Exploring California 2017 Part 4: The Pacific Coast

June 26, 2017

After leaving San Francisco we finally hit the the starch that I had been dreaming of ever since I've been old enough to venture out on my own, the Pacific Coast Highway. We knew before hand that we wouldn't be able to travel the entire way down because of landslides from a particularly wet winter. All the same we set out to experience as much of the coastline as possible.

We left San Francisco early in the morning. I knew it would be a long journey and we only had 3 days in total allocated to this leg, so I wanted to squeeze as much time as possible out of it. Our first stop was Monterey. It took longer than expected to arrive there and by the time we had settled into to the hotel room we were both too exhausted to go shooting. We explored the down town area and ate at a couple of nice restaurants for dinner and breakfast, but for the most part it was a very last stay.

We got up the next morning to make our way down the coast. We were off to the next leg of our vacation.

Santa Cruz

When we were planning this trip I knew I wanted to find a way to collaborate with some California based yogis. I reached out to a few, didn't hear back from a lot, but thankfully the people I truly wanted to work with were more than happy to team up.

The first person we met was someone we have both been a fan of since we began on this social media journey, Kristen Provenché (@kristenpro). Anyone whose seen her account knows how photogenic and beautiful her practice is. I knew this had the potential to be special.

We met her at a randomly selected state park right off of the PCH. I didn't have any point of reference as far a potential backgrounds, so it was really anybodies guess as to how it would look. Luckily, we hit the jackpot with Wilder Ranch in Santa Cruz.

It was an overcast day and a light mist was in the air. We had a nice even flow of light that saturated everything as far as the eye could see.

Oh, lets not forget about the super-bloom...

The tip of the iceberg.

When we met Kristen we had a good idea of what type of person she was. She let off an air of positivity that made us both want to meet her given the opportunity. I've had a fairly positive experience meeting with people I've met on Instagram, with a couple of notable exceptions. Social Media is a tricky thing. For as much positivity as it can cultivate, it can also lead otherwise normal people to cultivate strange personality complexes. But, just as we thought, none of that was true of Kristen. She was just as kind and authentic as we believed her to be.

We hit it off immediately. The chemistry become apparent as soon as we began to shoot.

It took all of 15 minutes after meeting that we all knew the was going to be a memorable shoot. We weren't going to waste such a perfect opportunity, so a few different wardrobe changes were in order.

It was impossible to take a bad picture.

A perfect pair.

In a perfect world I would never leave.

We were so wrapped up in enjoying our company and joking about the first world problems that we didn't really appreciate just how beautiful the shoot was. And we were just beginning.

We wanted to explore the area a bit more. We walked about 5 minutes down the trial leading through the park and happened upon a dreamscape of purple wildflowers and rolling hills.

Since I derive a good deal of my artistic inspiration from light and color, I had them change into something that would compliment the landscape.

In the 2-3 hours we stayed in the park, we must have shot close to 500 photos, all of which I will treasure for some time to come. We got into a rhythm and didn't want the shoot to end even though we had all but exhausted the landscape and ourselves.

We decided that it would be unforgivable for us to not get at least some beach shots with such perfect conditions. Kristen mentioned a local beach that was close to us that was fairly private and perfect for our yoga shenanigans.

We packed it up and went to our next spot. The photo gods were smiling on us that day because it was equally as beautiful.

I may have taken some of the best pictures I've ever captured that day. For that reason I'll always be grateful to Kristen for allowing me to photograph her practice.

It was so beautiful on the beach that I couldn't help but take a few for myself. They were worn out from a good 4-5 hours straight of some pretty intense asanas so I took the opportunity to get snapping.

We sat around a while longer to chill and unwind, but the time came for us to move on. We said our goodbye to Kristen and made our way down the PCH. The second stop was supposed to be Big Sur, but with the record breaking rain of 2016 came record braking landslides. We were determined to go down as far as we could. Even if we couldn't go the whole way, it was a big reason for me even wanting to go on this trip, so I didn't care how long we got, I just wanted the experience.

Big Sur

From Monterey we were able to travel about 25 miles down the PCH, luckily that was just far enough to make it to Big Sur...

Look famliar?

This experience, though brief, was the realization of a life's dream. Every romanticized idea I've ever had of California has centered around my desire to travel to Big Sur along the PCH. I was truly lucky to experience as much of the area as I did. Despite the closures on the road, it remained open up until Big Sur and the famed Bixby Creek Bridge.

The world famous Bixby

I was torn. Normally I justify photographing my experiences while traveling by th rationalization that I like experiencing my life through a literal lens. But, sometimes the moment is just too precious. Sometimes you just have to stop, fight the impulse to snap away, and live in the moment...

I took about 5 minutes to do that and got shooting again. I can't help myself.

For me, the trip could've ended here and I would've considered this the trip of a lifetime. Luckily, we still had a good deal more to explore on our California odyssey.

The next and final installation will cover our time in the heart of Southern California. Stay tuned for the conclusion of the Exploring California series when I take you with us to L.A, Santa Monica, and Venice California!

Iconic

Exploring California 2017 Part 3: San Francisco

June 19, 2017

So here we are. Three days into the trip and off to get our first glimpse of metropolitan California. San Francisco has always intrigued me, but I could never justify visiting the city on it's own. I figured If I wanted a "Four-season" city on the water I could just stay in D.C. That being said I've know for years that the Bay Area has its own unique charm that, like most places, couldn't really be appreciated until you visited.

