October 2010 | Erik Almas Photography

Krabi, Thailand

I’m both excited and humbled by the things I get to experience and be a part of when creating images for my clients.

We’re in Thailand shooting.

The place is just amazing.

There’s beaches and water set among rock pods beautifully erecting themselves out of the water. I found myself between them looking up wondering what it would be like looking down…

I’m no climber but the next day, today, I find myself with a pit in my stomach and a harness around my waist looking down. Back down, looking up, I’m amazed about the places my camera takes me.

And yes, IT takes me.

Without it I wouldn’t dive out of planes or into underwater caves. With it I go wherever the best picture is….

Today it gave me another great experience I’m truly grateful for. Hanging off a cliff shooting pictures while the climbing guide tells me in broken english; No hands, no worry….

Big thanks to Matthew Turley for shooting me shooting.

Bangkok

I have visited and seen parts of Bangkok today.

Some seen in company of tour buses and guides. Me, as one of many, observing, snapping pictures to help the memory relive the experience of being here.

Other places I felt more like the one being watched.

As an image maker I’m truly used to being the observer and always get a bit uncomfortable when it’s the other way around.

I’m a voyeur. One that quietly studies his surroundings.

It is part of being a photographer and I role I’m comfortable in.  I watch, I study, I wait, I capture.

I have gotten good at it. The watching and waiting part….

Exposing myself doesn’t have to be a part of this. Not letting the world see myself as I observe…

The assignment I’m on is asking for more:

To not be the observer but a partaker, to have the images put myself in it rather than out side of it.

As a craftsman I have gotten more conscious about where and how I watch.

Where I stand when I take my picture is not so much about a tripod position rather than how I feel and relate to my surroundings.

I’m truly excited about where I stand today. Ready to embark on 35 days of shooting pictures where I’m in it rather than observing.

Ko Phi Phi, Mauritius, Seychelles and Malta here I come…..

Lawsons Landing, California

California coast

Shot this image just north of Santa Cruz after a long day of scouting locations….