New Release! Tranquil Tides - Big Sur, California

February 3, 2016

This image has been waiting to be released for quite a while. I found this vantage point almost a year ago now returned about five times waiting for the light to be just right. I exposed this image late last summer as a rare summer storm was about to hit the cliffs of Big Sur. As the storm moved in, about fifteen minutes after the sun had set, the clouds erupted in a bizarre purple hue unlike I had ever seen in this particular location. I only had time to expose one sheet of film for a 2 minute exposure before the light had changed and the color was gone. On the way home that evening, lightning was hitting the sides of the cliffs. Coming from Kansas, close encounters with lightning doesn't seem to be that big of a deal, but in Big Sur...or really anywhere in California, that's some big news. Talk about a crazy night!

I also had help on this particular evening. Thanks, Charlie.

This was also the first 8x10 image I have had professionally drum scanned on an Aztek drum scanner. For those of you who don't know what this is, it is essentially the highest quality digitally converted image you can get. To give you an idea of just how detailed this photograph is, below is a 100% crop of this image.

Yes, that's a house, and yes, we are all quite envious of this individual's back yard. But the point is, this is a single exposed image and I can almost bet none of you can find where this house is in the full sized image. With that being said, this image can be printed with incredible detail and clarity up to 48x60". Pretty awesome, if I do say so myself.

Because this was my first drum scan, I thought I'd go ahead and get it printed and framed as well, so a couple of months ago, I received the first edition, framed by my friend David at Saw and Mitre.

Here is the first edition. It's printed 24x30" on photographic paper and finished off with a beautiful walnut frame. When this image is hung, it really brings a sense of peace to the room. If you'd like this exact image (#1/90) framed as shown above, click the button below to add it to your cart!

If you'd like to purchase this image in a different size, follow the button below.

Tranquil Tides

Heaven's Reach - Big Sur, California

August 25, 2015

Big Sur landscape photographer, Michael Strickland releases a new large format photograph from his favorite stretch of coastline in California.

Montana de Oro State Park - Part 1

March 26, 2015

After visiting Montana de Oro State Park for the first time this past weekend, I feel so fortunate that it's located right at my back door. Montana de Oro has an incredibly rugged coastline with incredible texture that I can't wait to explore. On Saturday evening, the thick marine layer stumped any chance of golden hour light, so I decided to try to photograph a composition I had found the evening before on black and white film. I very rarely shoot in black and white, mainly because my eye is drawn to color images, but I've been trying to learn to see in monochrome. The cloudy evening fit the mood well as tide was rushing in over the rocks in the foreground. I captured this photograph on Kodak T-Max 100, which has been my favorite black and white film I've tried so far. in order to add more contrast to the scene, I decided to use a Red 23 filter, which also helped me lengthen the exposure to around 12 seconds to ensure the smooth texture of the waves. As soon as I had packed up and finished my exposures for the evening, a large wave crashed against the rock to my immediate right, which would have drenched me along with all of my gear. Coming from Kansas, I've been accustomed to the power of thunderstorms, but the ocean is on another level. Watching the water raise and lower 20-30 feet alongside a sharp rock face with every wave is an unreal experience.

An Evening at McWay Falls

March 17, 2015

McWay Falls is located in a pristine cove on California's Big Sur coastline. In fact, it's one of Big Sur's main attractions, where hundreds -- if not thousands, of tourists gather each day to watch the spring-fed falls cascade into the ocean below. Typically, I don't enjoy photographing along a rail, especially among crowds of people, but this was a scene I really wanted to witness and photograph. On this particular evening, the sky was clear with a slight haze in the distance, which ended up working out better than I had thought. I exposed two sheets about 45 minutes before sunset to test the exposure latitude of two types of film, and my second two sheets I exposed as the sun barely started to touch the horizon. My positive film ended up being thrown away, as sometime during the 15 second exposure, the camera must have shaken slightly. This is the negative film, exposed for the shadows with no graduated neutral density filter, which definitely shows how much dynamic range Kodak Ektar can capture

It's definitely a beautiful location, and I hope to return again when the flowers are in bloom and the sky blows up. We can all dream, right?