California

California Trip - February

August 03, 2020

In February I went to California to road-trip and explore the National Parks as I enjoy them a lot. Their unique beauty brings something different every time I photograph them. I also wanted to go and have a chance at photographing the “Firefalls” in Yosemite, but Yosemite ended up being too dry. So upon finding out Yosemite was dry and had no snow I decided to leave the next day and go down to Death Valley and Joshua Tree National Parks 7 hours away. Before that though I decided to photograph stars the night before and then sunrise in Upon arriving to those parks as I needed to adjust my plan I quickly found locations to shoot while getting lunch on the way down. I then improvised and was able to photograph these locations in the light conditions I hoped for with the weather that was given. Of course I woke up for sunrise, in these locations and stars every night that the weather allowed. After visiting Death Valley and Joshua Tree I decided to drive back up north along the Pacific Coastal Highway. I stayed in Pfeiffer Big Sur State Park and photographed stars before I continued the drive in the morning to return to San Francisco. When getting to San Francisco I touched on Daly City where I had always wanted to photograph for the repetitive and intriguing architecture and then some locations in San Francisco I had touched just yet. The West Coast is one of my favorite places I’ve had the opportunity to visit and explore and I can’t wait until I’m there again.

A shooting star over climbers on El Capitan with Half Dome looking in the background with more stars peaking through the cloudy sky.

Some deer within just outside of the Yosemite Valley

The Red sunrise light smacking the side of the Panamint Range

Amazing light spilling through coastline trees.

Daly Cities repetitive buildings and architecture.

The white architecture of San Francisco joining together for this calming shot.

Drone shot of streets coming together in San Francisco.

El Capitan being frame between pine trees on the Valley Floor with the Merced River running through.

Sand dunes during Golden Hour in Death Valley National Park

Sunrise with salt flats and the Panamint Range in the background.

Crazy cactus in Joshua Tree National Park

Milky way over a waterfall along Big Sur’s highway.

The lines of housing within the Bay Area / Daly City.

Neighborhood of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge overlooking it.

Transamerica Pyramid overlooking light trails.

Thank you for reading and looking at my photographs from my trip to California in February.

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The Water of Death Valley

April 13, 2020

If the desert is mentioned you'd probably think of a barren wasteland that has nothing around it but rattlesnakes, sand, and the sun. Death Valley National Park’s name even offers and feeds to this generalization of deserts around the globe. But truthfully there is still life that flourishes in these harsher environments even though it’s not as saturated as other ecosystems. The 3.4-million-acre park has much to offer from its many oasis, sand dunes, mountains, and even having the lowest point in North America, with its lowest point reaching -282ft.

This park has many valleys, but those valleys aren’t just flat desert they offered a wide variety of places to enjoy. Of course, for there to be a valley there are mountain ranges that surround these valleys, the most famous in the park being the Panamint Range. Throughout my visit at this park I tried to see as much as possible and capture the many things that water brings life to in the valley of death.

Death Valley was also important at the beginning as it was prosperous mining region for many decades. It graced the likes of many pioneers who wanted to get rich off the many minerals. There are 61 known geological formations within the park and there are still 20 formations that have not been added to the collection. There are also 3 different formations that have unofficial names. The many different rock types brought people to Death Valley in the beginning and keep bringing people back.

That’s not the only thing that brings people to Death Valley either, there are plenty of other things to enjoy such as sand dunes, salt flats, ghost-towns, different plants and animals, and the amazing stars. Only the plants and the salt flats are pictured below, so you’ll have to wait for further blog posts or visit for yourself to see the rest

Death Valley National Park deserves to be preserved because of these many things and the unique landscape it encompasses. In these photographs I hope I can give you a feel of what it feels like to be in these remote locations and observing the beauty unfold. The many sunrises, sunsets, stars, etc. are amazing sights within themselves but are more spectacular than those that are inhibited by chemicals in the air of cities and the light pollution blocking the stars. These natural spaces offer way more than people realize how they help you understand yourself and the world around you more as well.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this blog post and enjoy these photographs. I hope you’ll make the trip to Death Valley to enjoy its unique beauty.

