The Ghost Towns of the Inyo Mountains
The Inyo Mountains of California are rarely visited because they contain no paved roads, few water sources, and no maintained hiking trails. However, they hide a number of mining settlements dating to the late 1800s. Due to the lack of visitation, remarkable ruins and artifacts remain. However, they can only be accessed via long 4wd roads followed by days of hiking. I made multiple backpack journeys into the Inyos, completing the Lonesome Miner Trail and spending a few days in the ghost town of Beveridge. There is hardly any documentation of the area online, so I built this webpage.
The Half Dome 50/50/50 Adventure
Three photographers teamed up to document a group of 50 night-hikers on Yosemite's Half Dome from three separate angles. This is the result.
The Mystery in the Hamakua Valleys: Exploring the Kohala Ditch
Deep inside the valleys on the north end of the Big Island of Hawaii exist tunnels through mountains, a surprising number of buildings, and a variety of other infrastructure. There are no roads or trails to these places, and the only reasonable access is by helicopter. But what are they for? How did it all get there? Why has no one else on the internet wrote about it? I made several multi-day backpacking trips to explore this remote, largely undocumented part of the island to discover its history and hidden infrastructure.
The Beautiful Desolation of Mauna Kea
As a graduate student in astronomy at the University of Hawaii, I was priviledged with access to the amazing observatories on Mauna Kea. The mountain rises 13,800 ft above sea level, making it the tallest mountain in the Pacific, and it is home to many of the world's premiere telescopes. I have made numerous trips to Mauna Kea, both for fun and for observing, and I have collected some of my best photos into this gallery.
Panamint City: A Most Extraordinary Ghost Town
Located inside present-day Death Valley, Panamint City was inhabited for over 100 years. At its peak in the 1870s, over 2000 people lived and worked there. The sole road to the city was completely destroyed in 1983, and now the city can be reached only by a horrible 7-mile, 3700-ft-gain backpacking hike through unending canyons, up waterfalls, and through thick brush.
January-November 2012
The stories behind one year of travels for the production of a 4-minute timelapse video.
2008-2012
I have a soft spot for impressive architecture, and I took more than a few images of the Berkeley campus during my four years there.
2010 - 2014
After realizing that professional timelapse dollies cost thousands of dollars, I built my own motion equipment using stepper motors harvested from discarded printers, copper pipes, an Arduino microcontroller, and a lot of confusion and magic electronics smoke.
December 2010-January 2012
One year of trips.
The Making of "Fleeting Skies"
Fall 2009-Summer 2010
The beginning of regularly scheduled awesome trips. Growth in my timelapse skills and the development of motion equipment.
November 2009 - February 2010
UC Berkeley students riotously protested a 32% fee increase, leading to a virtual shutdown of the campus.
Berkeley Tree Sitters Controversy
September 2008
Four protesters lived in an 80-ft tall redwood for two years in order to prevent a grove of oaks and redwoods from being cut down. This is one of those things that only happens in Berkeley.
May/June 2008
As a high school AP Physics Project, we constructed boats out of 1/2" plywood strips and paper that could carry two people across a pool. Naturally, my partner and I massively over-engineered our boat and named it after one of the greatest naval failures of all time. This page somehow manages to be one of the more popular ones on this site.