Two great passions of mine are wilderness travel and the night sky. As the images of other photographers have inspired me to explore different terrains, I hope my own contributions will inspire others to do the same. I am most interested in capturing inspirational elements within our natural world. Photography became a passion for me while studying Architecture at the Southern California Institute of Architecture and the International Institute of Architecture in Vico Morcote, Switzerland beginning in 2002. Born and raised in Southern California, I discovered an escape from the concrete jungles of urban life while traveling throughout the Pacific North and Southwest. After graduating with an Architecture degree in 2005, I started working for a firm in Los Angeles known for their very modern and contemporary design philosophy.
A few years ago I suffered the sudden loss of my mother and what I thought was meaningful work, drastically changed for me. I began to question my life and the direction I wanted to take with it. So last year, I decided to put on my backpack and experience Mother Nature’s pristine finest and allow myself time for some deep introspection, by hiking and photographing 1300 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). The PCT is a wilderness hike that begins at the Mexico border near Campo, California and ends in Manning Park, British Columbia. Outdoor photography soon became a daily ritual of documenting and communicating my experiences from capturing fields of wildflowers in the Mojave Desert to vast landscapes from some of the highest peaks on the John Muir Trail in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. I believe what separates me from other photographers is my experience “living” in the deep wilderness and going to places most people never get to see in a lifetime. For example, I see it as a good time packing up my “home” and trekking through mosquito infested, muddy, and snow-packed passes to capture a visual moment. In addition, I have been known to willingly perch myself on a 1000 foot shear vertical ledge, wade in knee deep snowmelt, or sneak up dark trails with eyes staring back at me from the glare of my headlamp, to get the perfect perspective and composition for a shot.
Many asked why I became interested in taking photos and my fascination with the night sky. For me, it seemed like a natural progression because there are many similarities between Architecture and Photography. Architecture uses visual representations of fixed patterns to evaluate things in real time. Likewise, visual elements within my photos, its design, how it is made, and what each photograph communicates, is my attempt at capturing meaning, emotion, and familiarity for you. Capturing the night sky in relation to earthly landscapes is my visual representation of [wo]man’s search for meaning. For example, the galaxy may represent the unknown or future, while the chosen landscape may represent our physical limitations and being in the present moment. I view the art of photography as the distilling of reality into a personal vision by using modern tools of the trade. The moment I trip the cameras shutter, my hope for you, is that my images crystallize your feelings in each captured frame…for a single moment in time.
Today, I license images for all manner of editorial use and sell fine art prints. If you wish to purchase prints, please visit my purchase page for more info. I specialize in landscapes, seascapes, and astrophotography ranging from high altitude wilderness areas and coastal ranges, to time lapse videos of the Milky Way.
The easiest thing to say is that Brad is a gifted photographer, artist, and human being. What strikes me most about him, however, is how he sees the world and how he captures its images. And that’s what sets him apart… he doesn’t just capture “the shot,” he captures “the experience”. He is able to create the most amazing visuals under not so amazing situations!
Brad, I am inspired by your work & motivation and intrigued with photographing the Milky Way. Keep on Trekkin and I will watch for the fantastic images rolling in. I would love to read how you plan and shoot the Milky Way images.
Love in Light,
Carlton
Brad, I love night and star photography and your photos are the best I’ve seen. Amazing work through and through.
Brad, your work is totally inspirational to me and you have lit a fire inside me to push harder with my photography. I plan on learning all I can.