the 312 hole

As the snow approaches Chicago, I figured I’d recap some of the photos from January – which could not be more different than a snow storm in Chicago. I spent about half the month traveling, and a good portion of that was spent in San Francisco – always great to be on the west coast in January. Other stops included Las Vegas (no pictures from this visit!), Atlanta and North Carolina. If it wasn’t for this latest snow storm, I would be kicking off February with a trip to Boston, but I have no doubt that February will have plenty of its own exciting travel. Here is a selection of January shots:

I tend to enjoy black and white photographs a lot more than the color versions – but there are times when the scene contains too many vivid colors and the shift to black and white completely wastes them. However, I feel like B&W images pop with contrast and gradients that don’t exist in the color versions. Images like the two below provide pros and cons to each side of the debate – and I’m torn between which one I like best.

Highway 1 is probably the most scenic road you can take in the US – absolutely gorgeous. We took a long weekend down the coast last year (my first time in the Big Sur area), and I was amazed – so many photo opportunities. Here are a few of my favorites from the drive.

With the week coming to a close, I figured I’d get a couple older photos posted. These photos were taken approximately 3,000 miles apart – one looking at the Pacific Ocean and one looking at the Atlantic Ocean.

The first photo is from Carmel City Beach in Carmel, California, with the sun setting over the famous 7th hole at Pebble Beach and 17 Mile Drive.

The second photo is from Gulf Stream, Florida, with the moon rising over the Atlantic Ocean. That night, the moon was so bright and orange, it felt like we were watching the sun rise.

I can’t wait until I actually use filters during these mid-day shoots. In the meantime, I shoot without anything on my lenses, and it makes situations like this – bright California sun – very difficult to capture a landscape that is more interesting than a simple snapshot. I actually liked the two beach photos below, although I know these scenes will really come to life when I have the right filters. I’m excited to experiment with some filters down in Costa Rica in a few weeks. Let’s just hope the ones I want arrive by then – lots of delays with the Lee Filter systems.

On Sunday, we took a few little hikes around Marin County and enjoyed another gorgeous day. We had a whole beach to ourselves and enjoyed a nice lunch in the sun – perched up on our own little rock. I can’t get over how much there is to see with an hour of San Francisco – whether you go to the south or the north, the coastline is just breathtaking.

Click here for a few more photos.

To wrap up the year, I wanted to look through my photos and compile a few lists of the things I enjoy shooting. I will be posting the top 10 photos across 10 categories to close out 2010. These 10 categories will be: Books, Film, Portraits, Projects, Sports, Weddings, Cityscapes, Travel, Videos and Live Music. Last year, I made similar lists, and you can see my 9 in ’09 here.

I traveled a lot this year – for both work and play – and it was a blast. In 2010, I made my first trip to Japan, a vacation to Hawaii and random trips all across the US and Canada. 2011 should be more of the same, with some already great vacations planned.

10. Sierra Sky – Lake Tahoe, Nevada

9. Molson Lake – Manitoba, Canada

8. L’Auberge – Carmel, California

7. Tsukiji Market – Tokyo, Japan

6. Brant Point – Nantucket, Massachusetts

5. Duke University – Durham, North Carolina

4. Niagara Falls – Ontario, Canada

3. Rocky Creek Bridge – Big Sur, California

2. Grapes – Napa Valley, California

1. Waimea Canyon – Kauai, Hawaii