Utah Landscape

 This image was taken while on an ATV tour near Zion National Park, the vast landscapes were incredible, changing from dunes to unique rock formations in the blink of an eye. The passing storm allowed for these dramatic clouds overhead, while beams of sun broke through the cloudy atmosphere making the sand turn to vibrant shades of orange and red.

Forbidden Trail

This can be seen while hiking at the forbidden trail in Pennsylvania. This is a great place for family outings or a peaceful walk to your self as you enjoy the fresh air and beautiful landscape. Many people come here to hike, walk there dogs, and mountain bike with friends and family. 

Santa Barbara Farmers Market

One of the best things about living in California is the year round fresh fruits and vegetables. Local farmers set up stands in Santa Barbara on Tuesdays and Saturdays to sell a variety of goods ranging from fruits, vegetables, cheese, nuts, breads, meats and flowers. While shopping for fresh goods to enjoy later at home you can often enjoy local musicians playing music.

Mulholland Drive

This is one of the spectacular views  you can see while driving along  Mulholland Drive in California. Mulholland Drive is a road that runs along the Santa Monica Mountains over looking various parts of Los Angeles. Many of the homes set back off this road are the most exclusive and most expensive homes in the world.

Music

“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flows from heaven to the soul.”

-Anonymous 

Bicycle

Life is like riding a bicycle - in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. 

Albert Einstein

Smile For The Camera

"Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole."

Roger Caras

Pelican

• The great white pelican catches about 1.2 kg of fish a day in its large throat pouch.
• The brown pelican dives from a height of 15 m above the water to catch fish below below the surface. 
• There are seven species of pelican. Most live and feed around fresh water, but the brown pelican is a seabird.
• A great white pelican comes in to land on the water.
• One of the largest pelicans is the Australian pelican, which is up to 180 cm long and weighs about 15 kg.
• The white pelican lays 1-2 eggs in a nest mound on the ground. Both parents help to incubate the eggs and care for the young.
• Pelican chicks are able to stand at 3 weeks old and can fly at 7-10 weeks old.
• White pelicans work as a group to herd fish into a shoal by swimming around them in a horseshoe formation. 
• In flight, a pelican flaps its wings 1.3 times a second. This is one of the slowest wingbeat speeds, when actively flying, of any bird.

Saguaro Cactus

• The saguaro is a slow-growing plant. 
• It takes the cactus roughly 14 years to grow three feet tall and between 60 and 75 years to sprout its first arm.
• The saguaro cactus produces its first flower when it is about 50 years old. 
• The white blossoms open only at night, last less than 24 hours.
• The saguaro cactus is home to two kinds of birds, both the Gila Woodpecker and Glided Flicker bore holes in the saguaro and use them as a nest.
•  Native American people made flour, cakes and jam from the saguaro's fruit, pulp and seeds.

Spanish Entryway

This entry way and foyer was designed by the home owners and contractor Mark Hemming. The inspiration for this room and house was from years of traveling to Mexico. This spanish style home is filled with authentic mexican art work, furniture, and souvenir collected over the numerous visits to mexico by the home owners. 

Pizza Oven

This is a pizza oven that is part of an outdoor kitchen located at a home in Ballard, California. The entire home was great to photograph my group and myself could not have asked for a better experience. The owners were great to us as well, making us pizza for lunch and much more.

Twilight Exterior

This is a twilight exterior of a modern home in Santa Yenz, Ca. I photographed this home which is inspired by Cliff May, with fellow photographer and friend Kim Gehr. This contemporary house is very inviting with its glass sliding doors and windows allowing the sunlight to stream in from every angle. Its unique simple design flows through out the house making it all come together as one outstanding piece of architecture. 

Modern Home

This is a photograph I took while photographing a Cliff May inspired home in Santa Yenz, CA. This modern home was great to photograph with a clean simple style the images are flawless. The homeowners  have a large collection of art pieces which were on display through out the home. Photographed here are three of the pieces of art a painting, statue of a person and a black sculpture. 

Family Roots

Family like branches on a tree, we all grow in different directions yet our roots remain as one. 

-Anonymous 

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter! This holiday always seems to be filled with candy, bunnies, eggs, and smiling children. I hope everyone was able to have a wonderful holiday, spending time with family and friends.

