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Awards and Praise

The above image was shot a short while ago. For me it is sort of the peak of what is possible with modern DSLR imaging. The detail and various aspects which make an incredibly complex subject rendered to perfection are all there. This is why I am not posting the two images which are being discussed below, in a pasted in conversation with one of my editors at Corbis. My work evolves. It is far better than ever before. If that process was not building in such a way, I would stop. But many who die, who have reached bottom

Oceanlovers, Blue Ocean Sciences, Creativity and Commerce

Note. click on any of the images to see them large and in full scale. In this post are a few images from the past week shooting surf. It has been a remarkable Summer in that I never get to create a lot of high bar work around Ventura and Southern California this time of year. Weather and swell rarely line up as they do during our Winters. A warm and pleasant surprise is occurring! That is one of the great things about Surfing. You never know when the presents will arrive. It keeps your appetite whetted and hones a

The Independence Adventure

I like the Fourth of July as a holiday a lot. It always reminds me that some were brave enough to sacrifice the relative comforts of home to embark on the adventure of a lifetime and in process change the potential of their lives. They became Independent. It was not without risk, expense, hope, fear, sorrow, loss and oh yes, joy. I never forget the joy part. Whenever I see our flag, it is not generally the rah rah of National Pride I experience. But the expense, joy, privilege and hope that our Independence seeking forbearers forged. Yes, that is

Beyond Local: A Film Maker’s Request

I reside in the quirky town of Ventura California, which is located approx 50 minutes drive up coast from Los Angeles, and approx 30 minutes drive down coast, from Santa Barbara. If you do not know much about the place, you may not pull off the freeway. Why would you? (There are a lot of reasons to do so, actually) One of my friends and colleagues, a young Brooks Institute of Photography graduate (read that: saddled with a large student loan) has been spending her time shooting and filming the music scene around California, and more particularly in our funny

Blue Mind

I am in the midst of an incredibly intense few weeks of giving. How could giving be intense? Sometimes it takes all that you have. That is me right now. I won’t go into the list, but it is long, and as significant for me as the people I am committed to. So what do I endeavor to communicate? Only Love. When one tries to single THAT out, a near impossible task has been engaged. Human vessels only get to carry love in passing. You see, we are sort of like buckets with holes. The love flows out and the

Surf Photography and the Super Telephoto

A few of us have been discussing the declining economic validity of Surf Photography and ensuing demise in editorial based content for awhile now. Recently, changes to baggage rates by air carriers have added yet another challenge to those Photographers and Cinematographers whose content topics require super telephotos in the attainment of the rather high bar required in action sports imaging. The image above was shot with the Canon 5DM2 and the 600F4 IS lens with 1.4x v2 teleconverter on a monopod. Add up the original equipment cost of these items (all recently serviced by CPS BTW) and you come

Mothering

It is Mother’s Day. Yesterday I wandered out to create an image that would be illustrative, which I could use as a thank you note through our Ocean Lovers venture site. That image is above. I thought about it prior to building it, and all through the process from design, to copy writing, finalizing, and publishing. Sunset colors. White sage buds. The blossoms unified by the setting sun. An eternal message embedded within the symbology of the compositional elements. Earth, sky, eternity. I had spoken to my friend and colleague West Cook earlier. He was at his post running the

The Springs Fire

Pock pock pockata pock pock pock…. I had been dreaming of helos, hovering. I awoke to the stacatto rhythm of rain on the roof. In the dark, I figured it must be around 3 am. I was wide awake and thinking about the events of the last few days. Deep breath. Hmm wow, first time I have been able to take one of those in awhile. Funny what we may take for granted. Little things like breathing. My wife lay on her back next to me, I could hear the faint rattle in her chest as she slept. We both

David Pu’u: Film School Project

I get letters somewhat regularly, as do many of my colleagues, from Film and Art School students who as part of their class assignment lists need to study a Photographer or Film Maker. I take these seriously. Since I get a fair amount of them, I decided to do a blog on the subject. The following excerpt is one I really appreciated as it came from the daughter of someone I went to school with. I am pasting it below with some entertaining and informative links that will give anyone who possesses a moderate amount of effort and ability to

Creativity Restoration

It happened slowly, in a seductive manner. The devil that is responsibility to project fulfillment, had worn me down creatively. I could feel it, and understood what was going on, with far greater comprehension than one knows the proverbial back of their hand. (Does anyone really spend time looking at those?) This does not happen so frequently as one might suspect. Most Creatives know how to keep themselves in the flow of energy that births new work that matters. Unfortunately, lately it seemed that the performance required of me by some projects had begun to make me feel like a

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