Sandy Pano

Newport Point, Summer 2015

     I have travelled our California coastline for the past 30 plus years in search of waves to ride or waves to photograph. On one of my journey's back to my home breaks in Newport Beach I checked out the Wedge, Newport Point and the jetties during one the largest hurricane swells to hit the area in years. Hurricane Marie was producing some 20 foot plus sets at the wedge and Newport Point.

     The jetties weren't as organized so I spent most of my morning at the Wedge and the rest of the day at Newport Point where guys like Rob Machado were getting some deep, heavy, tube rides like never before in this area.

I could not believe how many perfect waves went unridden but if you saw the power in these waves you would certainly understand why many chose not to take the drop. Guys were getting swept up the beach and around the Newport Pier. I had never seen anything like it before.

     I managed to capture one of the unridden waves which I call "Sandy Pano" due to this spot having a sandy bottom and the crop of the image having its panoramic shape. I only wish I was much younger, I may have attempted to shoot from the water...then again, maybe not.

By Aaron Goulding

Sunflowers at Sunset

We all love to eat healthy. Well at least I do (not to say that I don't enjoy the very occasional burger and fries). But overall the trend, for so many years now, has been organic, organic, organic, locally grown, locally grown, locally grown. And you want that, we all do. It's nice to know that your food is organic or hasn't been sprayed with all kinds of pesticides. I feel that there is a level of comfort in knowing where my food is coming from, even more so now that I have a baby girl who is starting to LOVE nibbling on all kinds of fruits and veggies. 

Aaron told me about this farm that he was going to with his wife and kids. Such a great idea to bring your kids to a farm to have them see where the things they eat actually grow. Maybe even have them pick some fruits or harvest some veggies! Suzie's Farm is a 70-acre USDA-certified organic farm located thirteen miles south of downtown San Diego. They grow over 100 varieties of seasonal vegetables, herbs, flowers, and fruits, year-round. Come on...13 miles...that's so close! 

I think obviously any adventure Aaron takes, with or without his family, is always an opportunity for him to work on his art. He is a photographer, it is his passion, so his camera is most definitely always with him. He has an absolutely amazing eye, and is really able to capture the beauty of even the simplest things. The trip to Suzie's Farm was really no different. What started as a family outing ended with Aaron capturing the most amazing sunflower bloom at sunset. I have to say... if Suzie's farm looks any bit as magical as Aaron makes it seem in this beautiful shot, I will be checking it out really soon. In the meantime, a Sunflower Sunset sure would look fabulous on my living room wall! 

-Nikki Heyde/Aaron Goulding Photography/La Jolla Galleries

Sunflower Sunset is now available at Aaron Goulding's Gallery 

The Red Umbrella - Anything But Ordinary, by Nikki Heyde

Subscribe

New Form

Last year, The Empress Hotel asked Aaron to outfit their conference rooms with two very large murals, each 20ft by 8ft to liven up those rooms since there are no windows. Now the Empress hotel is already pleasantly outfitted head to toe in Aaron Goulding Photography, so they knew his work and had a very specific area in mind for him to shoot. So off Aaron went to do his thing at Blacks Beach, La Jolla. 

Now in order to get the large panoramic image that the Empress wanted, Aaron explained to me that using one image and blowing it up, would get distorted. So he shot a sequence of photos that he would then stitch together. I, a total photography newbie, had of course no idea that if you stitch the 20 photos together and blow it up...this is the way to not lose the integrity of the photo. So what he did for the Empress Hotel was a stitched panoramic.

I digress though, because above is just the background to what I really want to talk about. After Aaron shot at Blacks Beach, he and his wife Misty, over a bottle of cabernet, perused through his work from that shoot. Just as they flipped through Misty noticed a little red dot in one of the frames. So they blew it up to find that this little red dot was in fact a woman, nude, holding a red umbrella. Imagine! Shot from 2 to 3 miles away. They both fell in love with this image, and so came to life Aaron's new release - The Red Umbrella. 

I look at this image and I am in awe. It's strange, and mysterious. You just can't help but wonder and come up with hundreds of different stories. Who is she? Where did she come from? Why is she standing all alone? Is she sad? Is she happy? What secrets does she bear? Her solitary presence is mystifying. This is the kind of piece you can stare at for endless hours, the kind of piece that will have a different meaning to everyone who owns it.

The Red Umbrella is now available at Aaron Goulding's Gallery.