Hope is the thing with feathers

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

-Emily Dicksinson

Birds Sing

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.

Lou Holtz

UCSB Gym

This is the entrance to the UCSB gym. There is a constant flow of students that continually come in and out to this facility all hours of the day. The entire UCSB campus offers great architectural photographs, it can be hard to choose which one to shoot. 

Union Hotel Details

These are several detail photographs I took while shooting at the Union Hotel. The decretive wood design is a close up of a headboard, the intricate wood carving and stunning wood stain just called my name. One of the other detail photographs is of an arm chair and the last photograph is a close up of the hardwood floor that is through out the hotel. 

Union Hotel

This is one of the rooms inside the Union Hotel located in Los Alamos, Ca. I photographed this hotel with fellow photographer and friend Kim Gehr.This room is the majestic room; other rooms include family room, governors suite, and many more. Each room had its own style and characteristics. The hotel and town take you back in time to a simper and slower way of life, surrounded by farms and local stores you will find your visit welcoming. 

Horse

Again the early-morning sun was generous with its warmth.  All the sounds dear to a horseman were around me - the snort of the horses as they cleared their throats, the gentle swish of their tails, the tinkle of irons as we flung the saddles over their backs - little sounds of no importance, but they stay in the unconscious library of memory.  

~Wynford Vaughan-Thomas

Bubbles

This photograph is of a pepper and strawberry submerged in 7-UP. I choose a skinny glass cylinder to put the strawberry and pepper in so they would be close to each other and then filled it with 7-UP to create the bubbles. I did this with several different types of fruits and vegetables however I liked the shape of this glass and the thick white bubbles in this image the best. 

Soccer

As spring sports begin to start up back home I wish I was there to photograph my sister playing soccer or track. Photographed here is my sister Abby in blue stealing the ball from her opponents and getting ready to pass it to a teammate. Out on the field she is in the zone and ready for anything that is thrown her way.   Good Luck this year Abby! 

The Key

Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.

Albert Schweitzer 

Product on Location

I photographed this heel on location to make it have a natural feel. I decided on this location to create a contrast between the vibrant colors of the high heel and the monochromatic stone to make the heel come to life. The shadows on the stone wall  helps emphasize the shoes shape and elegant form since it has same shape as the heel. 

Architecture Detail

This is a beautiful detail photograph from a house I recently shot with my group for an architecture class.
This house was well planed out by the homeowners and contractor to create a genuine spanish feel throughout the home. The house was filled with unique architectural details to authentic mexican art pieces. 

Charles Dickens

Never break four things in our life- trust, relation, Promise and Heart because when they break, they don't make noise but pains a lot.

-Charles Dickens 

Nature

The human spirit needs places where nature has not been rearranged by the hand of man. 

-Anonymous 

The Path

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Orange Monkey

This brightly colored orange monkey caught my attention as I walked around the Santa Barbara Zoo. This monkey was full of energy as he ran around his cage having fun. For one split second he stood still as he looked up at the other monkeys. This allowed me to capture his profile as the sun highlighted his pug like face. 

Pencil Sharpener

This old sharpener sat gathering dust in an abandon school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The window light struck this old rusting sharpener in such a way to strike my interest as I explored the abandon and trashed school rooms. Its amazing how fast a place can decay when it is no longer inhabited. The walls were covered with graffiti and dirt. Books, chairs and desks were just left to sit and rot away. 

Kimmel Center

The Kimmel Center for the Preforming Arts is located on Broad St in Philadelphia Pennsylvania. This building is filled with stunning architectural designs and fine details which makes all the difference. The structure is home to the Philadelphia Orchestra and host numerous other performers from jazz, pop and classical musicians. 

Clam Bake

This is a New England clam bake; a traditional way of cooking seafood. The food photographed here is  is lobster, steamers, sausage, potatoes and corn.  The first step to cooking this meal is creating a fire  and having it burn on top of rocks until they become scolding hot. After that the ashes are removed and fresh seaweed is placed on top. Following that the potatoes, corn, sausage, steamers and lobster are placed and ready to be cooked. There is a large canvas top spread over top of the food to keep the steam in and cook the food. Once finished everything is removed and ready to be eaten. 

