Late April and early May has been a whirlwind for me with a cross-country move and several trips in between, so my apologies for the delay on the May wallpaper. Better late than never, though, right?! May’s photo comes from a little known beach in northern California called Bowling Ball Beach. These boulders range from 1 foot wide to some close to 4 feet. A long exposure really sets a nice mood and this particular evening I was blessed with an amazing sunset to complement the boulders.

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These 20 black and white presets are a collection that I’ve saved after editing with Photoshop and Lightroom over the past few years. Since color can’t play a main role, I feel as though contrast is one of the best things that makes a great black and white photo. With these presets, I’ve included multiple ways of changing contrast in images, five of which includes minor split-toning.

As always, these 20 presets are available at $5 for Lightroom and Photoshop. You can view a sample of the presets below.

Download for Lightroom 4    Download for Photoshop

Download for Lightroom 4    Download for Photoshop

FAQ

In late March, many iconic structures across the world turned off their lights to celebrate Earth Hour. The Golden Gate Bridge was no exception, and I wanted to make sure I photographed the rare experience of the tower lights going dark. After capturing several wide shots, I decided to shoot the Bay Bridge underneath, showing a view of the two major Bay Area bridges from Kirby Cove.

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Last July, I was invited to go on a scouting trip to Sitka, Alaska with my good friend Colby Brown, a fine-art photographer from Denver. Having wanted to travel to Alaska since I was a little kid, I jumped at the opportunity. It would also give me a chance to scout a location that I have plans to revisit for two weeks this fall with a surfing crew.

Alaska was just as I imagined it. Friendly locals, clean, and untouched – like traveling back in time. However, upon returning home, the images have stayed on my hard drives for nearly 9 months. I shared some on Facebook and put a few more on my Tumblr, but nothing went into the print store, nor did I send anything out for publication. I brought back photos of broad, vibrant scenes, but that’s not what I felt in Alaska. Standing in the accurately-named Last Frontier state felt more raw. Like early explorers stepping foot on a new location for the first time. I didn’t feel that my shots captured that.

A few weeks ago I was lucky to stumble upon VSCO film, a set of film emulation presets for Lightroom. As a photographer, I’m ashamed to say I’ve never shot film. A part of me feels as though it’s some sort of right of passage to actually be called a photographer, and that I’m fooling everyone in the meantime. Applying the VSCO presets and some minor Lightroom adjustments, however, comes close to the feeling I get while flipping through old family photo albums. That’s what my photos from Alaska were missing – history and character.

So, 9 months later, here are some select shots from Sitka and Kruzof Island, Alaska. I can’t wait to return this fall with surfboards and tents in tow.

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For those that don’t know, I spend my day hours as a web developer and in early February I packed up a few things to pursue new professional knowledge in the Bay Area. The change in scenery has been incredibly inspiring and I can’t remember the last day that I missed the sunset. Being here has also led my photography to take an interesting turn. I’ve been exploring new ways to visualize scenes for editing using VSCO presets and lots of high contrast black and white, semi-replicating the feeling of film.

I’ve been to Yosemite and Big Sur twice and my new favorite thing to do is drive down Highway 1, taking in the ocean at sunset – windows down, music up. Here’s a collection of my favorite shots from the last month. I’ll be in the Bay Area for two more months, so expect more sunsets and ocean scenes to come!