8.29.13 : sunrise in malibu.

As some of you know, I recently drove up the entirety of the West Coast, starting in San Diego. Spurred by a wedding I was shooting on September 1st in Santa Cruz, I left August 29th and had planned to take a week to travel up to San Francisco and back. Somewhere along the way, a spark was ignited within me, and I made the decision to keep going. By the morning of September 8th, I'd crossed over into Oregon. Conveniently, I had family in the area, so after making it up to Coos Bay, I headed inland to my aunt and uncle's house in Roseburg, OR to do some much needed laundry and consider my next move. I made my way over to Crater Lake on September 11th, but had started to feel the nagging of responsibilities calling me back to San Diego.

Before I left Roseburg, it was suggested that I simply go back to pack my stuff (and sell what wouldn't fit), then come back up with the intentions of finishing the coast.  So I did.

On October 2nd, I moved to Roseburg. My poor little Honda Civic was packed to the gills with everything I owned, including my dear cat Loulou. Once here, I took a few days to settle in before hitting the road again on October 9th. 

Making my way back to Coos Bay to pick up where I left off, I drove the remainder of the coast all the way up to Vancouver, BC, where I spent a long weekend during their Thanksgiving holiday. I had some detours inland in Washington to see some friends, but headed back to the coast to complete what I hadn't gotten to on the way back. 

By the morning of October 18th, I'd successfully finished the coast. 

So now, I am faithfully parked on the couch in my temporary home in Roseburg, editing through the thousands of photos I managed to snap on this great adventure of mine. My goal is to post a blog every single day representing the entire trip. I'm certain that will be easier said than done, but I plan to stick to that resolve as diligently as possible.

So, today, you get to see day one…my very first stop to watch the sunrise in Malibu, CA. 

sunset key largo.

If you've frequented my blog even a little bit, you know that I have no shortage of photos containing a body of water, a sunset or both. Admittedly, it's not hard to take a photo of a sunset and have it come out looking great, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop anytime soon. This shot is a favorite of mine from a sequence of over 200 shots (no joke…) I took during a particularly spectacular sunset as seen from the "backyard" of a vacation rental spot in Key Largo while on my annual reunion trip with 20ish of my close college friends. Seen on the pier is a small group of said friends enjoying the view.

fireworks on the beach.

It's kind of a given that anyone with even the slightest bit of shutterbug lurking within them will have their camera out and at the ready for their local fireworks on the Fourth of July. No one can resist trying to get a unique shot of something so fun and beautiful to photograph…and who can blame them?! Imperial Beach, the town I [still] reside in just south of San Diego, had their first firework show this year. They set off the rockets from the pier and everyone gathered on the beach to watch them light up the sky. I'll admit, it was one of the better shows I've seen in my time. I, liked every other camera-wielding individual out there, took quite a few shots of the show, but this one was my favorite.