The City of Avalon saved the 4th of July! Despite all of the restrictions from the pandemic, our trip to Catalina for Independence Day was an amazing experience!

Coming face to face with a giant black sea bass while scuba diving can be a bit of an adrenaline rush. These sea creatures can be in excess of 560 pounds and more than seven feet long. Despite their size, it is somewhat rare to spot them because there is only estimated to be around 500 with only 40-50 returning to Catalina to spawn. Amanda and I had the fortunate experience to encounter seven of them during our weekend trip to Catalina.

Rocket launches are one of the toughest things to photograph but also one of the most rewarding to photograph. One of the biggest challenges is timing and that starts with the launch itself. Some times you can travel great distances and make sacrifices to arrive at your perfect location, the weather may cooperate but in the end, the rocket may not launch. The launch is scrubbed. This happened to me on the most recent SpaceX Falcon 9 Heavy launch from the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral.

Zion National Park is the perfect weekend trip from Los Angeles any time of year, but it can be especially spectacular in the winter. One of the most popular parks, Zion National Park is definitely a must-visit in winter.

Laguna Beach has some of my favorites beaches in all of California, if not the world. From the great scuba diving at Shaw's Cove to the sea caves at Thousand Steps beach to the castle tower at Victoria beach, there is so much to explore. Whether you are looking to capture a beautiful sunset or hang out with friends on the beach, make sure to do it in Laguna Beach.

Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach is a small, beautiful cove that is popular with scuba dive classes for doing the PADI open water checkout dive. I always joke that the cove was named after me but it has been around longer than I have. However, it is where I did my checkout dives in May 2014, when I got scuba certified. It is also where Amanda had her first experience scuba diving in the open ocean.