Erik’s life changed tremendously once he discovered photography, as the camera helped him to become aware of all the details of nature. The mountains and forest nearby Santa Cruz, California, helped him develop his photography with moody landscapes as his specialty. Erik believes that careful planning and scouting are just as important as spontaneity when it comes to capturing the perfect shot. In this story, we discuss a few of his favorite images.
Growing up I was never the type of kid to explore or be outdoors every day. The camera changed that 360 degrees. Seeing the world through the lens gave me a new passion and made me realize the beauty this world has to offer – even in my backyard.
The first time I took my camera to the coast to photograph the waves of the Pacific Ocean I was astonished. I remember taking the day off from work and waking up bright and early to drive about an hour to the coast. I had visited these same beaches as a kid but had never noticed all the sights and sounds of the ocean. Being there in the moment, listening to the waves crashing against the rocks, and seeing the sunrise transform the sky into a pastel-colored canvas. None of the images I took that day came out any good but I knew that photography was a gateway to something much more than only images and I was hooked.
Another moment I remember vividly was my first hike in a foggy forest. I had always been intrigued with foggy days growing up, especially those very thick foggy days where all you see is a white void in front of you. Entering the trail in a local Santa Cruz forest it didn’t seem like I would find many images but as the fog rolled in from the Santa Cruz mountains it began to transform the forest in a matter of minutes. Seeing these conditions I began snapping picture after picture. At that moment I knew that chasing foggy moments like this was another layer of excitement that added to my passion for photography.
My camera opened my eyes to the world and now I can’t get enough of exploring more of it. I’ve also become much wiser –- in many ways – as a result of the lessons that photography taught me.
The first lesson I’ve learned about photography is that it’s essential to enjoy the moment to capture the most memorable images. There have been times when I was so focused on finding the perfect composition that I had to stop and remind myself to appreciate the scene in front of me. Taking a moment to fully enjoy the experience has helped me create some of my most memorable images.
The second lesson is always to remember why I began photography. It’s easy to become burnt out or lose motivation, but I remind myself of the excitement I felt when I first started exploring new places and taking pictures. That sense of exploration and discovery is what fuels my passion for photography.
The third lesson: my photography style is shaped by the types of images I enjoy taking. It took me a while to understand this because I used to take photos with the intention of pleasing others or impressing them on social media. However, I realized that my best images came from photographing what I truly enjoyed and experimenting with different ways of capturing them.
Finally, I’ve learned to never hesitate to revisit a location multiple times. Each location has its unique transformations and conditions, and sometimes it takes several visits to capture different images. By returning to a location, I’ve been able to discover new perspectives and angles that I might have overlooked previously.
To illustrate the last point, I can say that I’ve been to the Santa Cruz mountains several times and I’ve always come home surprised and with new discoveries and new compositions. Even if it is the same location, spontaneously deciding to venture out with my camera without any concrete plans or expectations always gets me out of a creative slump or any other negative cycle I may find myself stuck in.
My image titled “When the Heavens Open” is my favorite. At the time, I was going through a difficult period in my life, and photography allowed me to escape. It helped me to get out of my mind and occupy my mind with exploring and capturing the beauty of nature. The weather was particularly stunning on this day, and I couldn’t wait to return home and edit the images. Sometimes, all you need is a distraction and focus on something else, and suddenly the problem you had is not so much of a problem anymore.
I recently captured a photo titled “A Path to the Edge,” featuring stunning clouds drifting over the Santa Cruz mountains as the sunrise illuminated the landscape. For this image, planning and scouting have been crucial. I previously explored the trail during midday and identified this location and composition as a perfect opportunity for capturing an interesting sky with the landscape. I monitored the weather using various apps to determine the best time for capturing low clouds. Additionally, I utilized Photopills to determine the direction of the sunrise and sunset, enabling me to choose the optimal time for photographing with ideal lighting. On the day of the shoot, a storm had just passed, and I knew that the period right before or after a storm would provide excellent cloud opportunities. As luck would have it, remarkable clouds had formed over the landscape. However, the clouds covered the entire sky with no sign of a break, and the sun was only thirty minutes away from being too high for directional light. Through experience, I learned to keep my camera ready until the last possible minute. Fifteen minutes later, the clouds began to part, allowing the sunlight to shine through. The thin clouds softened the light, creating a stunning atmosphere that made for a breathtaking shot.
I believe that four elements are essential to creating a stunning (moody) landscape photograph:
Firstly, the weather should be foggy or with low clouds to create an ethereal atmosphere.
Secondly, you need to have nice directional light from the sun, which is typically at sunrise or sunset, as it creates soft and warm tones.
Thirdly, finding the perfect composition is crucial to capture the essence of the landscape.
And finally, manipulating the colors through post-processing is essential to create a moody look in your images.
An image that I feel includes all of the above is one that I titled “Follow me down the magical path”. I hadn’t been able to photograph for several days due to the passing storms in California, so I eagerly monitored the weather forecast for a break in the clouds. Fortunately, the forecast was correct, and I went to a local forest I had not previously explored. I found myself walking on the trail on a day with low clouds and patches of sunlight. At first, I had trouble finding a good composition as the thick fog was clearing, but as I looked back at the path I had already walked, the clouds began to break, and the sun’s rays shone through the tree branches, creating a stunning effect. The trail was lined with beautiful old oak trees, giving it a magical, almost fantasy-like quality.
My goal with every image is to try and create a soothing emotion and a sense of wonderment. Therefore, wanderlust is usually the feeling I’m going for when editing my images – it evokes a sense of calm and serenity, something that I always appreciate seeing in paintings or photographs. I enjoy different types of art and always draw inspiration for my images from them. I also get inspired by various photographers and artists, and I strive to blend both disciplines in my photos.
It has taken me a while to find my style, and I have had to do a lot of experimentation along the way. My advice to novice photographers would be to continue experimenting until they find the style that suits their images best.
I mainly use Lightroom for my editing software with some Photoshop. My general editing process is as follows:
1) Make sure to align the horizon correctly in case it isn’t. And also crop help set the leading line of the path more towards the center.
2) Begin manipulating the global exposure sliders, making sure to give images a nice moody feeling without clipping the shadows.
3) Then I spend most of my time with HSL/Color sliders trying to manipulate the colors to set the tone of the image.
4) Next, I will focus on the details of the images with gradient tools. The above image “Follow me down the magical path” for example, had the light beams at the end of the trail so I used the circular gradient tool to isolate the beams and bring up a bit of the highlight and add a little dehaze to bring out the separation on the beams from the background a bit more.
5) Then finish off by adding a bit of shadow to the image, first add a line gradient to the foreground to darken the path a bit, which I feel helps lead the viewer’s eyes throughout the image. Then add a bit of vignetting to assist the view as well.
Similar to discovering your photography style, exploring locations involves experimenting with different lighting and weather conditions to capture a variety of images. This is what has had the biggest impact on my photography career to date. The exploration of the local forest and woodlands has pushed me to seek out new places and revisit old ones in search of new photographic opportunities.
My goal for the next ten years is to establish myself as a professional nature photographer and contribute to the conservation of our planet’s natural beauty through my work. I aspire to capture the diverse and captivating landscapes that nature has to offer and share them to raise awareness about all the unimaginable the world consists of. Being featured on Nomadict has been an incredible honor and I believe it is a stepping stone toward achieving my ultimate goal.
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