Los Osos Oaks Preserve in Los Osos, CA is an amazing place I have driven by hundreds of times on my way to surf Montana de Oro, but never actually stopped to photograph there. The preserve features Coastal Live Oaks growing on ancient sand dunes. Within the first few steps into the preserve I realized what I had been missing. The park is a step back into time before European settlers, led by Gaspar de Porola, first entered in the valley in 1769, taking me back to a time when the area earned it's moniker "Valley of the Bears." Within 100 years, pretty much all of the grizzly bears had been exterminated in the area but thankfully the oaks were set aside in their natural splendor for all to enjoy.

Oaks - Los Osos was captured in 2014 on a 4x5 camera using Ilford FP4+ B&W film and is printed in a traditional darkroom on Fiber Based Silver Gelatin paper and processed using time-tested archival methods. Allow 2 to 3 weeks for delivery.