Blake Simpson Photography

03/23/2020

With Springtime and COVID-19 in the air, I want to release this collection titled "Quarantine Green".

These images take me back to last May, my first visit to Olympic National Park, where I joined TJ Thorne, Eric Bennett, and a group of new friends in a photographic workshop. From a young age, these same coastal forests cultivated my love for the outdoors.

Through these images, I hope people find a sense of peace and order in the chaos that surrounds. Personally, I stepped out of my comfort zone and was able to find solace in the calming power of water and greenery.

With Springtime and COVID-19 in the air, I want to release this collection titled "Quarantine Green". These images take me back to last May, my first visit to Olympic National Park, where I joined TJ Thorne, Eric Bennett, and a group of new friends in a photographic workshop. From a young age, these...

08/21/2019

NEW GALLERY RELEASE! - "Coastal California Geology and Waters"

A significant part of my photography involves developing a relationship with a place before making an image about it. For me, this includes visiting the place over and over again, observing how the light reacts with the landscape throughout different times of the day or year, looking beyond the literal in order to study the abstractions and details, but oftentimes just enjoying its beauty without feeling the pressure to take a photo. This requirement for some kind of relationship with a place can also be what hinders me from creating an image I like when visiting it for the first time. It takes time for me to understand and learn about the stories a location has to offer before creating something meaningful from it. The photos in this gallery come from one of those places that I feel I have developed a strong connection with and have visited countless times over the years. No matter how many times I return, it continues to offer me hidden treasures.

This exploration started as a way for me to look beyond the grand landscape that allures newcomers to my local beach with a camera icon on Google Maps. While this iconic viewpoint has been a prolific source to many photographers’ portfolios including mine, the real gift for me has come from studying the textures of the geology and the waters that have shaped it over centuries. While I hesitated to release a collection of images from my beloved Southern California coastline for well over a year, waiting for the gallery to feel “finished”, I came to realize that visiting my local coastline and creating new images is an ongoing process that may never have an end. This exploration is a continuous venture into the local wilderness that first inspired me to pick up a camera. New images will be added as long as I continue to find inspiration and stories here. I hope that these images will reveal something of my fascination with the landscape, and though it may not be able to be put into words, the mercurial moods and power of this coast.

https://www.blakesimpsonphotography.com/Galleries/Coastal-California-Geology-and-Waters/

04/08/2019

"Warm Foothills"

Hazy light filters through the clouds and illuminates the green foothills that are so prevalent throughout Orange County this Spring.

01/23/2019

Started off the first week of my New Year by selling 7 of my FujiFlex Crystal Archive Fine Art Prints to a leading Art Consultant for use at a local community! See below for photos that will be framed and hung under gallery lighting at this new luxury living space! These were printed in sizes up to 30"x45" and look amazing when printed BIG!

For anyone interested in investing in my art for your home, I'm offering 20% off all of my FujiFlex Fine Art Prints for the next 7 DAYS ONLY! These Super Glossy prints are of the highest quality and will sing in any home! To learn more about my prints and to find which images speak to you, please visit my website: https://www.blakesimpsonphotography.com/Prints

Feel free to shoot me a message through here or through my website with any questions or inquiries! Please also share this post if you know anyone who may be interested in this sale!

12/31/2018

"Last Light"

Happy (almost) New Year, friends! Looking forward to many more trips and exploration with the camera. Soon I'll be posting a little gallery of some the explorations I did in 2018.

My favorite part about the region where I took this photo was not only how remote it was (took over an hour drive over a long sketchy one-way road through the mountains), but also that the nearby town was home to the best carne asada fries I’ve ever eaten. Oh I miss these trees, and those fries.

11/28/2018

"Twilight Bridges"

One of the most thrilling aspects of landscape photography is the chase of the perfect fleeting moment, with the loud explosive sunset light and adrenaline pumping through your veins. This was not one of those moments. This photograph was taken after the sun had descended to rest and the pastels of twilight floated through the sky. After a long day of hiking around various trails of the Oregon coast, I sat next to my friends and tripod as this final scene of the day slowly unfolded and faded away. A single click of the camera shutter was all that was needed before putting the camera away and watching the light dance through the trees and caverns of rock. Though moments of epic weather and light are always fun, moments of quiet and tranquility like these are my favorite.

11/24/2018

Thankful to live next to a coastline as stunning as this one!

10/18/2018

"Snakeskin"
Stumbled across this little gem the other weekend during a midday hike in Sequoia NP. Happy Autumn!

08/21/2018

Foggy beaches, forests, and wildlife. Three of the many things that make the Oregon Coast feel like home. These trees were home to many Golden and Bald Eagles that we spotted on this morning - this guy was just the most photogenic. Taken last month in the company of close friends. Traveling alone sometimes yields the best photographic results for me, but traveling with friends leads to the best stories.

06/28/2018

“The Sleeper”

“Most creative photographs are departures from reality and it seems to take a higher order of craft to make this departure than to simulate reality.” ~Ansel Adams

Even though this photo only required some simple dodging and burning to emphasize lighter and darker areas as well as some cooling of the color temperature, this is not at all “what it actually looked like”. This departure from reality does better capture the story of the shapes in the dunes as well as the mood I imagined on this stormy day. The title of this image has nothing to do with the fact that I just took a two hour nap...

06/19/2018

"Sea Brew"

Spent some time getting up close and personal with the ocean this World Oceans Day. So thankful I live close to the sea.

PS two things I like very much are beer and the beach. But I do NOT like beer cans and bottles all over the beach. Let's try to pick that garbage up next time we see it and .

06/15/2018

Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Italy

I don't often create black and white images, but the contrasts and drama in this scene made me ditch the color and switch my camera to B&W mode. It was fun to shoot all day long here with the atmospheric clouds rolling in and out, and I liked how the light peaked through the clouds and illuminated the foreground bright white plants. Hoping to get back out to these mountains again sometime now that I've spent a bit of time there and know the landscape better. It's always easier for me to create more meaningful images when I've developed a relationship with the place. I hope though that my images from my first trip to the Dolomites convey that sense of wonder that comes with seeing a beautiful place for the first time.