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As someone who take pictures with a very critical eye, it’s easy to put not only by own work but the work of others under a very critical magnifying glass. As the ups and downs of life pass by like the ebb and flow of the tide it’s refreshing to take a step back and just enjoy a pretty picture for what it is. Doing so is a sure fire way to lift one’s spirits, regain more level headed thinking and re

One of my favorite techniques to tame the chaotic beauty of the ocean into a smooth surreal scene is to take long exposures. Earlier in the year I decided to buy and test the Singh-Ray 10 Stop Mor-Slo filter. One of the big features I liked about this filter over the Lee Big Stopper filter is that it was actually available and Singh-Ray makes an amazingly high quality product that produces minimal color cast.  I was

A visit to the Monterey coastline just south of San Francisco, California never fails to inspire. Recently I decided to use this location to test some camera bodies (Hasselblad H5D, Nikon D800 and Canon 5D Mark III) and squeezed in a little extra time to try out a new Singh-Ray Mor-Slo 10-stop filter.  While I didn’t have time to stack filters and experiment further I was very happy with the outcome. Gear aside

This weekend I went out with some new gear to test, namely the Hasselblad H5D medium format DSLR and Hasselblad 300mm f/4.5 lens via BorrowLenses.com. The location of choice was Asilomar State Beach. The H5D has roughly twice the resolution as my Canon 5D Mark II with a whopping 40 megapixels per image.  I had been curious to find out if Hasselblad’s reputation was hype or not. To cut to the chase I’ll te

One of the more intriguing visual phenomenon is seeing a giant moon on the horizon. One might think that there is some physical explanation as to why the moon is larger when low on the horizon, but its actually a visual illusion where your brain is playing a trick on you. This illusion is aptly called the “Moon Illusion“. This illusion is incredibly well explained in the following video: So how do people

Stormy sunsets on the coast never cease to amaze. I consider myself quite lucky to live so close to amazing coastal scenery.  As I gaze out to such dramatic scenes I can’t help but think of artists before me who defined the west coast tradition of photography. With such huge footprints to follow in I always think to the following quote: …to photograph a rock, have it look like a rock, but be more than a r

Few would argue that one of the cutest sea mammals around are Sea Otters. Whether they’re grooming, using tools to crack open shellfish to eat or just warming themselves in the sun Sea Otters seem to have an eternally cute appearance. As Sea Otters rest in rafts you never know what pose they might take. The rare combination is the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” pose between neighboring o

Fast food has an altogether different meaning for Sea Otters. Voracious they’re almost always hunting and clams are among their favorite quick meals. This photo was captured shortly after the clam was pounded with a rock… a common sight to see. Sea Otters make fast work of shellfish, so shortly after this the hunt was on for another meal. In all the time I’ve been photographing Sea Otters this was o