The beauty of Big Sur is phenomenal. Towering cliffs, wave-dashed rocks, and graceful bridges span the coast from Carmel south to San Simeon. One of the most iconic features of Big Sur is located in Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park: McWay Falls, a graceful, 80-foot cascade that at high tide falls directly into the ocean. When this land was granted to California as a state park, it was under the condition that the cove which shelters McWay Falls would be made off-limits to the general public so that the breathtaking view could be enjoyed by all but trampled by none.
posted by Josh at 10:27 am
God, if there is a God, is surely a practical joker.
It’s easy to come to this conclusion when you are a photographer because there is never any shortage of funny, annoying, and exasperating things that happen to you when in pursuit of an image.
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posted by Josh at 11:48 am
Picture framing can be a hassle. Ready-made frames often offer a cheap solution, but not all pictures fit standard sizes, and the ready-made frames can be low quality as well. Professional picture framing is a sure-fire way to get a great result, but also a sure-fire way to break the bank; often it costs more than the art you want to frame! But there is another alternative: to do the framing yourself. Perhaps a daunting prospect at first glance, but I propose that with the right tools and time, anyone can do their own picture framing, get a great result, and save a boatload of cash.
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posted by Josh at 11:48 am
Spent the afternoon as usual: peering out the window to check on conditions down out the coast. Since I had missed the fantastic sunset on Friday, I was especially antsy to get some shooting in, so when I saw some clouds building on the horizon, I hopped in the car and zoomed away down to the beach!
After some close calls at Four Mile and Laguna Creek where I almost stopped to shoot, I ended up at my old standby: Panther / Hole in the Wall Beach
Down at the shore I was immediately impressed by the massive waves, which were bigger than I’d ever seen them at this beach. (And if that doesn’t foreshadow the events to come this evening, I don’t know what would.)
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posted by Josh at 1:03 pm
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So you’re sitting at home, looking out on a 100%, completely overcast day, and thinking:
“Great, I’m glad it’s cloudy because I need to get some work done. Got my first art show of the year coming up in a couple of weeks and there’s a huge amount of prep to be done.”
And then a little voice in your head says: “Hey, want to go out shooting at Four Mile Beach?”
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posted by Josh at 4:50 pm
Did something today I almost never do at home: woke up early to shoot the sunrise. Not sure what got into me exactly other than I have a somewhat obsessive personality and when I get into something, I really get into it. The ‘it’ in this case is Four Mile Beach in Santa Cruz. I went there yesterday evening for sunset and while there ended up being no color, I had a great time anyway because I was captivated by Four Mile’s beauty. I don’t what the difference is exactly between Four Mile and the other nearby beaches I’ve been shooting lately, but this place really struck me as being just that much more wonderful.
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posted by Josh at 12:47 pm
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On the last leg of my recent southwest road trip, I had the choice of either heading north out of Zion National Park to head for Great Basin National Park, or heading south into Death Valley. A brief weather check on the morning of my departure let me know that it was extremely cold in Great Basin, and since I’d been slogging through snow, ice, and freezing water for the previous week, I opted for the more temperature climes of DV. This turned out to be a great decision: no crowds, beautiful weather, and some choice photography opportunities ensued. Full details and video after the jump.
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posted by Josh at 5:21 pm
Here’s a new Notes from the Field from a recent trip to Death Valley. I was in the Badwater Salt Flats (lowest elevation in the US: 282 feet below sea level) for sunrise and came away with this shot:
Sunrise with a Dash of Salt
Full details with videos on how I chose this composition, what camera settings I used, and how I post-processed the image after the jump.
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posted by Josh at 3:32 pm
Here’s a new Notes from the Field from a trip to Laguna Creek Beach in Santa Cruz. I headed down to the beach for sunset and came away with this shot:
Laguna Creek Thunderstorm
Full details with videos on how I chose this composition, what camera settings I used, and how I post-processed the image after the jump.
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posted by Josh at 3:25 pm
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I arrived in Page, Arizona in a late January evening just as the clouds were beginning to roll in. I had little idea of what to do in town so I just found a cheap motel in which to spend the night. While checking in I perused the ubiquitous motel-bookstand-full-of-fliers-of-what-to-do-around-here and discovered to my delight that Antelope Canyon was right in town on the Navajo Reservation. “Well holy jeez,” I thought to myself, “I shall have to pay a visit.”
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posted by Josh at 11:06 am