This was the perfect opportunity to test the waters to see what all the hype was about without devoting the time and money of a lengthy stay. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed myself. Even though we made the rookie mistake of visiting in May without winter coats 👎🏾 (for those who don't know, its crazy cold in May there. See why here: https://www.quora.com/Why-are-San-Francisco-summers-so-cold)

Being the IG aficionado that I am, I'm inundated with images of the foggy Golden Gate and Bay Bridge on a daily basis. I knew this city had a reputation of being a photographers paradise, so I knew that a visit, though brief, would be worth the effort.

We essentially only had 48 hours to spend in the city. Luckily my brother-in-law had a condo there in addition to his place in Tahoe, so he was able to help guide our expedition ad make sure our time was spent on the truly impressive aspects of the city and not just the tourist traps. Even though I wanted those iconic Golden Gate photos, I really wanted to get to know the city. I'm always cataloging possible places to live when I travel and would be remiss not to take San Francisco into serious consideration.

The points I wanted to hit were Golden Gate Park (obviously), Mission district, China Town, and Baker Beach. So long as we got to those spots, I would be a happy camper. Even though that doesn't sound like a lot, taking into account how much we had traveled up until that point and our time restrictions, I knew it would be a bit of a challenge.

We drove about 4 hours from Yosemite, got settled into our room and immediately went on the hunt for good food and good pictures. The first place we visited was the famous Golden Gate Overlook. Even though I didn't want to have 500 different pictures of the bridge, I figured getting it from different angles was still worth while.

The iconic fog was in full effect.

From there we looped around to the park situated just under the bridge so I could snap a few more of the GGB.

What you don't see are the hundreds of little crabs that come swimming out in between tides.

After a couple hours of snapping the bridge and complaining about how cold it was (seriously no joke) we decided to drive around a bit and explore the city. We took a few winding roads down into the valley adjacent to the GGB and ended up hitting a dead end at Rodeo Beach.

The mixture of muted colors and pebbled sand reminded me of all the moody pictures of Canon Beach in Oregon that I've seen on IG through the years. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to take a few snaps of the wonderfully ethereal landscape.

Since I can never pass up the opportunity to grab a few yoga shots in beautiful settings, I had Holly do a quick change and we had an impromptu yoga/chill session on the beach.

We relaxed on the beach for a few hours and just listened to the tide.

After a while we got bored and got back on the road. We debated heading into the city again to do some more exploring a but thought better of it once the fatigue of traveling and shooting all day got the best of us. We decided to call it a day and head back to the hotel.

China Town

The next morning we decided to hit the inner city to explore. We decided to start in China town and let our feet take us from there. San Francisco has a rich storied history of Asian immigration and the importance of the Asian community becomes apparent as soon as you begin to explore downtown.

With so much life, culture, and history interwoven into the city, it was impossible to take a bad picture. We wandered around a little more to explore some more of the city.

We wandered into the famous City Lights book store to absorb some of the anti-esablihment culture the city's culture is rooted in. There were walls to wall books on politics and poetry. I love visiting famous book stores. I feel like you can really get an idea the heart of any great city by seeing what pieces of literature the community holds in high regard.

We wore ourselves out walking around and had to head back to the room to relax for a bit. Of course I stopped three or four times to stop and grab pictures like the annoying tourist I was.

We wanted to get some proper yoga pictures before we left the next morning so we got some rest and headed out to Marshall Beach.

Even though we had to combat the wind and unpredictable tide, we got some of my all time favorite yoga portraits I've ever captured.

There wasn't another soul in sight.

After a while it got too windy to shoot and we just chilled on the rocks to take in the beauty of the scene and just exist for a while.

I took a few more pictures for good measure

Knowing that we had a lot more trip to go, we called it a day and said our final goodbyes to San Francisco. Even though I got to see a lot, I didn't come anywhere closet to fulfilling my wishlist of locations. Im already making my plans to return. I can definitively say, I love this city.

We woke up the next day ready to begin the next leg of our trip down the PCH. First stop Monterey...

Exploring California 2017 Part 2: Yosemite National Park

June 12, 2017

With one incredible stop on our trip down, we set off for the next stop, Yosemite National park. This place has been on my short list of locations to visit for years. I've become enamored with the idea of visiting all of the National Parks in the country. The more I travel within the U.S. the more I realize just how incredibly beautiful and diverse this land really is.

Ansel Adams was a pioneer in the landscape genre. He utilized a unique blend of framing and monochromatic post processing that propelled him to become one of the preeminent photographers of his day. He's most famous for the work he created throughout many years of visiting Yosemite Park.

The planning for this trip took into consideration certain "must visit" locations from the both of us. Holly wanted to make sure e got ample time in SoCal (just because its awesome) and I wanted to get some real time exploring Yosemite.

Since I've cultivated a love for landscapes over the years, I've educated myself on the legends of the genre and the images that have made them famous. No discussion on landscape photography can really begin with anyone else but Ansel Adams.

I was well aware of the many iconic view of Half Dome and Yosemite Falls. I wanted those pictures, but I also wanted to look behind the icons. I wanted my visit to inspire and enlighten me in some way.

Meeting Larry and Marilyn

We drove down from Lake Tahoe on a collection of winding and unnerving mountain roads. Heavy snow fall in 2016 blocked off a large areas of Yosemite valley and forced visitors from the north to take a very long and convoluted route through the middle of the state to get to the park. After a few hours of traveling through sporadic little towns, we hit a long stretch of uninhabited back country. As we drove deeper and deeper into the state, California began to look less like Hollywood's romanticized west and more like the deep south of my childhood. We reserved an airbnb for this stop because tourist season was revving up and hotel prices were already out of control.

