Wanderlust is contagious, thanks to envy-inducing travel photography, .
Back in December 2019 I had the opportunity to go down to the States for a dirt biking trip with my family in southern California. I was invited to come along on this trip only a week before my family was scheduled to leave. Despite the last-minute invite, I was without a doubt all-in for this trip. I had actually been wanting to do a solo road trip down to the States sometime that Winter, so this was the moment I had been waiting for.
The Butchart Gardens are without a doubt one of the most majestic and fantasy-like places I have ever visited in my life. The Japanese Gardens in particular, especially with good morning light and peak Autumn colors; are nothing short of amazing. I came here early one Autumn morning and managed to get in just after the place opened. I paid my $30 entry fee and immediately started speed-walking to the Japanese Gardens. I was so excited to visit this place that I had always heard about but never visited. And I was even more excited to finally have the chance to photograph it. Plus, I came on a midweek day when there weren't as many people in the park so I could better enjoy this gem in solitude.
It's a relatively easy night at Palmer Park. 72 degrees and falling. The birds have changed tunes and are singing a song so sultry that it fades into the dimming sky, hoping to convince you that summer isn't really here.
I took this photo almost a month ago. It was taken at Point Dume in Malibu, California. This one spot is so meaningful to me for multiple reasons. On my day’s off from work I would come to this spot to sit and watch the sunset or if I was lucky enough to wake up early, I would watch the sunrise. Sitting at the rocky overlook I would mentally think of who I wanted to be and how I would get there. I met so many people doing the same thing I was. Those conversations consisted of question like, what makes you happy or what we wanted to be when we grew up. This point was more than just that, it’s where I found who I wanted to be. For a while I never really took pictures of this spot because it was always so familiar and a place I visited quite often. Once I left for college, I regretted not taking pictures at this spot. I missed it, and never really found another place so peaceful. From this rock, and in the picture you can see people. People with different stories, different scars, different dreams, and aspirations. One thing I dreamed of being while sitting at this point was a photographer. It was my goal to capture people’s emotions, feelings, and moments to remember. Since returning back to Point Dume I have been able to accomplish a glimpse of that dream. I have been able to travel and see other beautiful places all over the United States while taking photos for people. This spot is where it all started. I took at least 60 photos of Point Dume and this is the one I truly LOVE the most! The picture was taken right before one of my best friends proposed to his now, fiancé. Making the photo even more memorable. I took this photo on my Canon 1DX mark II with my Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 lens. It captures everything I love and remember about this exact spot. I can see the people, the cars, the waves, the cliffs, the homes, the palm trees, and the rolling hills. I edited this photo for the feeling. It’s warm, like the sun on my skin. This is the one image, that I believe does this place a justice. Now, it’s printed and hanging on my wall as a constant reminder to chase your dreams and goals but never forget where it all started.
It was as if the sun was happy and beyond herself to see people enjoying their lives and joyful togetherness once again! She wanted to prolong the merriments of a passing, wonderful day by the beach as if determined to resist gravity; just hung up there, didn’t want to leave the scene. She whisked down the long sunbeams in full and earthy colours, played around with slowly moving shadows.
The San Luis Valley, just north of the Colorado and New Mexico border runs along the 38th parallel in the United States. This area, nicknamed the “Mysterious Valley” is known for its paranormal activity and unexplained phenomenon(much like the rest of the latitudinal line is world wide). It is home to a band of wild and abandoned horses, who can be seen stopping traffic most times you drive through.
There are fewer places on earth that calm, nurture and inspire the human spirit more than the ocean. The rhythmic beats of the rolling waves as they sweep across the sand; the faint cooling breeze as it brushes your face washed with a summer sunset. The ocean is our greatest source of life, comfort and fun; it centres the mind, and like all great partnerships we take out what we put in. There are few photographs which remind me of that notion than the one above – and the irony is, it wasn’t planned.
Glad I Packed The Camera The first thing I make sure I pack before heading on a trip at this point in my life is always a camera. If I am going anywhere out of the ordinary or new to me, bringing my camera is of the highest priority, there may well be exquisite stories to tell. I love a story told only in words more than most people do, in fact, I spend a good deal of my life doing just that, but words alone often fail to convey specificity of color, texture, and lighting as well as a photograph can, as is the case with the photo above, one that brings me so much joy to this day. The Green Sea Turtles pictured are an endangered species and seeing so many adolescents in one frame, let alone a lifetime, is truly a treat and the photograph is one that helps seal a specific memory for me. The experience of reviewing my photos at the end of the day this scene was captured brought me to thinking about sea turtle conservation in a way that few people thought of sea turtle conservation at the time I took the photo in 2009 (obviously now if you have a plastic straw at a restaurant, someone slapping it out of your hand, letting you know it will end up stuck in a sea turtle's nose is a real possibility, but the world was different then). It got me to research the Cayman Turtle Centre, and to decide to donate to different hatch release programs, but still respect much of the work of the Centre.
