Barrel rider, boat and butterfly all looking to exit the frame stage left

I spent a good amount of 2016 trying to improve my skills at taking photos from the water. Luckily I was able to spend a lot of time in comfortable water, with high quality waves and this was an image of Matt(@sealion) that I recently rescued from my Lightroom Purgatory.

After the morning surf in Puerto Escondido, the whole towns sentiment swings to that of hopeful excitement. Everyone keeping an eye on the mountains and thunderstorms that grow above them. If they reach the coast, surfers will be blessed with offshore winds and possibly an amazing sunset to boot. Here is one of those shower filled afternoons. Sasha Donnanno drops in the right while Jordy Cortez watches from the shoreline.

The New Year has me cleaning out/reviewing 3431 of my “TopShelf” 2016 images, that have found themselves sitting in my photographic purgatory…Lightroom. It’s been bringing back amazing memories and stoking the fire for what lies ahead this year. Here is a shot of @whitewaterwilly that I thought was more than worthy of a share. As you can see…Will rushes grande bowls with just boardshorts and big lungs. Much respect.

Oaxaca, Mexico – This may have been the most amazing night of conditions I have ever been able to photograph. In this photo I was able to capture a beautiful, large wave breaking on the beach, while a flash of lightning simultaneously lit up the pitch black sky behind. If you look close above the lightning you will also find one lone star which was the cherry on top for me.

I had a blast shooting some slower shutter images of my old friend Marc Gould. Here is a six pack for you.

The Amtrak “Coaster” makes its way through sea salt and the saturated bluffs of San Diego.