Books that capture the experience of California.

“It may not be Homer, Steinbeck, Melville, or the DaVinci Code, but the books are all filled with lots of pretty pictures.” – Me.

The Adventures of a Book Photographer:

I’ve been very fortunate over the years to photograph for seven books on California, two of which I have authored. Following are a few anecdotes about the production of the books.

I received my first book contract to photograph for The California Coast in 2000, a year after my son was born. Just before I was to start shooting for the book, I ripped my knee out of its socket. I shot most of the book hobbling in a semi-crippled fashion. I learned two very important facts while shooting this book: First, walking on soft sand or rocky beaches is extremely uncomfortable without any support from your knee muscles. Second, it is so NOT COOL to skip like a school-girl on a Navy Submarine Dock because you’re in a hurry and physically unable to run.  * This book won the Book-of-the-Year Award by the California Outdoor Travel Writers Association.

A few years later, I was assigned to photograph the book, Our San Francisco. I loved being able to be in the city shooting a sunrise, then commute back home to the East Bay while everyone else was driving into the city to begin their workday.

That same year I was referred to a publisher who wanted to know if I had a lot of Yosemite photos. I said, “Why yes, I do.” Three weeks later I submitted slides from my existing collection for what would become the book, Yosemite & The Eastern Sierra. I was slightly disappointed I didn’t get a chance to make any new images for the book. However, the publisher did such a nice job with printing all of the images, I quickly forgot about any disappointment.

For my next assignment a few years later, I was contracted to photograph for the book, Backroads of the California Wine Country. I was delighted with the chance to capture images of vineyards & wineries. However, by the end of my second shoot, I was concerned that almost every vineyard shoot would be green & blue (sky). It became quite the challenge to seek out scenes that had other colors to keep the book vibrant. After my last extended two week shoot for the book, I dropped off 120 rolls of film at my lab for processing. Shortly thereafter, I got a call from the lab tech saying, “Dude…. there’s something wrong with your camera.” More than 4o rolls of film were completely black. It turned out that my camera shutter wasn’t opening, although, by all other sounds and clicks, my camera seemed from the outside to be operating perfectly fine. I thought that I’d miss my deadline with all that lost coverage. However, I decided to repeat the trip, re-doing two weeks worth of coverage in less than five days. It’s much easier to shoot something when you know exactly where you went the first time around.

For my fifth book, I was shooting for the book, Backroads of the California Coast. After turning in all of the material, the publisher decided to change the book format from a coffee-table style to a mid-sized paperback travel guide-style. I was doubtful at first, thinking the downsizing was due in part to the downturn in the economy. Tthe publisher insisted it wasn’t. But when I saw how beautifully printed and how well the new format worked, I was the first in line to eat my own words, and to date, it is one of my favorite books.

My sixth book would be my first where I would also be the author. I was en route to my first shoot for this book project, tentatively called California: Yesterday & Today when I fell off a cliff — alone, in the middle of the desert… at night — breaking my wrist and spending a week in a hospital for a head injury. After months of recovery, I wound up completing a year-long project in a matter of months. Again, after turning in all the material to the publisher, I was informed that they decided to completely repackage the entire project, taking it away from a strict ‘then & now’ concept, and reformatting into a scrapbook style book, now called Greetings from California; Legends, Landmarks, and Lore from the Golden State. Again, I was dubious & doubtful. But when I saw the new layout, I was completely blown away and excited. It is now such a more lively and fun looking book.

My latest book is Photographing California; Vol. 1 – North, published by Graphie International Press. I was delighted to be asked to produce this book as part of an established and growing series of photographic guidebooks started by fellow photographer and author, Laurent Martrés, who pioneered the series with his 3-volume set of titles, Photographing the Southwest.

Winner of the prestigious
IBPA Benjamin Franklin
Gold Medal Award
for Best Regional Title

With more than 400 pages and 340 photographs, this is as comprehensive of a photographic guidebook on Northern California as you can imagine. Having photographed for six other books on California, it’s packed with the best info I’ve gleaned over two decades of traveling throughout this great state.

For additional information, read more about each of the books here.

*Note:  I no longer sell any of the books directly. Most earlier titles are out of print. If you’re interested in ordering a book, please click the appropriate image or title link to visit the Amazon.com page for that particular book.