It all begins with an idea. A feeling. An inspiration. After that, the camera does most of the work. The end result is always going to be a picture. Sometimes, that picture becomes a really great photograph. Occasionally, that photograph becomes an amazing memory.

Here’s some memories I thought I’d share…

Enjoy.

-A.

When I first started taking pictures, editing them really wasn’t a thing. Fast forward many years later, and now everyone has a digital editing studio at home, on their laptop, or even in the palm of their hand. Naturally, the first inclination is to throw all the edits at it.

“Give a man a hammer”…, and all that jazz.

Personally, I believe the camera does (and should do) all the heavy lifting, but the real MVP, is lighting. I know that’s probably pretty obvious but I can’t stress enough that lighting is the best photography trick in the book. It ain’t always convenient, but it is FREE. Good lighting can make even the most boring subject POP! Trust me, I’ve got the self-portraits to prove it. :)

If you’re fortunate enough to live near palm trees, you probably already know just how photogenic they are. If you don’t, you most likely snap a pic of one (or 3) when you spot them on your travels. They are simple, easy to shoot, and more often than not, come pre-quipped with the perfect angles and poses.

My other favorite thing about palm trees, they really help tell the story of your photograph by giving the audience clues to your location. This helps transport their imagination right to the heart of your picture. A building, person, or city street could be anywhere. But when you see those palmettos, it really narrows it down. Doesn’t even matter where. Just so long as it’s a nice break from reality.

Color plays a role in every photograph. Even if you’re shooting exclusively in black & white. You can use color to make a photo POP, or draw attention to lack of color. Oftentimes it’s the warm colors, (your reds, yellows, and oranges) that get the glory. But, you just can’t beat a good blue. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at this picture in particular, and every time that blue pulls me in for a good 10-15 seconds before I even notice there’s a bottom half.

Once you do start working your way down, it’s essentially a crash course on the cool side of the color wheel. I took several pictures that day and this one was barely on my radar. In all honesty, it was practically a throwaway compared to some of the others. Now it’s one of my favorites from that shoot.

Fun fact: First, consider everything I said above. Next, know that that I’m partially colorblind. Weird right?

When it comes to 2D images, texture isn’t really the first thing you think of is it? While it’s certainly not impossible to capture, it’s not without challenges. First and foremost, you’ve got to get close. Then, your lens needs to be able to do some heavy lifting.

When I incorporate texture into my photographs, I’m trying to get your brain to make the connection to your sense of touch. Sand, water, or in this case wood. If it’s the focal point of the picture, I want you imagining your hand brushing the smoothed over stump or feeling the sand in between your toes. Seriously, just by looking at this, you know exactly what it feels like…don’t you?

Never a dull moment when it comes to photographing water. Especially if that water is moving and/or you’re at the beach. I could fill this entire site with pictures of the Pacific Ocean and still never run out of material. The trick is to get something unique, as often as you can. Sometimes it’s deliberate, and sometimes you point and see what happens.

When I take pictures of the ocean, I’ll watch for a bit before snapping away. It’s not like I’m going to run out of film or anything. I’m just looking to observe its behavior. That way I can make assumptions about what is going to make a good shot. A good shot that I already don’t have thousands of. (So many ocean pictures by the way.)

When I shot this I had already hit the visual lottery as far as lighting and color, so I wanted to push the envelope a bit further to see what I would get. The question is, do you think this was intentional or just plain luck?

Right out of the gate, I must say…it’s confession time. This is the sole picture in my gallery NOT taken by me. Well, kind of. I was out on a random beach hike and came upon this seawall. Don’t get me wrong, it looks great on it own, but for scale, and to really make it POP, I felt there needed to be a person in the frame. We’ve already discussed that I don’t love taking pictures of humans, but this was a warranted exception. In case you haven’t guessed by now, the “model” (in the loosest sense of the term) is yours truly.

The setup was a little tricky, even though it turned out better than I had hoped. First I had a friend sit on the wall and practiced a couple poses. Then I snapped a couple practice shots. Once the stage was set, we reviewed the test shots and switched places. We got this one nailed in less than 3 shots!

So, shout out to my “assistant”. A good reminder that we ALL need a little help sometimes. Also, this is probably the Closest thing to a self-portait as you’re going to get here, so feel free to zoom in. :) Practice makes Perfect and Perfect makes Pictures. (Totally just made that up, btw.)