At the bottom is a video that explains these ideas more!

Erosion flowing down the mountain can be seen throughout the different ridges and then the valley floor below.

A clump of salt being formed on the surface after evaporating

Human tire-track destruction on the desert floor over mud-cracks.

Water run-off with desert plants in the shadows.

Water erosion through the desert floor creating empty banks.

Panamint Mountain Range during sunrise. Snow melt creates erosion on the mountain-sides.

Salt flats happen from rainfall that evaporates too quickly (from the desert sun) before the next rainfall and creates this layer on top of the ground.

Mud-cracks from hot desert sun and little to no rainfall.

A fully grown desert plant basking in the desert rays.

Water run-off from the rugged mountains and colorful rocks.

Erosion in this spectacular area a couple miles North of the Panamint Range.

More erosion in front of the Panamint Range

Thank you for reading my post about the water in Death Valley National Park!

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Cross Country

November 06, 2018

My Cross Country road trip was full of experience and amazing adventures. There are so many destinations I was able to set foot on and see for the first time and hopefully not the last. My favorite location is always Yosemite National Park or San Francisco, but I've been to both before. After this trip I think Joshua Tree was one of my favorite National Parks; the peacefulness just stuck out to me and the temperature was a perfect 100 (in May). Things I saw went from a huge slug, to a black bear. Or these amazing tree landscapes and then to see the red rock mountains of the South West. The uniqueness of the United States is impeccable with the different ecosystems and stories each place told. Here are some of my favorite images from this journey!

Chicago: Some high rises during golden hour.

Badlands National Park: Right after the sunrise, this light was giving a nice textural feel along the ridges.

Badlands National Park: Beautiful morning light casting on a tree.

Yellowstone National Park: Bison family crosses creek.

Yellowstone National Park: Looking for lunch in the snow.

Jackson, Wyoming: A smaller portion of the snake river weaving past Jackson.

Glacier National Park: Beautiful wispy clouds catching light above the mountainous landscape.

Banff National Park: A waterfall making way through a forest.

Jasper National Park: Light tipping the peaks of an amazing ridge.

North Cascades National Park: A beautiful view of an emerald lake, Mt. Diablo.

Hoh National Rainforest: This could’ve been a scene out of a Jurassic Park movie.

Seattle, Washington: Space needle behind the conglomeration of buildings.

Yosemite National Park: El Capitan being masked by the moody clouds.

Yosemite National Park: A black bear walking along the forest floor after eating a nice grass lunch.

San Francisco: The Golden Gate Bridge framing the large city.

Big Sur: A drone shot of a beautiful curved bridge during sunset.

Joshua Tree National Park: Moonrise behind a Joshua Tree illuminating a cactus in the foreground. Stars spinning above.

Death Valley National Park: Sunset over Zabriskie Point.

Grand Canyon National Park: The Milky Way across the cloudy sky.

Grand Canyon National Park: Horseshoe Bend, such a classic spot. But lived up to it’s hype.

Bryce, Utah: I’ve always wanted to see a rodeo. So this was my one time!

Bryce Canyon National Park: The tons of Hoodoos layered with the morning glow.

Zion National Park: Starry night over a crazy tree.

Monument Valley: Car drives past the amazing Monuments.

Chicago: The "L" snaking through the architecture in downtown.

Badlands National Park: Sunrise right above all the beautiful scenes in Badlands National Park.

Mount Rushmore: Holding my passport book in front of a great historical monument.

Yellowstone National Park: A geyser steams as a beautiful blue hot spring gives great color.

Grand Teton National Park: One of the fancy barns in front of the mountain range. A foggy sunrise was what I received.

Grand Teton National Park: Experiencing the Teton’s from a classic spot.

Glacier National Park: A beautiful island complimented with the gorgeous mountains.

Glacier National Park: Beautiful golden hour light cast on a calm rocky landscape.

Banff National Park: An amazing sight at this river byway.

