The digital age has sparked a profound desire to rediscover the analog in pursuit of meaningful human connection.
The Birds
December. Zuma Beach at dusk. I had the place to myself aside from a few hundred gulls parked on a dune to my left. Startled, they took flight as if they'd heard Hitchcock say, "Action!" • Mike Brown © 2019 • Sony A7rii FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS • ISO 100 16mm F/ 5.0 1/2000 sec.
White-Out
Down is always faster than up. Morning sun set Whistler's Peak on fire moments prior to this shot. How else do you dream of kicking off your birthday in the Canadian Rockies? Magical time. Magical place • Mike Brown © 2015 • Apple iPhone 6 • ISO 50 4.15mm f/2.2 1/4000 sec.
Serenity
Quiet is a feast for the soul. Paddling in Sognefjord, I was stunned silent by the towering rock and an illusion of a waterfall's edge. I need to go back to this mystical place to make sure my eyes weren't tricking me • Mike Brown © 2015 • Apple iPhone 5 • ISO 50 4.12mm f/2.4 1/1800 sec.
Edge of the World
However fun racing up Chapman's Peak is, you're required to stop as the dusk envelops Hout Bay. There's magical light on the other side of the planet. No wonder Cape Town is talk of the town • Mike Brown © 2019 • Sony A7rii FW 24-105mm F4 G OSS • ISO 100 24mm f/5.0 1/100 sec.
Bee's Eye View
Rains blanketed the gardens at summer's close. Macro is new for me but the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens offered great moments to catch a few last blooms in the fading warmth • Mike Brown © 2019 • Sony A7rii FW 24-105mm F4 G OSS • ISO 100 49mm f/4.5 1/100 sec.
Treetop Dreams
Felt a bit like a squirrel that day. Floating around Capilano Suspension Bridge Park I was lucky to catch a few treetop moments without tourists in the way. I think 'tree house' may supplant 'tiny house' in my future • Mike Brown © 2018 • Apple iPhone 8 • ISO 20 3.99mm f/1.8 1/540 sec.
Paradise
Be still my beating heart. I'll take winter in Canada any day, and my birthday drive south on the Icefields Parkway didn't disappoint. John Muir was right. Going to the mountains is going home • Mike Brown © 2015 • Apple iPhone 6 • ISO 32 4.15mm f/2.2 1/2200 sec.
Bring the Outside In
Blur the lines between inside and out. I stumbled on this paradise strolling through the Royal Alcázar in Seville, a space in-between, dappled sunshine pouring through an ivy screen. What stories have these walls seen? • Mike Brown © 2015 • Apple iPhone 6 • ISO 32 4.15mm f/2.2 1/30 sec.
Serpentine
Robberg Nature Preserve juts out unprotected into the Atlantic ocean like a dangling thread. I like traveling off-season. You get miraculous places to yourself, even if the weather is entirely crap • Mike Brown © 2019 • Sony A7rii FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS • ISO 100 17mm F/ 5.6 1/200 sec.
Paddle the Canyons
Hello, Mr Cameron, are you there? It wasn’t the best paddling run I’ve had but the return through these towering (Pandora?) canyons in Tsitsikamma National Park as the sun sliced through the overcast skies was spectacular. • Mike Brown © 2015 • Apple iPhone Xs • ISO 25 4.25mm f/1.8 1/800 sec.
Sleeping Giant
I’ve read that classical statues are often missing their noses because of trigger happy soldiers. Who then stole this beast’s 6th toe in the foothills of Montecito? I love when nature captures the imagination • Mike Brown © 2019 • Sony A7rii FE 16-35mm F4 ZA OSS • ISO 100 17mm F/14 1/125 sec.
Brrrrrr
On the verge of freezing. My first hike into the Mount Baker Wilderness, I stumbled across these incredible droplets nearly frozen. Stillness is a luxury and I moved to the west coast to find more of it, albeit not in the PNW yet. • Mike Brown © 2015 • Apple iPhone 6 • ISO 40 4.15mm f/2.2 1/120 sec.