Best of 2008

Another blog-inspired post, I’ve taken a look back through the photos I’ve taken in the last year.

Project 52 – Week 1 – “Dreamland”

First week of ’09 and I’ve managed to keep two resolutions in one fell swoop.

Trip #4 to MDO State Park, Central Coast, CA…quite possibly the best kept secret for hiking, photography, and absolutely ridiculous beauty in the state, if not the whole country. Yup. I’m a fan. I wasn’t sure how well this shoot would work out – when I left San Luis it was sparklingly sunny with not a cloud to be seen. Cresting the hill at the top of Los Osos Valley Rd, with Morro Rock in the distance, a huge fog bank was rolling in which provided some nice, soft light, but not really what I was looking for, and causing some difficult exposure situations. Luckily a little bit of patience paid off and the sun dropped below the fog bank and it resulted in some really beautiful light on the cliffs but not so much that I couldn’t use some long exposures if I wanted. I will work on some processing for prints this weekend.

Not sure the photos do it justice but here they are.

Project 52, Week 2 is already in the works. Keep an eye on this space.

Tip of the week – scout out locations in advance and your results will be better later on. You’ll know the light, will be prepared for the terrain and will have more time to set up your shot based on having seen it before. Previsualize the basics of what you want and come back later. This location
is a hop skip, and a jump from me, and this particular outing is the fourth time I’ve been there – the photos I’ve gotten have improved each time – you can see examples from shoot one here and shoot two here.

Some very exciting news…

I’m a finalist in a great photo contest. Stay tuned for details…

And a new shot for good measure.