Umbrella

I photographed this umbrella one day as it sat in my house collecting dust. Its unique beautiful design and antique asian style caught my attention and I felt the need to photograph it.  I photographed it several differnt ways; however this was my favorite since I added movement to give the umbrella a more dramatic and realistic feel. 

Spring

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold:  when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.  

~Charles Dickens

Hearst Castle at Sunset

This is part of the magnificent Hearst Castle; the view to the right overlooks the beautiful rocky coastline of California. This photograph was taken just after a rainfall as the clouds opened up revealing the blue sky and allowing for a great sunset. As the sunset it cast this warm golden glow on this building just making it come alive and the wet tiles allowed for some interesting reflections of the fountain and building. 

Smore

This is a food photograph I did for my mini portfolio. I did a series of different types of food ranging from desserts, full meals, drinks, fruit, and vegetables. This is one on the desserts a smore, 

Clouds

Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.

Rabindranath Tagore

Twilight UCSB

This is part of the UCSB campus at twilight. Twilight occurs after sunset as the sky begins to turn dark shades of blue. The darker the blue sky the more dramatic the architectural photograph could look.  

Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church

This is Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church located in Montecito, California. This Catholic church is great place for weddings; its premises offers great locations for photographs. The court yard is filled with flowers and trees that offer great backgrounds for wedding photographs. The inside of the church is very unique as it has a native american feel to it. The churches interior consists of wooden beams, carved wood, and monochromatic color scheme. 

Rust

The weathered and warn metal oil tank shows its age as it sits in ruins among many other abandon oil tanks. The rust color overwhelms the photograph only allowing hints of blue and white graffiti to shine through. The paint cracked and faded with time falls off as gust of wind blow past.

Parrot

 

                 Random Facts 

• There are around 372 different parrot species.
• Most parrots live in tropical areas.
• A Birds Feathers weigh more than its skeleton does. 
• Parrots are often brightly coloured.
• Parrots are believed to be one of the most intelligent bird species.
• Some species are known for imitating human voices.
• Most parrot species rely on seeds as food. Others may eat fruit, nectar, flowers or small insects.
• There are over 40 million pet birds living in the U.S.
• Some parrot species can live for over 80 years.
  
  

Walt Disney Concert Hall

The Walt Disney Concert Hall was designed by architect Frank Gehry. This internationally known architectural landmark was designed to provide the best acoustic quality and be visually appealing. The curves of the stainless steel structure attracts masses to view this state of the art architecture. 

Detail

This is a detail of a high rise building in Los Angeles, California. Architectural detail photographs can be very abstract, like this one shown. The graphic appeal to the building is shown here by zooming into the side of the building and using the lighting to emphasizing the windows. 

In Motion

"Everyone who's serious about what they're doing must be in constant motion forward."

Ed O'Brien

Cobies

This is a lobster roll from Cobies Clam shack located on 6A in Brewster, Ma. Cobies serves fried clams, fried seafood, burgers, hot dogs, french fries, ice cream and much more. This local restaurant can be very busy during the hot summer months on Cape Cod as it is conveniently near the bike path, state park and beaches. 

Social Sciences UCSB

This Social Science and Media Studies building is part of the UCSB campus located in Goleta, California.    The UCSB campus has modern buildings and beautiful views of both the beach and mountainous landscape behind it. This building just seemed to glow during the night sky taking on a much more dramatic appearance then during the day.

Cattle

This photograph is of two cowboys that ran over to hold down the calf after he was roped and brought to the ground by two cowboys on horses. The squeals from the calf is the first sign the branding has begun, but as you watch, white smoke begins to thicken turing into a distinct yellow color as the branding continues. The enthusiasm is in the air as the calves run around and the cowboys work together to  effortlessly lasso them. 

Cowboys

Roping just seems to come naturally to these cowboys. They effortlessly rope the young calves as they run in all directions trying to escape. The first rope catches the calves head, the second goes around their hind-legs and, from there the calf is brought down and ready to be branded. 

Roping

The ropes swirling through the air creating a whooshing sound, the cries and squeals of the calfs as they are lassoed and branded are all common sounds that are hear as you observe the branding. This is an all day event that starts with herding all the cattle and bringing them in, running the adult cows, roping the calves, branding and then a BBQ with all the cowboys.