Visit California asked me to photograph a few highlights around Santa Barbara for its stock and commercial use in the tourism industry. Here are a few of my favorite images from that project:

Visit California asked me to photograph a few highlights of the Napa Valley for its stock and commercial use in the tourism industry. Here are a few of my favorite images from that project:

In September of 2015 I went on assignment for AAA Via Magazine to photograph an article titled "Ultimate Monterey Coast Road Trip" exploring the food and landscapes of the region to accompany the following article.

Visit California commissioned me to update their commercial image library with images from Mammoth Mountain. Here are a few highlights:

I had the opportunity to photograph a few select dining establishments in the Sonoma area back in July of 2014 for a AAA Via Magazine article about the "Sonoma Wine Country Food Scene". It doesn't get much better than shooting and tasting beautiful food in a beautiful location, and Sonoma definitely has the best of both. Here is an excerpt: 

"Some road trips require quick refueling with no time to linger over a sumptuous repast. But when you venture to Sonoma County for wineries, spas, and bucolic Northern California landscapes, the 36-mile drive from the city of Sonoma to the town of Healdsburg demands that you brake for good eats, not for tossing out burger wrappers. Here, slow food sets the speed limit, and the closest you'll get to a combo meal is the region's trademark mix of big-city culinary sophistication with ingredients fresh from small farms and orchards." - Kristina Malsberger

I had a wonderful time in Sonoma and met some fantastic people. I especially loved the town of Glen Ellen, where I spent my nights. I feel so fortunate to have had this opportunity and I can't wait to return. If you are going, I definitely recommend a lodging at the beautiful and relaxing Olea Hotel.

This story made the cover of the magazine featuring this beautiful spread I photographed at St Francis Winery, created by the amazing Chef Bryan Jones: 

We have 59 national parks in the US. The newest, Pinnacles National Park was just added in January of this year.  I wasn't sure how long it had been since the previous newest National Park, but with a little research I found that the Great Sand Dunes in Colorado… #58 was established in September 2004; making Pinnacles America’s first new National Park in 9 years! Pinnacles is named for its rocky, craggy peaks, which are leftovers of an extinct volcano along the San Andreas fault.

This past summer I was sent on assignment to photograph the new National Park for Spirit Magazine. My photographs were to accompany an article written by a friend and former editor of Via Magazine (currently at Sunset), Bruce Anderson. His article discusses why Pinnacles should be worthy of National Park status. It was recently “elevated” from being a National Monument. It is a wonderful article that can be viewed in the online version of Spirit Magazine.

In the article his conclusion pertains to the protection of California Condors at Pinnacles… 

“Though I don’t think we should draft a hard-and-fast list of elements that every national park must have, we can expand the notion of them beyond stunning geology, showstopping geothermal features, big trees, and teeming waters. They can be chiefly about shielding and showing off endangered species, and preserving more than promoting.” - Bruce Anderson

After visiting and hiking in Pinnacles twice for this assignment I am smitten. I would highly recommend any and all lovers of the outdoors to check it out! Some of these images are also now in the January issue of Via Magazine, so I thought it was about time to share the outtakes.

Here is an excerpt from the Southwest Airlines blog talking a little about how the article came to be…

“It started with a phone call from Bruce Anderson, a veteran journalist and travel editor of Sunset magazine. America had just named a brand-new national park in California, Pinnacles, which happened to be Bruce’s childhood stomping grounds. Bruce wanted to do more than just visit the place. He wanted to know what qualifies the place to be a national park—and what does that say about America?

…Bruce had the most fun of everybody, exploring the wilderness of his childhood and scanning the skies for America’s biggest bird.

Then Creative Director Kevin de Miranda sent photographer David Collier to the place. Kevin had a picture in hand that might make a great cover. It showed a rock climber scaling one of the weird formations that give Pinnacles its name. The photo was just short of perfect. So Kevin asked his photographer to reshoot it, this time using a woman.”  -  http://www.blogsouthwest.com/behind-julys-spirit-magazine-spacious-skies/