As we approached the location of our airbnb, I started to have flashbacks of summers spent with my maternal family in the small town of Jesup,GA. Tall pines and dirt roads were the backdrop of mobile homes with elaborately decorated front lawns. Each one more eccentric than the last. It was both vaguely familiar and slightly unsettling. Im always weary of traveling deep into the country. I spent a good amount of my early years in towns inhabiting the back woods of Georgia. I know first hand that for as much good as there is in small towns, that type of isolation can often breed some pretty regressive social outlooks.

If I wasn't already on edge, we lost cell coverage about 45 minutes away from our destination, so on the off chance something were to happen, we were completely on our own.

We pulled up to the entrance of our place which sat on about an acre of land flanked by rows of tall trees. There was a steep dirt hill that led onto a short handmade bridge that spanned a small manmade duck pond. We pulled up to a large converted mobile home with a large front deck that was decorated with every kitschy tourist ornament you can think of (including a full sized vintage Harley parked right on the deck). I suppose this was an effort to disarm city folk like myself that may have been weary of the off-putting location.

We walked in the house to find a demur and kindly middle aged Filipino women, named Marilyn, hard at work washing dishes for guest who were already staying in one of the 4 available rooms. She greeted us with a smile and pointed us to her husband Larry's office who ran the business side of the operation. We walked into his office right off of the deck are and were surprise to see a tall, but spry, Octogenarian decked out in the full good-ole-boy gear of a white t-shirt, denim overalls, and generic muddied workbooks. He stood at a gaunt 6'2 even accounting for the slight lean in his posture brought on by a recognizably troublesome hip.

I took my assessment of Larry, but didn't want to assume the worst until he spoke. As soon as we met eyes his demeanor lit up and he put on an air of unabashed peace and welcoming that in innate to every good host . Any doubts I had about staying there were quickly put to rest. He took us on a tour of the grounds and to our surprise the house was immaculately clean and accommodating. They had every amenity of a standard hotel and prided themselves on that fact. The only thing that we didn't have was wifi, but that actually played into the charm of the location. Being able to truly get off the grid, if only for a short while, can be extremely cathartic and beneficial to your mental health.

Before we could get into our room we were greeted by a little boy scooting around the hallway in his play car. Marilyn dashed in front of us and apologized profusely for her son. We didn't mind, but we instantly found ourselves glancing at each other with the same puzzled expression: Who is the father? We settled in to the room, discussed and quickly dismissed the likelihood that Larry, who looked every bit of 80+ years old, may fathered a child. We both agreed it had to be from a previous relationship.

We were wrong.

While eating a pair of generic microwave dinners in the kitchen, we were greeted by Larry who just finished his work for the day. He sat with us while we ate. We exchanged pleasantries and the usual small talk. After a slight lull in the conversation he came right out and said it: "You know thats my kid? I'm 84 years old, I've got two 60 year old daughters and two 40 something year old daughters. I never dreamed of having another but then this little surprise came to us a couple of years ago."

We were both speechless. I had so many questions, but mostly I was just impressed. I had never heard of anything close to the ag difference between him and his wife, much less him and his son. At 84 years old Larry had a 40 year old wife, 2 year old son, thriving business and permanent smile on his face. This guy was a winner. After we ate and had our ends blown we went to sleep. The plan was to get an early start on the day to beat the crowds and we didn't want to spare any time.

The Park

We got there bright and early. I didn't want to waste anytime, so we mad a B-line straight for the first attraction we could find. luckily for us it was one of the most iconic spots in the park, El Capitan.

obligatory IG inspired shot.

We only had so much time in the park so it was a bit of a mad dash through all the locations we could hit. Since most of the park was inaccessible, the trip was essentially confined to driving nd stopping along a single road that had one way in and one way out.

The first big attraction we hit was Yosemite Falls. It was a great experience, if not a little contrived. I was expecting a little bit more of a rugged hike type of experience to reach the falls, but it was located pretty conveniently, right off of the main road.

It really was an incredible sight.

The crazy snowfall from 2016 rehydrated the falls in the park. While we we visiting, I was told this this time last year the falls were diminished to a tepid stream that was inconsistent at best. We may not have come at the best time to see the majority of the park, but the wonders of the areas we were able to explore were on full display.

After getting drenched by the falls, we decided to move on. Next stop was glacier pass. Up until this point we hadn't seen the snow capped mountains the park is known for. It was about 80 that day, and we assumed the majority of the snow had melted. We were wrong. About 30 minutes on a long and impossibly winding road, we hit a part of the park that looked like it could've been in a completely different part of the country. As we ascended the mountains and the altitude rose, the landscape changed dramatically.

After what seemed like an endless route of tall pines and ever greens, we turned a corner and reached glacier point. The views were breath taking.

This was was taken on a sheer cliff I had no business being on. But it was so worth it.

Glacier point was a mad house of tourists and photographers. It was probably the most interesting hiking and photo area in the entire park so getting away from the crowds was a little difficult. there were the obligatory pictures staring off into the valley with the fabled half-dome that I had to get.

P/C the misses

even though the immediate outlook off of the parking area was the best view of the valley I couldn't take the crowds. So I snapped a picture of Half Dome for posterity and we set off to do a little hiking along the ridge.

Not the best lighting, but still an amazing view.

We broke off from crowd and began looking for trails to take and different vantage points to shoot from. Even though I tried to maintain my focus and not stop every few feet to take a picture, I just couldn't help myself.

We hike about a half mile into the valley. We got down a fair distance pretty quickly. That was when we realized we traveled down a pretty steep decline. Once we realized how tough it would be to make our way back up we decided to stop there and call it a day. Normally we could hike for hours on end, but we both knew, throughout the duration of this trip, time and energy were precious commodities.

