Although I still prefer shooting on my own, I've got to say that I have met some pretty cool people through shooting with them. I met Salt and Chrissy through a string of Mighty Killers meets and events but I've never really gotten out there and shot with these guys. You have to admit, being at an event and hanging out is completely different than going out exploring and shooting with a group of people. These two are super chill folks and super down to Earth; not to mention they are a very talented couple. You rarely find a couple who both love to shoot, especially as much as these two do and it's inspiring to see them work. They swooped me up from BART and headed down to one of my favorite locations in Northern California, Shark Fin Cove. I've probably mentioned this a hundreds times by now but shit, this spot jus never gets old to me. I love everything about it and everything that surrounds it. It just has so much to offer, photo-op speaking. One day you find a washed up dead baby whale, another you find a gang of people pitching tents, then you have a bunch of people playing volleyball and kicking back, and then theres times where its completely quiet and you have the entire place to yourself.
davenport
MILK RUN AT THE ARCHES
TravelCommentWith the lack of free time in the past couple of weeks, I just haven't been able to shoot as often as before. The frustration of not having the time, and when I did have time, I had no energy.. all that gets built up and I feel like I'm about to lose it. Yesterday I actually had a free day, a completely free day with no obligations to do anything at all so of course I had to cap on the opportunity to go out and shoot. I forgot how much I missed just hitting the road and aimlessly explore. Somehow, I just always end up back here; Davenport. It's definitely getting a bit too popular these days. The past 3 times I've been back, I've ran into people and its cool and not cool at the same time as one of my favorite spots is becoming a place I try to avoid now. It's definitely sketchy getting down to the arches, and only the brave will take on the climb down. Definitely give props to the people I've met down on the beach here because I remember the first time I climbed down, I was pretty fuckin' scared. It's always entertaining watching people climb down and climb back up for their first time, but just be warned.
The first time that I ever shot the Milky Way was about 3 years ago up on the west side of Lake Tahoe. I can still remember that experience, it definitely felt like a lifetime achievement for me. It meant a lot for me back then because it was something that I never thought of capturing since it was definitely unexpected. These days, I see Milky Way shots way too often but I'm glad that I caught it when I did because it really meant something to me. As we approach the end of Summer, I decided that tonight would be the perfect time to try and get it. Clear skies, chill night, New Moon, couldn't have asked for anything better. The experience of shooting stars and the Milky Way is always awesome. When you see your photo process, you're immediately in awe.
fuck, there it is.
California Coast
TravelCommentLast week the girl and I made the drive down to SF for a couple days. After we checked into our room I found out that my good friend @jakechams was staying in Santa Cruz at the moment. So we decided to make the drive down and meet up for a sunset shoot at Big Sur. Once we got to Santa Cruz to grab Jake I realized that I left my battery for my DSLR on the charger in the hotel room back in SF... I was furious. At this point Big Sur was still another 2 hours away and there was no way we would make it in time for sunset. Jake recommended a spot just outside of town called Shark Fin Cove. So we went to Best Buy and grabbed a new battery and we were on our way. In the end we made the best of what we had and that's what you gotta do sometimes.
Backyard Adventures
TravelCommentMany people often overlook their own backyard when out searching for new spots to explore.
We're fortunate to be in Northern California, and the bay area especially because so many different types of landscape surround us. To the east we have the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and to the south we have beaches all along Highway 1. This scenic drive is one of my favorite because there are so many different areas where you can stop.
The weather in the beginning of the day didn't start out the best, but as the day went on the fog and overcast cleared out and the skies ended up being perfect. We made our way from Pacifica and headed towards Davenport right out side of Half Moon Bay. Along the way, we made a bunch of random stops and detours just because one of us might of saw something worthwhile in the distance. One of our final destinations brought us to these concrete arches right on the beach. In order to get down to the arches you had to hike down a sketchy trail that essentially dropped straight down the side of the cliff. We eventually made it down and spent a good half hour trying to climb the rope to the top of the arch. Once we finally admitted defeat we decided that Shark Fin Cove might be a better location for sunset.
Wee got to Shark Fin and saw a bunch of other explorers leaving the same area. I didn't get a chance to stop and get everyone's name but I think we all had the same mindset of trying to get to the location to catch sunset. It's awesome seeing other people out sharing the same passion for exploring. The sunset wasn't as epic as I hoped it would be, but that's all part of exploring. Someone times you get lucky and the weather clears up for a perfect day, and other times the sunset just turns out shitty. But the people you explore with and the unknown of how the day will turn out are what push me to constantly go out and explore. Putting together a group of people to go out is dope, but finding people who are down to take detours and stop randomly is even better. Not everyone is down to make random strops and prolong the journey, but when you do find those down you might stumble across something you could of easily missed.
