Postcards from San Clemente, California
Train tracks at San Clemente Station, San Clemente, CA - 10.5.25
My wife and I recently spent a long weekend in San Clemente, California eating way too much food (see – South of Nicks restaurant) and taking a much-needed break from our day jobs and businesses. This is the third year we’ve made this trip and it was the first time I brought my camera along to do some photography. Reflecting on the shots, it was a good reminder of some basic to-do’s that helped me capture the essence of the trip but also provided me with an opportunity to practice my craft with more structure.
Keep that camera on you. It may sound intuitive, but we’ve all had moments where we’ve been on the way out the door and looked back at our camera bag and thought, “Do I really need it this time?” The answer is almost always yes. There were times on this trip when I purposefully left my camera at the Airbnb – usually when my wife and I went to dinner – because I wanted to be present and remain in the moment. But other than that, I was always glad I had it on me. I came across so many opportunities to turn what I thought would be the mundane into an image that helped to encapsulate the trip (see “Capture the Quiet Moments” below) and those photos were often my favorite of the set.
Mini themes or sets can help unlock your creativity. I do well with a little structure and creating self-imposed themes or mini albums in my head helps me focus my photography. Sometimes I have these in my head before I get to a destination and other times, these assignments are inspired within the first day or two of travel. For this trip, I knew I wanted to focus on storytelling and street photography including a set of color and black and white photographs. Not only do I love this style, but it also is great practice for doing wedding photography which has the pivotal moments laid out but is brought alive by capturing the tiny moments in between, by bringing the nuance to life.
On our first day in SoCal, a third theme jumped out at me – capturing all the overlanding and 4x4 offroad rigs that are seemingly everywhere in San Clemente. I have a minor (mostly) obsession with the overland industry and have spent hours working on my own 2022 Toyota Tacoma to take on trips all over the American West, Canada, and Alaska. This became a cool mini project that both my wife and I had a lot of fun with – me photographing rigs and her adding reels to her Instagram depicting my quirky obsession (#thatslove).
Capture the quiet moments. Art should evoke emotion. In a world of AI and social media, we’re all inundated with the grand landscape shots. It feels like we’re all seeking (unconsciously or consciously) more authentic, personal storytelling. This is particularly potent for travel storytelling. Thinking back on our SoCal trip, do I remember the beautiful ocean vista with the San Clemente Pier in the foreground? Of course I do. But is that what made the trip special? No. The things that we reminisce on are the small moments – getting coffee at our favorite coffee shop (Sur Coffee – check them out), relaxing in the living room of our Airbnb (something we don’t get to do at home much), and going on walks around town. These little “quiet moment” photographs were my absolute favorite from the trip and I’m so glad I took the time to capture them.