The sun began to set, so we started to make our way out. It was a long, slow trog back to the car, but the light went from 'meh' to stunning inside of about an hour. For some reason as the sun went down a lot of the falls began to cast som incredibly vibrant rainbows.

We left the park but still wanted to explore some of the valley. My intention was to get some yoga photos while we were in Yosemite, but all of the driving and hiking really exhausted us. So we sought out a more secluded area just outside of the park to take a quick couple of snaps. Luckily of us we happened upon a vast expanse of rolling hills and wild flowers.

We pulled off the road and found one the the most beautiful landscapes I've ever shot on. My only regret is that I didn't take the opportunity to use my strobe. I got so caught up in the beauty of the flowers that I didn't stop to think about setting up my gear. I just wanted to shoot. In the end we got some of my personal favorite yoga shots I've ever taken.

We braved the crazy bugs and faceless critters lurking in the bushes as long as we could. Eventually the exhaustion from the day kicked in and we called it for the day. It was about an hour drive back to our airbnb and we had plans to head to san Francisco bright and early the next day.

I was sad that I didn't have the opportunity or time to explore everything the park had to offer, but it gave me a reason to find my way back in the not-to-distant future. But I caught some really beautiful snapshots on the way out. the horizon was fairly unobstructed and the clouds cleared out of the sky as the day went on. Perfect conditions for some beautiful golden hours pictures.

All in all it was an incredible day of fun and exploration in one of the gems of the nation. We were fast asleep and woke up bright and early to make our way to our next stop, San Francisco.

Stay tuned for the next installment!

Exploring California 2017 Part 1: Lake Tahoe

June 6, 2017

I can't sit still. I thrive off of discomfort, movement, and a little chaos. I have a pretty laid back disposition and it allows me to invite adventure into my life with welcome arms at nearly every opportunity. The older I get, the more I understand that my need to be in a constant state of change stems from my nomadic upbringing. Honestly it can be hard to pin down whether my longing for travel is justified from some sense of personal enrichment or from a desire for novelty for novelty's sake. Luckily Im fortunate to live a life where that answer is inconsequential. I don't just like to travel, I need to travel. I need to have new experiences, see new sights, eat new foods, smell new smells. I need to exhaust myself, be frustrated, be tired, cold, and hot. I need to immerse myself in every beautiful and treacherous landscape and culture this world has to offer with abandon and full appreciation. Or else, what's the point of all this?

So naturally, a road trip through California was something that was always going to happen. I've been enamored with the idea of the iconic drive down the PCH or a long time. I figured there are always going be a million reasons not to do it: bills, jobs, responsibilities. They never go away, so why neglect life? Im at a point in my life where i'm fully aware of my mortality and the ever increasing nature of my responsibilities. Instead of neglecting my desires or going the other way and completely blowing off my responsibilities, I find the happy median and follow through with every opportunity i'm afforded to go out and really experience the world. So after a couple of weeks of planing and saving, we stayed up late one night and booked our entire trip in one sitting.

We were westward bound again.

I knew going into the trip that I wanted it to be a mix. I wanted to touch on a little of everything that California had to offer. I wanted the wilds of the North, the sunshine of the South, and all the beautiful coastlines in between. So we set a decent time frame (12 days) and an itinerary that gave us a little bit of everything:

Itinerary:

Lake Tahoe

Yosemite National Park

San Francisco

PCH: Monterey, Pismo Beach

WestLake Villiage

Santa Monica / Venice

L.A.

Even though the original motivation of the trip was to enjoy the ride down the PCH, that portion of the trip had to be completely reimagined. Record breaking snowfall from last winter caused devastating landslides that closed PCH right at Big Sur, about 25 mi. south of Carmel. Its was disappointing, but things don't always go to plan. This is especially true with road tripping. So we decided to design a route that would give us as much of the PCH as possible and with the time we made up on faster highways, we were able to incorporate a little extra time into the other locations.

Even without the trek down the coast,It was a lot. But, like always, I always wish we could've done more. In any case, we made the best of it.

First stop, Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe

Stunning

I have to admit, that Tahoe wasn't my first choice. My first impulse was to start the trip in the Pacific NW, Washington or Oregon. I wanted to make a straight shot down the northern most point of the west coast, all the way to the Baja. After realizing that that would tack about 10 extra days onto the trip to do it right, I was convinced otherwise. After being shown some amazing pictures of the picturesque lake and surrounding are and learning that my incredibly cool Brother-in-law had his own cabin in the area that we could stay in, Tahoe quickly became a no brainer. Even then, I sort of expected it to be a one note experience. A place I drove through to snap a couple of pictures and say I had visited. It wasn't until I got there that my eyes were opened to just how incredible this place really is.

We landed around 9:00AM local time (not an easy flight from D.C.) because we wanted to get the most out of our time there. As soon as we landed the first thing I noticed was the amazing quality of the air. I spend about 15 hours a week commuting on a stuffy D.C.metro. I walk miles every week in the inner city and breathing in toxic fumes and b.o. is just the way of life. Four year of that will make you acutely aware of the difference clean air makes to your well being and mental health.

It was about a 3 hour ride to our destination and I knew that given our limited time in the area, we had to make the most of each minute. the intention was to find the first spot to park and just relax but we ended up driving around for hours taking it all in. It was one stunning vista of vibrant blues, whites, and greens after another. After a while the urge to pull out my camera and fill up a couple of memory cards got the best of me. We had to pull over and explore. Tired or not, I couldn't let this opportunity pass me up. We stopped at a pull off where I was treated my first time experiencing the unique dreamscape like beauty of a glacier lake.

