The perpetual item on my one day TODO list below “Write more often” is “Share your photographs.” Much of the type design on this site was considered in deference to photography, which I hoped would fill its pages. This week I can check that box off my list.

Despite an ocean temperatures slightly warmer than ice water, the California beaches are beautiful and extremely photogenic. When combined with the consistent weather, I’ve had plenty of opportunities to shoot. I chose three of my favorite photographs taken since moving to California and it’s no coincidence they are all from the beach.

I wanted to talk about the importance of a photographer’s vision—what they see and their ability to recognize a shot. Like so many others I had hit a slump. When this happens it’s easy to get caught up in the technical aspects of photo capture, and ignore maxims that can—and should—simplify your process.

Any aspiring photographer whose spent more than a five minutes online has read two phrases: “f/8 and be there” and “Sunny 16”. Instead of writing yet another article describing these techniques, I wanted to focus on how I applied them to capture specific photographs.

Photography fascinates me because it’s a discipline which is highly theoretical, but cannot be mastered theoretically. Photographers must see beyond the clinical and form their own opinion, capturing what they see.

Notes from the week

• Originally, Unnecessary Adjustments was a single paragraph in the Photographing California, which warned about becoming absorbed by the moment. As a separate piece, it grew into full-blown catharsis. As I strove to capture the perfect moment, I had missed everything else.

• I received a lot of skepticism about my “36 exposure per SD card” limit. This weekend I’m hiking Muir Woods with my family and bringing just two SD cards. 72 exposures, no rear LCD, and manual exposure. If anything turns out, I’ll post my favorite in the follow-up for next week.

• Writing about photography is decidedly more personal than I anticipated. Especially if you want to talk about images which succeeded. I’m normally not one for trawling site analytics and twitter mentions, but this week I was on pins and needles.

• Astute readers can find out The Architect’s actual name, if they paid attention.

See y’all next week.