I can’t believe it was only a year ago, that I was capturing these stunning and mystical sunsets in Maui, Hawaii.
Hopefully, these landscape shots brighten up your day while in Shelter In Place!
Diablo Cow /
With the beautiful Mount Diablo in the background, I came across this guy on a hike with my cameras. He wasn’t phased a bit and acted as the perfect model in the absence of me not being able to shoot my usual human subjects!
Being a photographer during COVID 19 /
This photo was not taken recently! In fact it was taken a year ago today while on assignment in Hawaii at the top of the Halekala volcano. Stay positive, mindful and patient trusting that hopefully we will all be back out soon exploring the great outdoors and capturing nature at it’s finest.
This is a challenging time for all photographers. Many of us have had the majority of work ripped from under our feet for the foreseeable future in just a matter of weeks. It’s difficult to know where to turn or what’s the next best step to take. However, there are many positive things we can do during this challenging time. Below our a few ideas for photographers to help us all get through this together:
Update your website
Photographers don’t usually have much spare time. We are usually busy running around on shoots, editing and marketing ourselves to existing and potential clients. Now with some more free time, this may be the perfect opportunity to refresh your online portfolio as well as ensuring your SEO and back links etc are all in top notch condition. Perhaps, you may even want to totally redesign your website. Go through your photo library and look for some of your favorite shots that you’ve taken over the last few years. Curate them carefully and think about the type of portfolio you want to present to future clients. This means when shelter in place orders are lifted you’ll be in the perfect position to approach potential clients head on.
Brush up on your skills or learn something new
Take advantage of the many photography providers who are generously providing free online classes.
Here’s a link which is a great place to start with thousands of free and varied online courses from top universities.
Why not also read a good photo book. Alternatively, why not learn something totally new? Perhaps pick up a new language, learn how to code or take a business class? The opportunities really are endless to upskill. Now is the perfect time.
Refresh your marketing
Make sure you have a good client marketing list in place, if you don’t already. If you need to redesign your pricing sheet, why not do it now! There’s also no harm in taking the time to reach out to clients during this time just to check in and say hey. You can also start putting together content for future marketing emails. Even if they aren’t going out now, this will save you a lot of time down the road.
Don’t let your gear gather dust
Clean all your lenses/cameras and make sure you get rid of all those pesky sensor spots and dust scratches. Also, try to keep on shooting even if it’s just around the house. It’s good to keep your brain wired to using the camera and thinking about composition and framing. I also think it’s essential to always be working on personal projects. Commissioning editors love to see personal work and this will help you not only hone your style but also get more work in the long run.
Connect and help with your community
It feels good to give back. If you’re able to offer to help neighbors in need do so. We all need to be kind to one another right now while obviously practicing social distancing and listening to the respective guidelines in place wherever you happen to live. You can also think of ways to use your photography and other skills to help your local and wider community as a whole. Not only should this give you immense self-satisfaction but doing good deeds often is cyclical; people remember your kindness and generosity later down the road. Trust me. I’ve done so much charity work for no other reason other than wanting to help and it’s often led to work opportunities opening up later down the road without me ever intentionally pushing.
Most importantly ensure you take time to be kind to yourself and reflect on all that you have to be grateful for, despite these challenging times. Checking in and adopting such a mindful approach can be a great way to help manage. We will all get through this together!
Beaches /
It seems crazy how in just a matter of weeks, small things that we all took for granted like going to the beach are no longer safe and most of us are in legal lockdown.
It is imperative that we all stay at home. It should not seem a burden but a simple necessity to practice social distancing, do our small part in ‘flattening the curve’ and allow the brave men and women working in our health services to do their jobs treating the sick.
In the meantime, here are a few beach shots to cheer up your day. I have no doubt that we are all in this together and we will be back on those sunny shores together soon…
Photographing for Four Seasons Hotels /
It’s always a pleasure to work for companies that I really respect and who have such a high eye for both detail and creativity.
Here are some commercial lifestyle and interior photographs that I was commissioned to create for The Four Seasons Hotels a few months ago which have just been released.
Birthplace of Silicon Valley - Hewlett Packard /
I just photographed what appears to be an inconspicuous garage in Palo Alto but, is in fact regarded as the ‘birthplace’ of Silicon Valley. For it is here, that the company Hewlett-Packard (HP) was invented.
