This past spring, I revisited one of my favorite hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains, trekking up the Backbone Trail to Sandstone Peak. The 12-mile trip spans 3,000 feet of elevation gain, starting at sea level and summiting the tallest peak in the range at 3,114 feet high. I was eager to see the landscape since the last time I did this hike, this portion of the mountain range was still scorched from the Springs Fire in 2013. Additionally, this […]
A year ago, I got invited to go on a trip to Utah with Peter Carey and Josh Ulloa, and we got to see some incredible landscapes on our trek. Here’s a brief trip report from that adventure. Layers Upon Layers One thing I was eager to experience on this trip was being amongst the many layers of the Canyonlands region for sunrise and sunset, watching the changing light illuminate the landscape. On our second morning, we quickly lost the […]
I stumbled upon this little scene while exploring a part of Death Valley National Park I hadn’t been to before. This little Joshua tree stood out a bit further from the larger group, and it made me think that this little guy was looking longingly at his older, all-grown-up brethren, with aspirations to one day join them. The photo is also the March image of my 2026 Photo Calendar. And if you’d like to see more of my work from […]
These exposed sycamore roots and the rock wedged between them made me think of a dragon sleeping in his horde of fallen golden leaves. Maybe my girls’ fascination with dragons is rubbing off on me. One of my favorite photos from 2024 and featured in my newest Photo Calendar, was captured on a post-Thanksgiving hike my family did in the Santa Monica Mountains. If you want to see more from my Detail/Texture gallery on my site.
I am so grateful to live near the beach. Living so close to it, I know I have taken it for granted at times. But as a photographer, I cherish the variety of visual subjects I can explore at our local beaches. Below are some of the beautiful treasures I discovered this year wandering the nearby shores. I hope you enjoy. Sea Anemone I love exploring tide pools. You never know what you might discover. This particular anemone I stumbled […]
Our international family summer trip capped off with a week in Nairobi, Kenya. We were there to work, helping Amani Ya Juu develop some videos and marketing material for their organization. Over the weekend of our visit, we did get the chance to explore Nairobi National Park and create some incredible family memories. Initially, we were afraid our trip to the park would be canceled as we woke to rain that morning. But the rain ended up being to our […]
Twenty-one years ago I took my first plunge into international travel. A two-week trip exploring England and the rest of the UK helped galvanize my love of exploring the wide world we live in. That trip also marked the first time I ever used a digital camera. It boasted a three-megapixel sensor and could store a whopping 256 MB of photos! Little did I know at the time how much that small device would change how I approached photography. As […]
Something is enchanting about the desert in the winter. It’s one of my favorite times to visit and explore the more arid parts of the US. Most people associate the desert with severe heat and lack of water, but winter can bring the opposite extremes, especially in higher elevations. Those intense opposites also helped carve and shape this region and its unique look. “Red Rock in Blue Light” was one of the highlights of my most recent exploration of Southern […]
Like most photographers, I love the transition seasons of autumn and spring, even if they are shorter here than in most parts of the US. That said, I feel like it makes finding beautiful seasonal scenes in Southern California all that more satisfying. In some years you can even see trees with new “spring” leaves before all the leaves from the previous fall have finished dropping. “Surface Tension” was derived from an exploration of a nearly dry creekbed littered with […]
Anyone who has followed me for a while knows I have a soft spot for bristlecone trees. They make for such fascinating subjects. In fall 2023 I wanted to introduce them to Kim on our trip up through the Eastern Sierra Nevada. So we did a quick little early morning hike where I discovered this beautiful tree. I have probably walked past this tree 10-15 times before, but for whatever reason it caught my attention this trip in the autumnal […]