My 10 Favorite Photos of 2024!

Each year I like to review the work I’ve done and sum it up with my 10 favorite photos. In 2024, I challenged myself to become more fluent with programs like Photoshop in order to enhance certain images and take them into the realm of fantasy and imagination. Many of those manipulated photos were Halloween themed, inspired by movies and TV shows.

I took a few regular photos I was also very happy with. I will note the difference between the two types of images so as not to mislead the viewer. Enjoy!

Actual photo of Milky Way taken in Willits, CA.

Actual family portrait taken below comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS), taken in Willits, CA.

Actual image of white alligator, taken at California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco, CA.

Actual image of Risso’s Dolphin, taken off the coast of Fort Bragg, CA.

Actual photo (and self-portrait) of the Northern Lights, taken from the hills overlooking Willits, CA.

Actual photo of my wife and daughter, taken in the woods of Moneta, VA.

Photo of my daughter inspired by the “Stranger Things” TV series.

Photo of my daughter and I, inspired by the “Star Wars” saga.

Photo of my wife and daughter, inspired by the Stephen King novel “Salem’s Lot”.

Photo of my wife and friends, inspired by “Jurassic Park” and “Armageddon”.

My 10 Favorite Photos of 2022!

As we close out another year, I like to reflect on the images I took that made me smile. These are photographs which I have taken which I think have artistic merit, or have an emotional connection, or just make me smile. Enjoy (in no particular order)!

My daughter. She’s only five, but here I see what see will become. All the beauty, wisdom and grace that is waiting to bloom in the years to come starts right here.

This photo captures some friends and I on a nature walk.

My home has a few mountain tops, but many are on private property. When I find a great spot to do astrophotography, I tend to keep it to myself. It makes capturing images like this view of the Milky Way a lot easier to capture.

My family and I don’t have time to take many vacations. Every chance to get away is precious. This image was captured in the Avenue of the Giants in Northern California.

Steller’s Jays are one of my favorite birds. They only hand out at certain high elevations, and when you see them, they’re usually darting around so fast it makes it hard to get a good photo. I thought that I finally accomplished a major photography goal when I found this fella and got a few shots I was actually happy with.

Since I’ve started attending the Willits Frontier Days celebration, I have had the pleasure of seeing this gentleman entertain the crowds. He has plenty of attitude, a great sense of humor and the talent to keep us laughing.

I get a notification on my phone every time the International Space Station (ISS) flies over my house. On this particular night, there were four astronauts in the ISS as it cruised over Redwood Valley, CA.

When the Redwood Empire Fair comes to town, I enjoy using long exposures to get interesting photos of the rides.

My friends Glo and Lee had a fantasy wedding at Ridgewood Ranch. I took some photos that really captured the beauty of the environment and the couple’s incredible costumes, but this simple moment where their guard was down and they were caught in the moment remains one of my favorite memories of that day.

Another photo of my daughter, taken in San Francisco. We were at Pier 39 when I thought the artistic quality of her silhouette was too interesting to ignore. It was a great trip.

StaR trails!

I took this photo with my iPhone just to prove that you can take amazing photos of the night sky with just the tools you already have. A photo like this requires you can find the North Star (Polaris) and have a couple of hours to kill.

My 10 Favorite Photos of 2021!

At the end of each year I like to reminisce about which photos made me feel good or had technical merit I was especially proud of. Here are my ten favorite photos taken in 2021 and I look forward to bigger photo opportunities in 2022! Happy New Year!

My daughter, experiencing one of the best snow days we had in early 2021.

SR-20 heading into Willits on a cool winter morning.

We are not alone. Willits, CA.

White Deer Lake, Willits, CA.

The Seabiscuit Statue, Ridgewood Ranch, CA.

Cardinal, Moneta, VA.

Opening day at Willits Fire Station 54, September 14th, 2021

My daughter at Pirate Pete’s Pumpkin Patch in Ukiah, CA, during an unusually stormy day in October.

December 13th, 2021, Comet Leonard was visible low in the evening sky. You can see it here, dead center in the photograph. In the upper left corner is Venus. The comet has spent the last 40,000 years inbound from the orbit of Neptune toward the sun. When it reaches perihelion, it will be ejected from the solar system, never to be seen by human eyes again.

If you’ve ever been to Virginia, you know that the towns are littered with churches of all shapes, sizes and denominations. One of my favorites (based solely on its’ appearance) is the Mt. Ivy Christian Church in Moneta, VA. There are no tacky electronic signs in the front yard. The design is simple and clean. And the blue illumination of the cross attracts my attention whenever I drive by it in the evening.

A Summer of Smoke and Fire

This is the new normal. Twenty years ago, when I first came to Mendocino County, Summer was a carefree time when the worst we had to worry about was a few stretches of very hot weather. We were guaranteed the rainstorms would start around Thanksgiving and saturate the area until Easter. Like clockwork.

