Personal · Salt Lake City Visits Big Sur

If you've been keeping up with my blog posts, it would be apparent at most of my out-of-town photographer/instagrammer friends (whom do not live in the SF Bay Area) always seem to want to link up at Big Sur, whenever they take a trip to Northern California. Well, if you've ever been there, you'd understand why: photos don't ever do it any justice. The place never gets old, no matter how often you go, for there's always something amazing happening, waiting to humble you and render you speechless.

On a cloudy Friday afternoon, I found myself headed down highway 1 alongside Donmiguel & Viet. We were bound for Big Sur, where a couple of friends from Salt Lake City, UT were headed to for a quick little weekend getaway to the California Coast. It was awesome reconnecting with a few old friends, as well as making a couple more new ones. It's always an absolute trip whenever I think about it, realizing that if it weren't for Instagram, none of this would have ever happened. A big thanks to Braden, Garin, Zack, TJ, Kyle, Jacki, Sam, Susan, Donmiguel, Viet, and the rest of the squad for a great day. The laughs, good vibes, and jokes shared definitely made every moment worthwhile.

Travel · Washington State · March 2016

Just a few days after arriving back to San Francisco from Chicago, I soon found myself back on a plane bound for Seattle, WA, this time with my cousin Donmiguel (@donmiguelluis).

Just like the last trip to Washington State that Donmiguel & I took together, we seemed to have had brought the warm and sunny California weather along with us. Because of clear blue skies during the day, the only truly optimal times for us to photograph were either early morning sunrise or late evening sunset. Because we both wanted to take back a number of great images to share with you all this time around, we made it a priority to wake up early for sunrise for three of the five days we were in Washington State. The 4:30 AM wake up times were definitely not what either of us had anticipated for this trip, but the beautiful views made the loss of sleep well worth it. We knew that we had to make a trip back up to the North Cascades again, as well as his up Snoqualmie Falls. One of the coolest parts to me, though, was when we decided to drive east to Lake Wenatchee, Tye Haus, and the Foss River Train Trestle to witness all three for the first time -- definitely have to go back when we get some nice, moody (and hopefully foggy) weather!

In between sunrise and sunset, we did the usual touristy things that every local would most likely be sick of by now, and also opted to hang out with our very good friends around Seattle practically every day. Special thanks to Vinnie, Herod, Darrell, Henderson, Vickie, Henry, Justin, Long, Brian, Malissa, and Sam, who made this an unforgettable short trip. I can't remember the last time I laughed so much in such a short span of days, and it's trips like these that make me feel most alive. Definitely planning to be back here before 2016 ends!

Travel · The Windy City · March 2016

Made a trip out to Chicago, Illinois for a couple days with my family, thanks to my sister having her spring break from UCSD and the family wanting to take advantage of that week off! Despite the cold weather compared to the SF Bay Area and California in general (which locals over there said was actually warm, at ~40 degrees Fahrenheit), we had an amazing time and were able to visit a lot of beautiful locations, both tourist attractions and local hotspots alike. In regard to the food, don't even get me started! The Chicago Deep Dish Pizza was definitely enough to make me want to go back, easily the best deep dish-styled pizza I've had to date (go figure). All in all, a wonderful time spent in the Windy City, and an even better time given that it was quality time spent with the people that matter most.

Believe it or not, this short trip was the farthest east I've ever been in the United States, but this only makes me even more excited for this coming summer, where I'll be making trips to both Ohio & New York! 

Personal · Gone South

Having been back in the San Francisco Bay Area for not even two full weeks, I soon found myself back on the road, headed south to Los Angeles. This trip was taken more for leisure purposes than anything, primarily to eat good food and visit friends, as well as my sister who is currently studying at UC San Diego. After visiting my sister, though, I also had the pleasure of meeting up with some local Instagram buddies, Zac (@seahola) and Aaron (@aaron_gill), to go and shoot around the beautiful Sunset Cliffs of La Jolla on a cloudy evening -- always a pleasure linking up with talented and motivated individuals.

I'd like to give a special thanks to my good friend, Nick, for housing me during my stay in Southern California and being willing to drive anywhere and everywhere! A dedicated photo-trip to SoCal is definitely in the works, so I'll definitely be back soon.