Death Valley is a haven for photographers. Mountains, canyons, craters, sand, salt- if you can imagine a naturally occuring texture, chances are you'll find it here. Despite the area's austere reputation there is something extremely peaceful about being here. It's quiet. I wonder if the serenity is left over from thousands of years ago, when the places I photographed were at the bottom of a lake 600 feet deep.
Big Sur lived up to its name... the "Big" part, at least (what exactly is a Sur?). The Pacific Coast Highway winds for miles around massive cliffs, with the sea and sky stretching out endlessly around you. I was particularly impressed by the views at night. Seeing the Milky Way above the waves was absolutely magical.
The Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most photogenic structures in the world for good reason. You can frame it against the surrounding mountains, or capture it rising into the fog which covers the area for most of the week. On a trip to California earlier this year I shot the bridge at every time of day, experimented with capturing the fog in black and white, and took the drone out for some spectacular aerial shots. My favorite image was captured at dawn when the waves were more intense, and I got the greatest color contrast between the bridge and the landscape around it.
Death Valley boasts a staggering number of diverse landscapes. Driving through it feels like visiting a different planet every few miles. Nothing compares to the experience of traveling through it in real-time, but my goal with this series was to capture some of the disparate natural patterns that somehow all exist in the same place.
