Close To Home Assignment Winner Erick Castellon

Congratulations to Erick Castellon for winning the recent Close to Home Assignment with the image, “Lone Cypress.”

“My original plan was to make a two-and-a-half hour drive to Big Sur to Pfeiffer Beach and do some shooting there,” explains Castellon. “Halfway there, I noticed the clouds were beginning to become thicker at the horizon, so the possibility of getting anything good was diminishing quickly. I drove another 10 minutes, and I was debating if it was going to be worth the drive. At the next turnout, I pulled over and headed back to Pebble Beach, as this was my fallback plan in case I couldn’t make it in time to Big Sur. As I arrived at this location, a fellow shutterbug had given me directions of a new spot to shoot from that I hadn’t been to before. As I arrived, I headed to the location he mentioned and got my gear ready and hoped that the weather would cooperate. I was glad I changed my plan, as the colors were very beautiful.”

See more of Erick Castellon’s photography on Instagram.

Canon EOS 5D Mark IV, 16-35mm F4 @ 31mm, 2-STOP ND Hard Grad. Exposure: ISO-100, f/8, 1/5 sec.

Need some photography inspiration? Check out our current assignment here.