Santa Cruz, California

Santa Cruz is one of the most beautiful places in California, hands down! Since moving away from California, I realize how beautiful my home state really is. I was within a 3-hour distance from Santa Cruz, Fort Bragg, San Francisco, Tahoe, and the list goes on. 
My friends and I decided to take a weekend camping trip out to Santa Cruz, California and coincidentally ended up being there on Earth Day (totally unplanned). I had photoshoots that day on top of my full-time job so I didn't end up getting out there until pretty late. Although, it was a perfect ending to a busy day. We all sat around a camp fire telling stories and then when it was time for bed, we all crammed into a huge tent laughing til our cheeks hurt. That morning we all got up really early and headed to the beach. Well.. truth be told we stopped at quite a few different beach spots in Santa Cruz and even went off the unbeaten path. Somehow we made our way to half-moon bay where we laid out on the beaches, went looking for seashells, and dug a large hole so all 10 of us could fit inside it.
It's nuts how loud and powerful those waves can be. I can't help but sit there in awe and stare out miles and miles away to see no end in sight. The earth is truly a magnificent place and was such a beautiful, adventurous, and soul finding experience. 
Being a traveling photographer is truly a blessing and a curse. Don't get me wrong, I am extremely thankful for all of the memories and for being fortunate enough to experience all of this. Although, I sometimes forget to put the camera down and soak in the experience in all of its glory and entirety. I know that's not just a photographer problem, a majority of us want to savor these memories to look back on and cherish in the many years to come, although it's just as important to set your phone, camera, video recorder, drone, whatever it is, down and just enjoy. Enjoy the moment, the scenery, the fact you're in a new location and environment, and thoroughly soak it all up!