The garage sits in the garden at 367 Addison Avenue. It was built in 1905 and was originally occupied by Palo Alto’s first mayor Dr John Spence, his wife Ione and their two daughters in 1909. It was then divided into two separate apartments (numbers 367 and 369) in 1918.
During this time, William “Bill” Hewlett and David “Dave” Packard both attended nearby Stanford University and in 1937 had their first business meeting. The then Dean of Engineering Frederick Terman encouraged them to establish an electronics company in the local area rather than leaving California.
Therefore, in 1938 Dave Packard moved into the first-floor three room apartment a 337 Addison Avenue with his newlywed Lucille with Bill Hewlett sleeping in the shed. A now widowed, Mrs Spencer moved into the second floor apartment.
Dave and Bill formed a partnership and began using the one-car garage with jus $538 in start up capital and in 1939 flipped a coin to decide whose name would precede the other for the company. Thus, Hewlett, Packard was born.
The company’s first product which you can still see a replica of today was an audio oscillator, known as the HP200. Interestingly, one of their first customers was the Walt Disney Company who purchased eight of these oscillators to test the sound systems in theaters running the iconic film Fantasia. This was the first major movie to be shown in stereophonic sound.
The garage and house have been replicated to show exactly how they looked at the time when Bill and Dave worked there and although closed to the public you can view it from the sidewalk. Tours are also available which I would highly recommend to technology and history buffs.
Having the garage all to myself to photograph is one of those unique experiences that I am often fortunate and privileged to have as a photographer!
My photo as a Billboard outside SFMOMA /
As a photographer nothing quite beats seeing your work in print rather than just on screens.
I was therefore really excited to collaborate with the San Francisco Museum of Art (SFMOMA), one of the worlds largest museums of contemporary art, on a campaign to create a photograph that was made into a giant billboard to market the museum. The photograph shows their amazing outdoor rooftop sculpture at dusk bustling with visitors.
The billboard has been printed in downtown San Francisco and is located right outside the entrance of the museum.
Here are some photos I took as I was walking past last week.
Chosen as one of the six best Fine Art Photographers in San Francisco /
I was so excited to be chosen by Peerspace as one of the six best Fine Art Photographers in San Francisco. See here for the feature on my work along with the five other talented photographers chosen.
Radio Interview With CBS /
I recently popped into the CBS studios in San Francisco to chat with well known afternoon news anchor Jeff Bell to discuss my photography career and upcoming projects.
We also recorded a podcast as part of the “Adversity to Advocacy” series where we also talked about how my career began as a diversion from chronic head pain.
I hope through doing interviews such as these to create greater awareness for POTS and inspire others living with chronic pain to achieve their dreams.
Below I’ve included a two minute quick synopsis of our chat, a photo of me in the studio as well our conversation in full that goes into more depth about my fine art work and exciting upcoming projects.
Yosemite Valley - Channeling My Inner Ansel /
During my photography workshops, I often refer to the work of one of the masters of landscape photography Ansel Adams to showcase how the power of great composition, being patient and understanding the fundamentals of light are crucial in creating great photographs. Much of his work was shot in Yosemite National Park in California.
I just spent Memorial Day weekend in the park photographing where there has been a recent spell of wetter than normal weather. This meant that the waterfalls were flowing stronger than normal, the Merced river was full of fast flowing water and the trees were lush, verdant and green - great conditions for photography. Unusually, for late May there was even a freak snow storm which blanketed much of the park, clearing out most of the crowds and leaving me to explore many new areas without having to deal with traffic or people in my shots (which can often be the case at this time of year).
Below are some of my favorite shots as I channeled my inner Ansel. Do you prefer the color or black and whites?
After visiting this spot so many times, this was one the best times I’ve seen the light falling so perfectly on El Capitan on the left and Bridal Falls on the right. I also love the big booming clouds and how you can see Half Dome in the background with a little covering of snow. There is a reason this spot is known as Inspiration Point!! This photo is going to look awesome printed out huge.
Color version of the above…which do you prefer?
Another view from Tunnel Point/Inspiration Point taken late at night as low fog settled over the valley creating a perfect leading line to Bridal Falls.
Color Version of the above
My neutral density filters always come in useful on trips to National Parks. This was taken with a 6f stop ND filter to give the fast flowing water (pretty unusual for this time of year) a soft, silky appearance. I got some wet feet but it was definitely worth it for this shot!