Christopher Balladarez

Christopher Balladarez Adventure and Landscape Photographer/Filmaker From California

04/06/2024

My friends and I hike an active volcano in Guatemala the other day. Heres a sneak peak!

Living life with her is so amazing ❤️
08/25/2023

Living life with her is so amazing ❤️

The Last Moonrise of 20202020 was a year that we will never forget. It was unique to all of us. For me it was a year tha...
11/14/2021

The Last Moonrise of 2020

2020 was a year that we will never forget. It was unique to all of us. For me it was a year that I found myself in a new way. Trying new things with my photography, learning to push myself on a different level mentally and physically. I’ll never forget during the lockdown looking outside of my window during sunset, bored, in a state of confusion not knowing what the future holds for any of us. At times I doubted myself as a photographer, an artist and having the ability to express myself they way I was feeling. I felt stuck at many times and it was a feeling that I know will come many more times in this path of life. As I continued to think deeply at my window, I witnessed the most amazing event. My first full moonrise. I remember feeling this fire ignite inside me and was totally inspired. I asked myself how I can capture such a beautiful moment that show others what I saw and how it felt to witness such a spectacular moment in nature. Not too many people look for moon line ups and study where they rise and set and I was determined to start studying directions and times it moves during the best light and a good foreground. This photograph taught me patience, persistence and determination. Living in Palmdale, I have to drive to Los Angeles and back to practice these shots and failed 9 times before I got my first decent exposure and when I did, well. I was hooked. In total my gas came out to over $600.00 to take but was worth it. Since then I have been able to make many more compositions with moon lineups around Los Angeles but this first one will always be special to me. You can do whatever you set your mind to. I think the most important part of trial and error is when you hit the drawing board as soon as you fail. When you put in the work and the time, you get results its cause and effect, that is with anything in life.

Prints are available in all sizes just message me for inquiries.

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.Waking up and packing my camera before sunrise ready to explore a town that Ive never been in is...
11/13/2021

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala.

Waking up and packing my camera before sunrise ready to explore a town that Ive never been in is one of the most exhilarating feelings ever. This prehistoric lake has a lot history to it and the surrounding volcanoes around it. There is is 7 volcanoes in the composition. I didn’t realize until after I processed this image. You can take boat to these volcanoes and every little village around this lake all speak a different accent dialect of Mayan which completely blew my mind. Guatemala will forever be one of the coolest places Ive ever visited.

After days of overcast conditions the sky wanted to burn. I almost gave up at this spot but held on to the last couple m...
11/10/2021

After days of overcast conditions the sky wanted to burn. I almost gave up at this spot but held on to the last couple minutes while the clouds decided to do its thing. It was one of those places where you just couldn't pick the right spot to shoot. I just went for the symmetrical frame because the reflection caught my eye. Looking forward to more sunrises like this on the road.

Prints are available in all sizes just message me. Thank you!

Hello everyone and thanks for liking this page. I wanted to create a space that encompasses my website, prints, tutorial...
11/10/2021

Hello everyone and thanks for liking this page. I wanted to create a space that encompasses my website, prints, tutorials and workshops that I will be generating in the near future. I appreciate the love and support.

I’d like to start off by introducing myself as a landscape, travel photographer and film maker from Palmdale, California. My photographic journey started in 2017 when I got out of rehab. Addicted to drugs and alcohol my life was going in the complete opposite direction than it is today. I was fortunate enough that the rehab I was staying in allowed me to bring in this little camera (that I had no clue how to use at the time). Taking pictures of sunrises, the people, and the experiences I was going through in this new way of living really opened up my eyes. I instantly fell in love with capturing what I saw and what I felt and I will forever be grateful for that experience.

When I got out of rehab I began working a part-time job at Planet Fitness, trying to learn how to relive life on life's terms.
Unfortunately, life isn’t always on your side and curveballs will always be thrown at you. My best friend had passed away, and almost simultaneously I had been let go from Planet Fitness, finding myself stuck at a rock bottom, once again, but this time sober.

In debt, lost the apartment that I had been living in with my best friend and no place to go, I had two choices: go back to my old ways or do something different for once and fight to live. I decided to spend my last bit of cash on my first professional camera. I started dedicated my whole life and studying everything about photography. While remaining positive I found myself drawn to the beauty of nature and found a passion for capturing the way I saw it. I haven’t looked back since.

In the past four years, I’ve been able to pay off my debt, start a photography business, travel to over 16 countries, married my high school sweetheart and am now living full-time in our converted Dodge Promaster. Myself, my wife, Veronica, and dog, Jasmine, have begun traveling the USA, photographing nature in its purest form.

The images that I create all have a story, a feeling and a sense of scale of how tiny we really are in this place we call Earth. My hopes and dreams are to make it on the front cover of National Geographic one day and have galleries all around the world and it starts with one photograph at a time. Thank you for following me on this journey.

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Los Angeles, CA

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