Banff National Park: Mountains get swallowed in clouds.

Jasper National Park: A raging waterfall being fed by a beautifully shaped river.

Washington, USA: Every pine tree possible was in this amazing state.

Seattle, Washington: The space needle with the blue city behind it.

Oregon, USA: A beautiful group of rock formations along a sketchy cliff.

Multnomah Falls: Raging down to the lower levels where people can view.

Yosemite National Park: Half Dome controlling clouds as a beautiful red sunrise leaks in.

San Francisco: The Transamerica Tower leading the way for downtown.

San Francisco: Beautiful skyline behind the famous Painted Ladies.

Big Sur: A beautiful place to watch and listen to the ocean.

Mojave National Preserve: A beautiful sand dune being touch by the morning light.

Mojave National Preserve: Light shoots through a hole in this amazing cave.

Arizona, USA: A random horse along the side of the road wanted to say hello.

Bryce Canyon National Park: Sunrise over the layers of beauty.

Bryce Canyon National Park: Utah has the most amazing stars.

Zion National Park: A classic spot in the center of this gorgeous multi-tool of a park.

So here are all of my favorites from this awesome cross country road trip!

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National Park Exploration

January 31, 2018

Coming up this year in May - June of 2018 a few friends and I will be making way across the country to experience all the beautiful sights and wildlife. Along side this experience, I will be photographing and sharing the experience through social media. We are accepting donations to help us with this trip, but if you donate enough you can receive a Free Print of your Choice from the trip!! The remainder of the donations we receive will be donated to SeaLegacy to help improve the healthiness of our oceans.

Here is the link to the fundraising page! All donations are appreciated and a lot of help!
https://gogetfunding.com/cross-country-exploration/

Here is the map and the names of every place we'll be visiting.
If you have any questions please contact me at anytime!

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We will be starting in Pittsburgh, PA > Chicago, IL > Maquoketa, IA > Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refugee, NE > Badlands National Park, SD > Custer State Park, SD > Black Hills National Forest, SD > Thunder Basin National Grassland, WY > Yellowstone National Park, WY > Grand Teton National Park, WY > Glacier National Park, MT > Banff National Park, Canada > Yoho National Park, Canada > North Cascades National Park, WA > Seattle, WA > Olympic National Park, WA > Mount Rainier National Park, WA > Portland, OR > Siuslaw National Forest, OR > Brookings, Oregon > Travertine Hot Springs, CA > Yosemite National Park, CA > San Francisco, CA > National Bridges State Beach, CA > Big Sur, CA > El Matador Beach Road, CA > Death Valley National Park, CA > Joshua Tree National Park, CA > Las Vegas, NV > Grand Canyon National Park, AZ > Zion National Park, UT > Bryce Canyon, UT > Antelope Canyon, AZ > Monument Valley, UT > Canyonlands National Park, UT > White River National Forest, CO > Garden of the Gods, CO > Rocky Mountains, CO.

We are hoping this trip can change our life, conserve these beautiful parks, and help make the oceans cleaner.

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California

November 19, 2016

In March of 2016 I received a text from my Aunt inviting me to join her on a journey to San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. The trip happened in mid June; June 14-20th 2016. This was not only a great opportunity, but reconciliation for my home for I once lived and grew up in, San Francisco. Moving to Pittsburgh when I was seven from San Francisco was a big turning point in my life. Having to start over and make friends in a place that was all to unfamiliar other than winter trips or summer vacations to visit family. Adjusting to the North East lifestyle and culture was a big step for me, but an important one. Pittsburgh is where I began my passion for photography. Pittsburgh is where I found myself and where I want to go, but... San Francisco has always been where I felt at home; so receiving that text in March was not only an opportunity to visit, but to capture moments and memories that'll last me a lifetime. The trip started of course with a flight to SFO from PIT; which upon arriving my Aunt and I got a rental car and proceeded to our hotel in Fisherman's Wharf. We visited many destinations of views I had researched before hand for photographs and great vista points to capture; here are some of the photographs below...