travels || southern california

On our way down to a wedding in San Diego, we made a pit stop in Laguna Niguel and stayed at a friends house.  They have amazing white sandy beaches- and thats where our interests lied, we wanted to live in our swimsuits and this was the place for it.  We pool-hopped, we beach-hopped, we tested the water with our toes and got sand in everything we owned. (my clothes still smell like sun-screen and I think I'll keep it that way for a while).

San Diego was quite striking as well. We ran around in the Encinitas area, which I preferred- mostly inhabited by locals/surfers, it felt like the real deal.  La Jolla's beaches are unlike anything I've ever seen and it made me want to sell all my things and pitch a tent on the beach (you can do that, right?)

Here's to you, Southern California, and all of your glorious, sunny perfection-

travels || carmel-by-the-sea

I suppose I'm having to squeeze a bit of effort into this post.  I didn't love Carmel, or the Carmel that most will read about or will vacation at... it's pretty kitschy and there are lots of little shops and places to winey and diney, blah blah. it's all a bit much for me.  This is all completely beside the point.  What I really want to talk is about what I noticed about Carmel when I was post-processing these photos.  By the time we had reached this gilded little european-esque beach town it had been engulfed by late afternoon fog and was almost completely devoid of color.  I loved these photos almost more than the shots I gathered from Big Sur because of this discovery.  The contrast between foggy skies, white sandy beaches or stark stuccoed houses silhouetted by wind-blown trees and their shadows, black wrought iron fences or dark figures on the beach.... well, it was really something.  I like quiet, peaceful, stark Carmel. That's the Carmel I could spend some time with.

travels || big sur

One of the most breathtaking drives this year was winding down Hwy 1 heading south from Oakland toward Big Sur.   We must have pulled over half a dozen times within a 1/2 mile span, it was like every bend of the highway was another, finer, glimpse of the coastline.  Unfortunately, we were in a race against the fog, and by mid afternoon, we could barely see the road.  Which I had no problem photographing either... Here are a few shots from that drive: