Derek Liang

On the morning of January 31st, 2018, the super blue blood moon appeared in the western night skies, the first time since 1866. I stumbled out of bed at 4 in the morning, drove down to Laguna Beach and setup my tripod to capture this amazing moment. I couldn’t wait to share it with the world.

silhouette of trees near dock and body of water

I am quite glad I went out to San Clemente Pier to catch the sunset. The beach was full of life, from kids wandering to surfers riding the evening waters to couples walking along the beach. It made me realize, these are the moments I cherish the most. The lifestyle of Southern California is what makes it appealing, the people here just radiate with a sense of comfort. As the sun set below the horizon, I made my way up to the cliffs overlooking the beach to get one last glance over an amazing evening at the beach. I couldn’t ask for a better way to end the day.

aerial view photography of white concrete house

If you’ve ever been to Taiwan, its climate is humid quite like Hawaii. It also rains a lot. Like, a lot. This really opens up new opportunities to shoot in the rain, and sometimes, you get lucky and catch a rainbow. Many of my favorite shots are still the ones I never plan on shooting in the first place. So get out there and just shoot!

I lived in the Bay Area for the better part of my life before moving for university. Ever since I picked up photography, it is the moments of rediscovering places from here to perspectives I’ve never seen before, that really makes it rewarding.

person standing on blue ocean water during orange sunset

One of my favorite activities this year has been taking long strolls along the beach. From listening to the sounds of waves to exploring tide pools to capturing people in their moments. We tend to forget everyone has good days and bad days - we’re all facing our own demons everyday, so let’s be nice to each other and help each other through the hard days.

My favorites shots are not the ones I spent countless hours of planning, but the ones I capture in the moment. To me, Laguna Beach is my second backyard, where I can get lost, find memorable moments, and just be myself.

I woke up early to catch the sunrise but it was raining. I decided to walk around the streets and suddenly the sky cleared up a bit and knew it was the perfect time to capture the city shrouded in golden hour. It turned out to be one of my favorite shots from my Asia Trip so far. The unplanned shots are sometimes the most rewarding ones.

Couldn’t sleep the night before, so I decided to wake up early and take a drive by some vineyards in San Luis Obispo to catch the sun rise.

white lighthouse near body of water during daytime

It’s been a long time now since I’ve wanted to fly my drone around a lighthouse. And so I did, after driving an hour north, I found a lighthouse sitting at the edge of a magnificent cliff.