It were my last few days in Vienna. After working in the city for five weeks I’ve met loads of new people and made tons of precious and valuable experiences. And still I am not sure if it was a coincidence or simply the magic of the moment, the magic of leaving my internship with a broad smile, and a sad eye simultaneously. There was some magic to the moment.
Hi my name is Christopher & I’m from a small farmers town in California called Castroville. Living in this small town I never really had much around me. For the first few years of my adult life I realized that I had been living under a rock and that the world all around us is such a beautiful place and I needed to see more! This aspired me to go out and see the world we live in as I thought life is short and I should fill every moment with something to remember. This photo is for my outdoor shot challenge this photo was taken at night! At Fort Myers beach in Florida’s south west region. I was out one night trying to capture some cool pictures of lightning and I’ve always aspired to catch some beautiful images of lightning as it went through all its stages. Lightning always has fascinated myself because nature is such a beautiful thing. I began watching videos earlier in the week so I can figure how exactly to capture lightning as it is extremely fast. I’d say about 90% of my pictures are black and not of lightning before I learned a neat technique. Growing up in the area I did in California the whole first 19 years of my life I’ve only witnessed 1 lightning storm. The first lightning storm I seen I immediately fell in love but it wouldn’t be until 9 years later that my eyes would see lightning again. I ended up moving to Florida later I had no idea about the lightning storms in Florida so when I discovered the lightning it brought back so many good memories. I thought me being able to capture these moments the little kid in me was excited and my imagination began taking over. I had no idea Florida had this much lightning later I was told by some locals that Florida is the lightning capital of the world! Which amazed me because I grew up in a small farmers town that was known as the artichoke capital of the world. Being in the Gulf of Mexico the water here is warm even at night so I decided to take some shots in the water little did I know I was moments away from getting shocked. As I was taking these pictures lightning stuck closer and closer but that didn’t stop me because I didn’t get the shot I wanted. I stayed a few minutes more during this time I was able to capture some of the Most beautiful images of the lightning I have ever caught but it just wasn’t enough I wanted more. Then BOOM I immediately felt the Jolt of electricity run up my leg and throughout my whole body. It wasn’t enough to knock me off my feet but it was enough to send me running into my car. Such an exhilarating feeling at that time before the strike I was calm and relaxed after the strike I was wide awake ready to take on the next which I did not challenge because I decided I wanted to live to see another lightning show in the sky and it was better not to test Mother Nature as I was taught in California never turn your back on the ocean. I took a lesson from that and chose not to challenge Mother Nature. That night I took over 200 photos this was one of the best pictures I got and it always reminds me of the time I got electrocuted In the water at the beach. Always be careful when taking pictures with lightning near by don’t test Mother Nature.
Eight years ago, I fell in love with the craft of telling stories through video. It’s amusing to reminisce on the elementary days, back when I used to shoot those cheesy lego stop motion films with the family quick shot camera. It’s equally interesting to reflect on how those creative projects have grown more complex over the years. I turned 20 this year, and consider myself very lucky to have found my passion in life at such a young age. There's some pretty strong conviction inside that I will continue to create videos for the rest of my life. The only variable in question is, what kind of stories will I tell?
If you want to get a dawn shot in northern Vermont close to the summer solstice, you have to get up early. This shot taken minutes before 6 AM on the 14th of June illustrates that point. The thick mists that can attend an early morning pre-dawn fishing trip or Kayak paddle are still crisply visible, the sun is already starting to climb for the day, not yet high enough to lend its light to the trees and hills in the background of the photo. Instead, it casts them as back-lit silhouettes, standing behind a mirrored pond that is already showing its color but still clinging to early morning mists that attend the march from night to day. The sun is just high enough to paint the sky a bright blue and reveal puffy clouds which will all appear white as the sun reaches a high enough point in the sky. As with most outdoor shots with limited processing, this photo tells a story of lighting in a natural world. A sun behind clouds sets them aglow and casts its light at the precise angle to make the pond's surface a near perfect mirror.