You have to visit to understand just how beautiful it really is.

If you pay attention to my site you'll see my wife modeling for many of my photos. She's a social star guru in her own right and taking yoga portraits in picturesque locations has been a great hobby of ours for a few years now. Needless to say we didn't waste the opportunity to get some epic shots in throughout this trip. Of all the locations that we shot in, I feel like Tahoe is the one i'll be revisiting for years to come.

These vistas we just unreal.

Eventually the reality of 7 hours of travel and a few hours of hiking caught up to us and we began crashing, hard. Luckily my brother in law's cabin was pretty much the epitome of a relaxing mountain living experience (out of respect for his privacy I won't post any pictures, but trust me when I say its an amazing space).

I think its safe to say we packed a respectable Tahoe experience (save for skiing) into about 48 total hours of total visit time.

Since we were still completely on East Coast time, we woke up at about 5:00AM and decided to get an early start on the day. We stopped into a great local diner for breakfast, mapped out the remainder of our day and our trip down to Yosemite, and sought out to go explore as much of the lake as we could.

It took us all of 5 minutes after finishing what may have been a loaf of french toast (no lie) to come across a great little slice of the lake. Of course that meant an impromptu photoshoot. Luckily for us we had beat the vacation crowd by a couple of days so we had many of the locations in Tahoe largely to ourselves. I took the opportunity to use a few new toys that I brought along for the trip. Notably, my first portable strobe. The effect of a cloudless sun illuminating the mountains and saturating the glacial water, mixed with a powerful off camera flash produced pictures so vivid that they look like they were shot against a green screen.

I imagine if I were to visit there with a few more months of practicing my lighting technique and some advanced shot planning, I would've been able to create some truly stunning images. As it is, I still really love the pictures we were able to capture. They were some of my favorite of the entire trip.

When this is your backdrop, its damn near impossible to take a bad picture...

Even with a full nights rest, I knew we had to pace ourselves. As amazing as it all was, we still had a lot to do and see and only so much energy to expel. With social media and our mutual passions of yoga and photography taking up so much of our bandwidth, we have the bad habit of turning our vacations into de facto work retreats. I really didn't want that to happen this time. I wanted to have the vacation feel like a vacation. So we ended our little shoot and hit the road to find a few more locations along the river to explore.

We had been situated in the northern most part of the lake and our next location was Yosemite, which was to our South-East. We decided to set off in that direction without any particular time of arrival in mind. We stopped in a few state parks, bought the obligatory Lake Tahoe mug as a souvenir, and immediately began making plans about our return in the not so distant future.

Pros of good glass: Amazing clarity and resolution. Cons: Not so great flare and/or sunstars. Want it all, can't have everything.

These type of shots always look so cool when I see it on IG. Oh well. P.S. this exact pine cone is in my living room right now.

We eventually (and regrettably) made our way away from the lake and into some valleys to the South-East. We came across one particular stretch of highway that ran alongside some snow capped mountains. Luckily there was a pull off with a bolder that was easy enough to climb comfortably.It was too beautiful to resist so I lugged my gear up and got some STUNNING vistas of the valley below.

Like most pictures, it doesn't do the landscape justice at all. This view was like something out of a dream.

Of course, one or two yoga snaps were in order. I figure, we may never be here again and life is fleeting at best. To not take advantage would be doing an injustice to the occasion.

In this moment I listened closely to the wind. Off in the distance I heard my mother whisper gently "boy if you don't get your ass down from that rock." No but really, it was a long way down. The risk is part of the fun, right?

We stayed and sat for a while. It was one of those moments where the best thing you can do is be present and thankful. After a while we decided to get back on the road and make the long trek to our next location. It was a long, winding, often times unnerving drive that had us traversing along mountain roads with nothing to break your fall from about 7,000 feet up. On our last big road trip I was tested on mountain roads for the first time traveling into Sedona, AZ and along the badlands of Death Valley. I thought I had seen it all. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. Keep in mind that we took an unconventional route due to road closures, but the drive from Tahoe to Yosemite was the first time I ever got motion sickness WHILE DRIVING. Its almost like the architects purposefully made the road as taxing as possible. The only upside is that theres no possibility of being lulled into highway hypnosis.

But I digress. It was an awesome time and like I mentioned earlier, the trials of traveling are part of the experience and often make to good parts that much better. The best part about it was, we were just getting started...

Stay tuned for the next installment where i'll be covering all the incredible adventures and pictures in what may be my favorite National Park to date:

Trust me, it's epic.

Puerto Rico 2016 - 2 of 2: Love & Light at The Dreamcatcher

November 4, 2016

When we decided to stay in Puerto Rico, we knew we wanted to get as much out of the experience as possible. We wanted the luxury of a resort style hotel and the authenticity of a Bed and Breakfast. After experiencing the resort portion of the vacation, we ventured in to the real Puerto Rico.

When we were planning our trip, we knew we wanted to stay somewhere that wasn't just in the middle of the action, but somewhere that we could really feel at home. We wanted a small, well run B&B with people who shared the same type of healthy and wholistic lifestyle as us. We found all that and more at The Dreamcatcher.

Dreamcatcher came highly recommended by friends of ours who've stayed there in the past. As soon as we entered through the gates it was easy to understand why.

It's centrally located in the upscale community of Oceanpark, short walking distance from San Juan and the beach. The entire compound was designed by the incredible co-owners Sylvia and Stephan. Sylvia has made her name as a very successful interior/set designer and Stephan is a successful real estate developer.

The whimsy of the place is something that has to be experienced to be truly appreciated. We were granted access to photograph many of the 15 rooms that weren't occupied. I tried to take as many pictures as possible, but none of them really do it the place justice.

