Anna Amarilla Photography

11/24/2024

“I wanted freedom, open air and adventure. I found it on the sea.”

Every day, with every breath I take, I am chasing my dreams to build the life that i want. I will never stop. Some days as in this trip to the coast, I am chasing waves, and other days i'm chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And on this day at Shore Acres on the Oregon Coast, I got the trifecta.

Seeing the rainbow over the ocean that i love so much and at the place i worked so hard to get to was like a sign that i am exactly where i was meant to be. I felt my soul reignite with passion and purpose and belief that i was meant for so much more.

I"m grateful for the time i got to spend there. The soft breeze on my face and the sound of the waves crashing on the shore, and the sense of tranquility are the memories that i will carry with me till i can visit again. It's the one place that makes me feel like i'm "home" and happy.

10/13/2024

I'll never stop chasing lights - whether it's the Milky Way or Northern Lights. I'll never stop exploring, traveling, being curious, working hard so I can do all of these things. I live for moments like these!
This is another shot from Thursday night at Crater Lake National Park. I loved seeing how the lights kept changing colors.
I've got a few more to share. Stay tuned 😉

10/12/2024

This is the first of many images i shot at Crater Lake National Park last night. NASA issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for October 10-11th. As exhausted as i was from work, i knew that i couldn't miss my opportunity to photograph it. I quickly jumped into gear and packed my gear, layers of clothes (which turns out was not enough to withstand the cold at Crater Lake), snacks, coffee and water. I met my good friend Andrea and we set up our cameras in the perfect spot. Within a couple of hours, the spot we were in was packed with other photographers. It was fun talking to other folks who share your passion. It even made standing in the freezing cold, more bearable. Even though the predictions were high that the Aurora would be visible, you just never know. It's a gamble. I stood gazing into the sky trying to catch a glimpse. Then, as twighlight began to fade and stars began to emerge, i held my breath as i saw the first shimmer of pink in the sky. I looked at my neighbors to see if they saw the same thing. The extreme exhaustion left my body and instead i was filled with joy. I felt a renewed sense of energy and felt like i could stand there all night. You can hear other photographers talking and expressing their wonder and excitement. The sounds of shutters clicking. Everyone was happy that even if this was all we got, it was not going to be a wasted trip to Crater Lake. And what a beautiful display of lights the aurora produced.. For the next couple of hours, it was so fun to of course capture it with my camera, but i also just took time to really appreciate being there, in the moment.

What causes the colours of the Northern Lights? The colours and intensity vary and it depends on the type of gas, the altitude the solar particles collide with Earth's atmosphere and the level of solar activity. The red and pink colors that you see in an aurora come from excited atomic oxygen that collide with our atmosphere at high altitudes - about 150 miles. It is typically only visible under intense solar activity - which is what we were experiencing last night. Blues and purples also are usually only visible during intense solar activity and are from molecular nitrogen at even lower altitudes.

10/06/2024

The Milky Way has over 200 - 400 billion stars, but it is hidden from more than 1/3 of humanity due to excess light pollution from street lights & buildings giving off their glow from florescent lighting, and billboards that line the streets. Did you know that in the 90's when Los Angeles had a major earthquake and the City of Angels lost power, many people called 911 to report seeing some white, cloud like substance going across the sky. They had no idea that they were seeing the Milky Way for the first time!

This is from one of my most favorite shoots, on my recent trip to the Badlands in South Dakota. The Badlands National Park is set far away from big cities and the night skies are very clear. The landscape itself transcends the ordinary. At dawn or sunset, the shifting colors of the various seemingly infinite canyons and rock formations is astounding to watch. After the sun dips below the horizon and darkness falls on the landscape, that is where the magic happens. The world is still filled with light. Just look up and gaze into the heavens. Seeing the Milky Way is mesmerizing. Photographing it as i stand in the surreal landscape is pure magic. Looking at the lights above is an unforgettable experienc. It's soothing to my soul.

05/08/2024

It feels so good to actually take time for myself and do what I was born to do. I had 3 days off and I took some time to get back to editing some of my work, and found my joy again in the process.
This is one of the images that will be in my upcoming show at the Klamath Art Gallery next month

My time in Cappadocia was nothing short of magical. Seeing the sun setting against the backdrop of the Fairy Houses is breathtaking. Fairy Chimneys are unique formations that are not like anything i've seen anywhere in the wold. The ancient topography was formed over thousands of years, by andcient volcanic eruptions that covered the area with rock and ash which solidified into the soft rock over thousands of years by the help of erosion due to wind and water. People lived inside these houses for centuries - up until today. In some places, people still live in them. Cappadocia is known for their complex underground cities, Cave houses and the Fairy houses. It was during the Roman period (625 BC to 476 AD) when persecuted Christians fled to Cappadocia and began building the network of handmade caves and churches. Some of them are as much as 10 storeys deep and could hide thousands of people in the event of hostile takeover. I had the opportunity to visit many of the caves and churches. I stayed in a hotel that was a cave from thousands of years ago, but with modern luxuries (bathroom)
One of my highlights was taking a balloon ride, and capturing the beautiful storybook terrain below me, as the sun came up. Equally as exhilarating is standing on the ground and watching the balloons soaring above, as the sun lit the carved out towering rock formations of the pillars and caves. What a beautiful once in a lifetime experience...

Photographer, visual storyteller, artist, landscape photographer, astrophotography.

12/29/2023

I was majorly bummed that I didn't go to the coast yesterday like I wanted. I knew the waves were going to be massive. It seems that there was unusually high surf all along the west coast -from the Pacific Northwest all the way to Southern California.

The one place I would have liked to go besides Shore Acres State Park, was the legendary Mavericks in Half Moon Bay, California. All the surfers were there from around the world. But responsibilities kept me from taking off for few days.

As you can see in the video below, it was probably a good call that I didn't go. Granted, that this video is in So Cal, I have been reading about damages all up and down the west coast.

Still hoping to go out for king tides in January - but not if there are gale force winds as we had last couple of days. Even today, in my back yard in Klamath Falls, it's still really windy. 🥶

Massive waves rolling into Ventura beaches as swells reach 15 to 18 feet and some sets close to 20 feet. Waves poured over the walls separating the beach fro...