Today, every Summer in northern California is a time of fear. Fear that fires will rage out of control. Put your home and family at risk. Fear that the horrible air quality will make it impossible to enjoy the outdoors, much less work or simply commute in it.

And now we have a drought that, if not remedied by rain this winter, will force us to use bottled water for all of lifes water-related necessities. We’re already rationing the little water we have.

What’s next?

In my mind, it’s a quality of life issue. And the quality of life recently has greatly diminished. When I lived in New York City, sure, there was crime. There were compromises that you had to make to thrive in the city. Small apartments. Congestion of both people and vehicles.

But you could breath the air. You knew your apartment would be there when you came home at the end of the day. And you had water for cooking, bathing and whatever else you needed. The basics were satisfied and that made tackling the days challenges possible.

People in northern California are under a lot of stress. Covid and politics only add to the discomfort. The only bright light is that we live in a community with fighters and survivors who lift each other up and do what it takes to help us all survive, one step at a time, one day after the next. We are tough. We are holding the line. And we’re hoping and praying that we can hang in there long enough to see better days and a brighter future.

Here’s to the fighters.

Highway 20, Willits.

This past year has been tough for many folks. As we ramble into 2021, I’m grateful for many things. Family and life-long friendships. Work that sustains me during the day and a roof over my head to give me comfort at night. Coming off of St. Patrick’s Day, allow me to pass on this little Irish blessing to all of you:

May the road

rise up to meet you.

May the wind be

always at your back.

May the sun shine

upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon

your fields and until

we meet again,

may God hold you

in the palm of his hand.

The Comet Neowise Video

I put together this little collection of my favorite images from the recent visit of Comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise). As this photogenic object hurls away from Earth, I am reminded that sometimes beauty can sneak up on you from out of nowhere, when you least expect it. Enjoy!

There's a new comet in town...

July marks the arrival of comet C/2020 F3 (Neowise) in the northern hemisphere. Right now, the best time to see it is just before dusk, from 4:00 AM to 5:00 AM. Find a low northern horizon view, bring a pair of binoculars and enjoy a great sunrise afterward.

Neowise will only be around a couple more weeks before it passes the earth on its’ way out into the solar system. The next chance you’ll have to see it will be in about 6,000 years!

WHEN THE WORLD SEEMS TO BE DESCENDING INTO MADNESS...

…look for the beauty. Be open to it. Live in the moment. Be the positivity you wish to see around you.

Best time to social distance...walking the streets of your local town at 4:00 AM.

I woke up early on my day off to see if I could catch some photos of Comet Swan. Unfortunately, all my favorite locations had terrible views of the horizon where the comet is located. So I paused for a few minutes to do a long exposure photo on Main St. in the town of Willits. Traffic was light, the weather was cool but I still got a shot I was happy of with a passing car driving by.

The United States in the Age of the Coronavirus.

While we all enjoy another week of social distancing, here's a photo of last night's Pink Moon!

Thank you all for your love and support throughout 2019. We look forward to serving you in 2020!

Another first for matt holzhauer photography…

Today was a real milestone for my business when I both did the photography for AND officiated the wedding ceremony of a fantastic couple here in Ukiah, CA!

Did you know that we offered officiating services in the Northern California area? As a minister with the Universal Life Church, I’m always happy to give you that professional, reliable service with the emphasis on your needs and style.

Just another way we are your go-to, locally owned and operated photography and wedding specialists!

And the People's Choice Award goes to...

Nobody was more surprised than me when I showed up at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds last month to pick up my photo entries from the Redwood Empire Fair. When I walked in the door, I was awarded with the People’s Choice Award for my 2019 photo entries! This award (sponsored by Triple S Camera in Ukiah) is determined by the votes of Fair attendees, which makes it an extra special, bucket-list moment for me as a photographer in Northern California. I am so humbled and gratified to be getting this recognition. Thanks!

How are you doing this winter?

This has been a rough season for a lot of people. Big storms have wreaked havoc on many, weather it be snow, rain or floods. Here’s looking forward to the end of Winter and the coming Spring!

Happy Holidays from Matt Holzhauer Photography!

To all my friends and family, I want to wish each and every one of you love, peace and happiness for Christmas and the New Year to come! Thank you for your loyalty and support over the past year and I look forward to meeting friends both new and old in the year to come.

The Many Personalities of Ridgewood Ranch

For me, Ridgewood Ranch has been a place of healing. A simple drive here clears my mind, brings me joy and heightens my senses. Here are a couple of photos that demonstrate that. The first is during a rainy day where the sun poked out just long enough to cast a beautiful rainbow on the hills.

The second is of a beautiful sunrise that gave me a well-needed reminder of the beauty and mystery that exists in the world.