The details and subtle refinements are tastefully eclectic and implemented with an experts touch. Throughout the grounds the style strikes an inviting balance between bohemian chic and and traditional comfort.

The Inn was designed to be a wholistic, vegetarian oriented Bed & Breakfast. They offer daily donation based yoga classes on the grounds and on the adjacent beach.

This view is about 5 minutes away if you're walking slow. Take me back. Now.

There's an in-house vegan chef, who creates amazingly imaginative dishes. The smells that come out of that kitchen are reason enough to visit.

There are meditation areas and unique one of a kind furniture pieces. There's also a community kitchen (separate from the chef’s kitchen) where you can prepare your own meals from items that have been donated from fellow travelers. It gives you the sense that its all carefully planed out yet completely organic.

Pride

The customizations of the rooms is really what set this place apart. The spaces aren't just superficially different, like with a different color scheme a few extra throw pillows on the bed. Every room really does have its own charm and aesthetic.

Because they really do vary from one to the next, it's best to think of them as grouped together by size. Its a great schematic because the prices of the rooms vary greatly by their sizes. In the off season, you can get a great room for a steal.

Some rooms, like the one we stayed in, are relatively normal sized. Enough room to comfortably live out of for about a week without feeling closed in. I would say this size could accommodate about 80% of casual tourist's needs.

This was our room:

Not pictured is the outdoor shower and sink. It was closed off from the street but the top was completely open so you could shower under the stars. That feature was unique to this room.

For the traveler looking for an extended stay, they have large live in suites customized with individually decorated bathrooms and art collections.

They have cozier, more "spartan" suites for the traveler who doesn't plan to stay inside for too long.

This room was really well done.

You get to know people pretty quickly when they're showering right in front of you, lol.

Each room is decked out with ice cold AC (thank god that PR heat is no joke), bespoke furnishings, new beds, reliable wifi, and no t.v’s. That's right, no t.v.'s anywhere. That part had me a little skeptical when we first got settled in. But, I realized after the first night that there was so much to do and experience, having a t.v. would’ve really been an unproductive distraction.

The Inn prides itself on being an eco-friendly retreat. They reflect that ethos by powering all of their water heaters by solar panels on the roof and enforcing recycling for all waste accumulated during your stay. All things we try to do in our personal life.

Even though they really pushed the wholistic wellness narrative, there was no skimping on the hospitality aspect of the stay. There was daily turn down service and a strong emphasis on cleanliness and customer service.

They also offer daily hikes to the El Yunque Rainforest and other attractions. The great thing about their tours is that they're led by a local who isn’t affiliated with a corporate tour company so he’s able to customize your trip to what most interest you. There’s a two person minimum, so if you catch him on an off-peak day, it can be a really personalized experience.

We spent our first day exploring the surrounding areas.

It was our first opportunity to get out and experience PR from the street level. I was surprised how similar it was to the states. They had every major retailer and fast food place you can think of. I know that sounds stereotypically American, but after experiencing the Rain Forest, the Bioluminescent Bays, and generally being exposed to the wild side of the island for the majority of our trip, finding out that it was pretty similar to every other American city was pretty interesting.

The next couple of days we were up bright and early to flow on the beach and snap a few pictures

In the morning we checked out different parts of the grounds and found new places in the area to have breakfast.

At night we lounged around and tried to get creative with the lights.

I saw this frame and knew it would be special....

It didn't disappoint

We were even lucky enough to get our buddy Malda to strike a pose

Unfortunately, the stay here would be much shorter than the last location. Three days and two nights in total. Since we knew time was fleeting we decided to make the most of it early.

We were a ten minutes drive away from Old San Juan, so we spent an entire day walking around and soaking up the scenery.

To my surprise, a good portion of the city center looked exactly like our home town, St. Augustine, Fl.

We were told this is because the Spanish conquistador Pedro Menedez oversaw the settlement of both areas around the same time. The similarities were really striking

*I’ll be sharing more pictures of this day in a separate post highlighting street photography in Old San Juan.

After spending so much time exploring in the heat, trying to take everything in, we decided to just relax for our last two days on the island. We lounged on the beach, took pictures, and just enjoyed the tropical weather.

We knew that once the vacation was over it would be back to the grind. So when the sun went down, we didn’t sweat it. Just bring some lights and get creative.

A fun/creepy accident turned into a pretty good Halloween shot.

Can you tell I like the lights, lol. It's vacation, cut me some slack.

Normally we both wake up early. Vacation or no vacation i'm a frustratingly consistent early bird. But on our last full day we decided to stay in bed and chill as hard as we possibly could. We rolled out of bed at the late hour of 9 a.m. (eye roll emoji) and headed to the beach to get in some last minute shots and sunshine.

I love laying on the beach at the beginning of the week. There’s nothing like soaking up the sun in solitude.

Besides going out for breakfast (which we really didn’t have to do because Dreamcatcher’s is really good) we didn’t do one thing that could even come close to being exhausting or tiring. In 90 degree heat I tried not to break a sweat.

The last day was passed with some much deserved relaxation and rejuvenation.

But then we got antsy...

That night we got invited to drink with some local yogis who knew us from Instagram. It’s really amazing the connections we’ve made because of that app. Almost every friend we’ve made since relocating to D.C. has been because of our work on social media. It’s been nothing but incredible for us and this journey we’ve embarked upon.

The group was incredibly kind and inviting. And those drinks were stroooooong. Puerto Ricans don't play.

Like meeting old friends for the first time

Can’t wait to see who we meet on our next journey.

