The Malibu Artist

#1
A cold day in the Icelandic sun....

I didn't have to ponder too much about what was my favorite photography moment of 2015. Two years ago, my favorite moment was a picture I took while photographing my brother's wedding. Family moments typically are the most memorable moments of ones life. When you combine your passion for photography with your love of family it usually results in some pretty memorable photos. So of course, my favorite moment of 2015 happened on a sunny yet cold day in Iceland with a part of my family. This time is was with my wife.

She carried on her wedding dress on our Icelandair flight to Iceland and we finally found the perfect location to take photos in this amazing country. I also brought the suit I wore on my wedding day for some fun photos we took of ourselves. We actually set up a video camera to record everything and captured some pretty neat behind the scenes moments. It was a fun day to say the least.

So here are just a few images from those awesome moments in the chilly Icelandic wind....and here's to many more beautiful moments for 2016.
-cg

Probably my favorite. It was featured in Huffington Post as well.

A 75 megapixel pano that is just amazing on the big screen. It was about 35 degrees by the way.

So in 2015 I was lucky enough to visit Iceland twice. It is my favorite place to photograph and I plan to return there at least once per year. It's just that amazing. So it's no surprise to you then, that most of my favorite photo moments occurred there in 2015.

#5
Vesturhorn-

Vesturhorn, often called "Batman Mountain," is a beautiful mountain (454 m/1450 ft high) where very steep cliffs meet a flat, black sand beach. In my two previous trips to Iceland, somehow, I skipped this magnificent view. Either weather or timing got in the way, but in September 2015 there was no way I was going to miss this shot. The third time was the charm. I battled some pretty stiff and freezing winds and this was the result. Here are a series of images from a few different view points. Clearly this was one of my favorite moments in my life.

This is a panoramic view as the Super Moon rose above Iceland.

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#4
Winter Wonderland in Yosemite

A place I travel to every single winter is Yosemite. I think this National Park is at it's most beautiful state after a winter snow storm. Last year, due to the drought, that snow storm didn't appear. But despite that, I still had a favorite image make it to last year's list so that should say something about why I go there right? This year, however, Yosemite was a winter wonderland. And it was even more special because it was the first time my wife got to see snow fall from the sky! And it was a lot of snow let me tell you! We shot in 18 degrees of temperature for 3 straight days but when the storm's subsided, it gave way to a dreamlike scene that can only be made at Yosemite.

Shot with a Canon 5DS that Canon let me borrow, this two image pano was the last image I captured at Yosemite this year. When I saw this on a 4K screen, my jaw dropped. Taken at night with a Full Moon above.

Tunnel View, one of the few view points in the world that never gets old to a photographer.

I always wanted to shoot a star trail image on the Valley floor. So I finally checked this off my bucket list.

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#3
Waterfalls of Iceland...
So my list is not really a Top 10 List of photos right?...haha. I had countless bucket list moments visiting the various waterfalls of Iceland. So at my #3 spot I want to share this as a collective moment. Ya, I'm cheating, this isn't a true top ten list I know, but you have to give me the benefit of the doubt. It's been a pretty awesome year. So here's the waterfalls....

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#2
March 17th-18th, 2015
I love the Northern Lights. In fact, I'm obsessed with them. I've researched them exhaustively and learned that in the days before and after the Fall and Spring Equinoxes the chances of magnetic induced auroras are the greatest. There is no reasons as to why, but the numbers don't lie. So I timed both of my trips to Iceland during the Spring and Fall Equinox. As luck would have it, the Sun happened to be very active in March 2015. So active that on the evening of March 17th a Coronal Mass Ejection struck the Earth directly from the sun. Combined with a high solar wind, the Spring Equinox, and a New Moon, it was a recipe for a once in a lifetime experience. Luckily, my brother and I were there to witness it.

To date, the CME that struck the Earth was the largest to strike in the current Solar Cycle. It was the strongest in about 12 years, and the auroras caused by it were nothing short of amazing. Here's just a handful of over 1200 photos (timelapse included) I took that night.

This image is possibly my favorite of the night. It was featured by the European Space Agency, AstronomyNow and Huffington Post among many others that covered the story regarding the CME impact.