Landscape photography is my passion, I live for getting outside and finding the beauty in nature; it drives me and motivates me like non-other. Being able to blend landscapes with the human element is an extension of this style of photography and something I haven’t explored a ton of. So when ZEAL Optics, whom I am a proud Ambassador for, reached out last year asking if I’d be down to help put together their Summer 2020 portfolio of product I was all in. I was stoked for the opportunity that would allow me to have fun in a new and creative way taking my eye for the landscape and injecting the human element.
For those of you who are new to the name, ZEAL creates A-level optics for sun and snow that are one of a kind. I feel they’re pretty much the Patagonia of sunglasses, which is a lofty claim. They embrace a huge stance on sustainability with recycled bottles for frames, soy-based ink for dyes and non-toxic glues used in the lens bonding process. They are truly a company I love and stand behind.
A bit of a backstory to the shoot:
Leading up to heading out of Denver I worked closely with both the Boulder, Colorado based team and the California ZEAL rep with several meetings discussing logistics and prepping everything out to maximize my time in the field. Nate and his wife, Annie, who also helped me with this shoot, totally helped crush it and I couldn’t have done it without them. We would also be combining this product shoot with another San Francisco based clothing company, California Cowboy, makers of high-end beachwear designed for post-surf. Needless to say, it was a lot to get done in a few short days, but we nailed it and all had a blast in the process.
This project took me on a several day journey up and down the California coast starting in Santa Cruz and wrapping up in San Francisco. We camped on the beach, built beach bonfires, sipped a few crispy boys (ice cold beer), played guitar, caught daybreak surf, hiked bay area trails, met the current leading board shaper at Arrow Surfboards who also happens to be the nephew of the founder; it was a ton of fun to say the least. I also feel incredibly honored to have been sought out by one of my favorite companies I work with and them simply loving my landscape work entrusting me to know how to capture on-brand imagery for their portfolio. It was a huge deal to me and can’t wait for the next opportunity.
If you stop by the ZEAL store in Boulder, Colorado, or authorized dealer, you can pick up a copy of their Summer 2020 catalog where many of the images included in the catalog are mine and am beyond stoked and humbled at this opportunity. Be sure to check out their new See Grass collection of sunglasses as well. I personally love this project ZEAL has gone down the path creating where I feel they are truly stepping into new territory utilizing what we commonly discard giving all our consumer waste another life. Read more about that project here.
In this post are a few of my favorite images from the series, you can see the entire collection by following the link and checking out the gallery on my website.
Thanks for checking this post out and I always love and welcome any comments, feel free to leave them below.
Until next time, good light to you!
Joseph