All in all it was an amazing trip and one of the most throughly enjoyable vacations I can remember. In a just over a week we collected enough memories to last a lifetime. The luxurious resorts, the breathtaking vistas of the rainforest, the incredibly kind hearted locals, even our disappointing trek out to the bio bays (a story for another day). Every experience just incredible.

Normally I don’t care to revisit places we’ve already been. Its a big world and our time is finite. But, I can’t see myself staying away from the island for too long. There’s so much more to uncover and in our time there we barely scratched the surface. I left part of my heartin Puerto Rico, it won't be long before I go back to collect.

Puerto Rico 2016 - 1 of 2: An unforgettable stay at The Ritz-Carlton Puerto Rico

October 30, 2016

When we were deciding where to take our next vacation following our Southwestern road trip, we weren’t sure where we wanted to go. All we knew was it had it to be relaxing and on a beach somewhere. Living in D.C. is great, there’s culture, art, young intellectuals, almost everything a twenty-something couple could ask for..if that couple didn’t move from a beach town. There’s just something about life on the coast. Once you experience it, you can never stay away too long.

Being that we’re -ahem- budget conscious travelers, we were resolved to make our mutual passions of yoga and photography work for us. We began thinking of ways we could establish relationships with businesses that shared our same values of healthy, mindful living. We figured a collaboration that would have us essentially marketing for a business in exchange for stay there was the simplest and most mutually beneficial way to leverage our platform. Since we’re lucky enough to have the benefit of being a model / photographer duo, we’re able to provide a level of content that could appeal to the right type of business.

With our plan of collaboration in exchange for accommodation in place, the next step was figuring out exactly where we would stay. We set the parameters to a beach location (obviously), preferably an island, ideally tropical and within relatively short distance from the east-coast to save on flight cost. Luckily for us, we recently befriended another fellow yogi, Mariebelle (@mariebellepr) who is a world traveler and proud Puerto Rican. One evening, while having her over for dinner, the subject of the upcoming trip came up and she immediately insisted that we had to visit Puerto Rico. For some reason Puerto Rico hadn't crossed our minds. Being relatively inexperienced travelers, we thought of the island as too “familiar” to our everyday experiences. I think since the Puerto Rican diaspora is so deeply engrained into modern American society, it can be difficult for typical mainlanders like ourselves to understand just how different the island can be. After listening to Mariebelle tell us about all of the incredible scenery and opportunities the island had to offer, we decided to seriously consider what the Island would have to offer. We quickly decided that it was the the location for us.

Because of the Islands unique relationship with the U.S., tourists can have the best of both worlds. you can experience all of the creature comforts of a typical American city in San Juan, where you can find nearly every major retailer and fast food chain you’re accustomed to sitting side-by-side with business unique to the island. Or, if you’re the more adventurous type, you can go completely off grid and immerse yourself in the culture of the countryside where you would be forgiven with mistaking many of the expansive tropical vistas with Hawaii or Africa in certain areas. The island really has everything you could want in a vacation.

We decided to split the difference and sample a little of both experiences. Our last vacation was the ultimate backpack living road trip, and we wanted at least part of this get away to allow for some proper pampering. So, of course, we chose the Ritz-Carlton (@ritzcarlton). A hotel long held as the standard bearer of luxury and hotelier excellence.

The Ritz:

Confession time: We’ve never stayed in a luxury hotel. Not because we haven’t wanted to (obviously) it just hasn't be feasible for our previous locations. We’ve done luxury resorts for special occasions like our honeymoon, but for annual vacations, we usually stick to the mid-range hotel market and spend our time out taking (way too many) pictures. Since we’re getting older and life is making us act more like adults, we decided this would be the first vacation where we really pampered ourselves. What better place to do that than the Ritz-Carlton? Even the name sounds luxurious. I will admit, I had high expectations going into it. A hotel as storied as this has a lot of history to live up to. Its been regarded for so long as the pinnacle of elegance and refinement, that I was anticipating a let down. I could not have been more wrong.

From the moment we got on the grounds of the hotel, the attention to detail and level of guest service from the staff completely outdid any of my expectations. The staff at the location in San Juan knew who we were and treated us as if we were the only guest in the hotel. They didn’t dare let us carry a bag or open a door as they escorted us around the compound. Every staff member dressed in immaculately pressed suits radiating a genuine desire to make your stay special. It really set the stage for the experience that was to come.

We got to the room and the first thing we see is a little fresh juice flight to rehydrate us after our long commute. It helped establish the health conscious theme that would be reinforced in different ways through out our stay. After unloading all of our gear and taking a few minutes to decompress we realized there were no less than three different, hand-written notes from staff members wishing Holly a happy birthday and inviting us to different activities at the hotel.

Those little extra touches of hospitality established a new perspective within me. I became acutely aware of just how different a stay in a luxury hotel would be from our normal fare. The room was expectedly beautiful and spotless. A large luxurious tub (that I’m kicking myself for not using), huge balcony facing the ocean, and a bed that was so damn comfortable I shed a tear when we had to leave it behind.

The first night we were there we were treated to an incredible four-course birthday dinner at the in-house restaurant BLT Steak. We don’t normally eat meat, but it was a special occasion, so we went a little over board, to say the least. The chef even surprised us with a customized birthday dessert platter.

After the HUGE meal and a couple of well deserved cocktails, we waddled our way back to our room to go to sleep early so we could catch a sunrise shoot on the beautiful Puerto Rican beaches.

Unfortunately it rained the entire morning of the first day BUT we don’t let something like a little rain stop us. We decided to have some fun anyway. Sidenote- Sony cameras are NOT weather resistant. I had a little scare, but it turned out alright after it dried out. Luckily that was really the only heavy rain fall of the trip. After that there were a couple of light drizzles, but thats the tropics for you.

