professional nightlife photographer and the director of the Utah Creative Freelancers Network, a group that meets monthly to help over 100 members promote their freelance photography and graphic design careers. Their next meeting is on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Conference Room B at the Salt Lake City Public Library (210 E. 400 South).

What do you consider some of your greatest accomplishments as a photographer? My childhood musical heroes call me because of the cool projects I'm working on. For a big music fan, that's about the coolest feeling in the world.

When you were taking photographs for your high school newspaper, what experiences helped you realize that you wanted to continue on that path? I'm a huge nerd. I was a shy kid, but with a camera in my hand, I could approach anybody. In high school I had no clue that I'd want to do photography for a living. The choice to pursue photography for money came only a few years ago, by accident. People saw me in the clubs with my camera and hired me.

How did you become interested in electronic music? I used to write music for video games and demos; I was deep into that as a teenager. We used to have parties and swap the latest demos and music. I was invited to my first rave in 1991 by a really cute Samoan girl. It was in a dusty warehouse in Orem. A couple guys from L.A. moved to Utah to be close to their Mormon families and couldn't leave the music behind, so they started throwing weekly warehouse parties. I got exposed to it more and more, and eventually, it was just part of me. In my blood.

What's the secret to taking an interesting photo of someone DJing? To get into the DJ's head. To get a sense of what they're feeling, or a sense of what the audience is feeling. Wait for that key moment where the beats line up and the DJ is loving the sound. Wait for the magic when the beat drops and the crowd goes insane and then shoot!

What's this we hear about you working on a book? I've been working on "Wheels of Steel: DJ Portraits" for a couple years. I'm preparing to launch a Web site in a few months with photos and video of famous DJs. V2 Events is planning to bring half the top 10 DJs in the world to SLC in 2009. Deadmau5 is coming next month for Get Lucky. Salt Lake City has one of the top dance music communities in America, but a lot of the locals take it for granted, and few people outside the state know about it. We're hoping to put SLC on the map and encourage music tourism to the state with a series of electronic music festivals and better coverage of some of our high-profile events. I'm also planning to hit some large national festivals before I release the print version of the book.

What is the Utah Creative Freelancers Network? I've been meeting photographers and graphic designers in Utah for a few years, getting to know the local community. A whole lot of creatives were forced into the freelance market last year because they got laid off from their cushy corporate jobs. They need help, and if I don't step up, who will? Entrepreneurship drives most of the economic growth and new jobs in the U.S. If I can help a few hundred creatives succeed in their business, it will give Utah's economy a multi-million dollar annual shot in the arm --- that's a shot we all desperately need. On Saturday, Feb. 21, we're getting together at the Salt Lake City Public Library to learn about accounting, advertising options for creatives, and how to market creative services on the Internet -- all from experts who are really familiar with the topics.

What do you hope you'll be able to say about your career when you're looking back on it? The Dalai Lama says that the meaning of life is to be happy, and to help others find happiness. I want to be able to say that I had a lot of fun, and that I helped other people have a lot of fun. What else is there?

Learn more: www.dilvie.com, www.utfreelance.com