Top 10 Photos of 2017

Thanks

Welcome to Under Pressure Photography’s Top 10 Photos of 2017! First, I want to thank everyone that has been a fan and followed my photography over the years! This has definitely been a light year for photography and sharing and I appreciate you sticking with me. I haven’t gotten out and shot as much as in the past, and when CrtrGrl and I did go on vacation, we both got really sick. 🙁

Looking Back

2017 was the start of a new personal journey for CrtrGrl and I. We talked a lot about what we want our lives to look like in the future and what is really important to us.  As part of this, we’re working on living a cruelty-free lifestyle, including going vegan earlier last year. In addition to the health benefits, it reduces suffering and is one of the biggest life changes that reduces our contribution to Climate Change. I’ve also been reading about and inspired by Minimalism. While I probably won’t get rid of everything I own, it does strike a chord as a part of a more sustainable future. We’re really looking forward to forging a new path in 2018 and also to new adventures!

This year, we focused on filming videos for the CrtrGrl YouTube channel. It’s been a lot of fun and a big learning experience. I also migrated our two websites (crtrgrl.com and adventurephotography.forest2sea.com) from GoDaddy’s ‘Managed WordPress’ to Amazon Web Services (AWS). Our web sites are now running on an EC2 instance running WordPress Multisite. This allows me full control over performance, logging and we can build new websites without arbitrary limits.

Top 10 Photos of 2017

On to my Top 10 favorites for 2017. Let me know in a comment which one is your favorite!

CrtrGrl and I passed this beautiful cascade along the trail to Sol Duc Falls, Olympic National Park, WA.

Sunset surf session at the Oceanside Pier, Oceanside CA.

Beautiful natural shapes in the desert near Blythe, CA.

Brittlebrush in bloom on a Palm Canyon hike during the Super Bloom of 2017, in Anza Borrego State Park, CA.

CrtrGrl on the trail to Sol Duc Falls, Olympic National Park, WA.

CrtrGrl and I visited this magical spot in April. Moss covers everything at Madison Falls, fed by the constant cascade of Madison Creek. Located just off Olympic Hotsprings Road in Elwha Valley, Madison Falls is a very short walk from the parking lot. It's definitely one of the easiest waterfalls to see in Olympic National Park, WA!

CrtrGrl stops on a moss covered bridge in the magical Staircase region of Olympic National Park, WA.

Dalby Water Wheel in Union, WA. It was first built in 1922 and then relocated to this site in 2005. On a down day, CrtrGrl and I took a drive around the Hood Canal area. After having lunch in Union, we spotted this really neat water wheel off the side of the road. Renewable and green energy from 1922!

A deer watches us cautiously from the safety of the forest in Elwha Valley, Olympic National Park, WA.

It was awesome to be a part of the March for Science in downtown San Diego. Our society's increasing tendency to dismiss or distrust evidence based knowledge is frightening! We need to act on Climate Change now!