After shooting for a couple of hours every day we would work up an appetite. During our stay, we were granted access to the Club Level suite, which had perks like fresh made healthy breakfast and lunch buffets. It had everything one could ask for, from breakfast entrees, chef prepared lunches, artisanal coffee and tea, fresh squeezed juice, wine, beer, even your own personal concierge! Don't even get me started on the massive fresh baked cookies and full size candy bar station (I'm not proud of how many I had). We ate there every chance we got. It really was that good.

Because we wanted this to be more a relaxing stay, we didn’t bother to fill up or schedule with a lot of activities instead we spent the majority of our stay enjoying the grounds.

Laying on the beach lounging around the pool (eating some more) and just generally enjoying each others company. There was so much to see and do in the immediate area that we decided to take it easy and only go places we could comfortably walk to.

We visited some of the adjoining beaches to enjoy some photo time in different back grounds and interact with some of the locals.

We also got some gorgeous shots of the sunset over the horizon in front of the pool area.

We were treated to beautifully painted skies every night we were there.

The beach in front of the hotel was the backdrop for all of our photo shoots. It was beautifully manicured and serendipitously placed in a way that provided us brilliant sunrises and sunsets. After shooting we would go lounge around the pool or soak in the beachfront hot tub (insert emoji prayer hands).

Before we left for the next locations we wanted make sure we got some pictures from inside of the hotel. We were so enamored with the beautiful grounds we lost focus of how photogenic the actual building was. With all of its expansive and beautifully lit walkways begging to taken advantage of, it would’ve been criminal not to no take a few shots there. Luckily for us, we visited off peak. We were able to have a little solitude in certain areas of the hotel. We stumbled on the business wing that wasn't occupied at the time. It was completely awash with beautiful light thanks to the huge windows lining the walls.

There were contemporary paintings throughout the hotel, but the collection here was particularly beautiful.

You really can take a bad picture with lighting like this.

All in all it was really a special and memorable stay. Not one single complaint about the service, room, accommodations, food - nothing. I wouldn’t change a single thing and it was painful to have to leave. In terms of the high-end resort style vacation It was by far the best experience we've ever had. Can’t recommend The Ritz-Carlton enough and can’t wait to go back!

I'll be updating this blog with a page for all of my best shots from the trip. New pics will be available with each of the new blog post.

On social media and self-expression.

August 26, 2016

If a post is created and it gets no likes, was a photo taken? A corny play on an old joke, but really, what is it that compels us to share our art with the world at large? I find myself coming back to this question every now and then. Am I not so subtly seeking some type of recognition for what I perceive to be a talent? Is the positive feedback loop of sharing and praise fueling my desire to post content on a daily basis? I thought I got into this for myself. For the opportunity of artistic self-expression. Now, I'm not so sure. In fact, I wonder if photography would be my chosen art form if the internet didn't exist. To that end, I find myself now wondering exactly who it is I'm doing this for.

Before I discovered photography I fashioned myself a writer. Not a terribly good writer, but a writer non the less. I never shared my work with anyone. Not for fear of reception or rejection, but because I simply didn't want to share that part of myself. As an only child, some of my inclinations towards introversion and selfishness are too hard to shake.

Despite dealing with the indulgent self-loathing and doubt which suspends writers in an endless juggling act between narcissistic perseverance full-throated nihilism, I thought some of my stuff was o.k. I was able to maintain an interest in writing because It was an infrequent indulgence. Only practiced in the rare moments when I had the clarity and inclination to fully flesh out an idea that had been gestating in my mind. I would write about anything and everything. Short stories, op-eds, self-indulgent poetry, even summations on the state of international affairs. I didn't limit myself to one genre or the stylistic trends of the day because I simply didn't care to compete. This was mine, for me, by me. I took care to allow myself the freedom to experiment and fail my way towards something I could be proud of. I don't know if I've ever felt that same type of freedom with my photography.

Of course this disconnect could be attributed to the method I use to display my work. I share primarily on a platform predicated on mass appeal and popularity. The ubiquitous, all powerful alpha & omega of photo-sharing, Instagram. By its very design it aggregates and promotes trends, which tends to stifle true creative freedom. It has institutionalized the pull towards visual conformity. Even those who do manage to carve out a particular niche through their work begin to cater their feeds towards increasing accessibility the longer they participate on the app. Its a structure that rewards the creative, in so far as their vision is in line with a vein of popular culture. Exposure for acquiescence. The desire to be liked and gain a following dictates that I, and many like me, color within the lines.

Im now years into the curation of my social media presence. More than ever I feel as though my sense of fulfillment in photography is predicated on the opinions of others. Given that I got into the art for myself, there's something inherently subversive about that dichotomy. How do I know what I want, what I like, what I feel when Im stuck viewing my creation through he eye of potential admirers? More over, is what I'm feeling justified in this day and age or is the idea of searching for truth in art played out?

Of course, of course, there's no one to blame for my discontent but myself. Seeking admiration from others isn't particularly a bad thing. Nobody forced me to join the fray. I don't have to share. I don't have to flood every picture with hashtags. I don't have to participate all; but I would be lying to myself if I said I didn't feel compelled to play the game. These days I spend relatively little time thinking about how I actually feel about a given photo. A scene will catch my eye, I take the picture then decide if its worthy of a share. That is to say, who will like this? I would be willing to bet that every IG power user has an implicit understanding that, if they don't think their work will garner attention, they won't share it.

This begs the question: to what degree is artistry being sacrificed for popularity?