El Matador Beach Malibu

Normally I try to keep travel minimal and quick but in the dead of winter, Malibu is pretty appealing.  Right before the holidays, I set out to Los Angeles for several shoots with the first stop being Tess and Claudio!  We met in North Malibu and then set out towards El Matador Beach for their engagement shoot.

Arriving in Malibu was pretty eye-opening as there was massive damage from the fires just one month prior.  Instead of seeing shades of green in the mountains, much of the landscape was dark and charred. But aside from the massive devastation, folks in the area seem to have an optimistic outlook and eagerness to rebuild.  On top of that, El Matador is even more special because Claudio’s childhood home was just minutes away.

Unlike Chicago, getting down to the beach is a bit more, well…elevating.  Lugging gear down some narrow steps and across a few rocks to find this remote location is not the easiest task in the world but is well worth it.  Once we were on the beach we went an additional half mile or so before being removed enough from the crowds.

They say “when you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”  Nothing could be further from the truth.  You’ll realistically end up working even harder because you’ll be aiming to perfect your craft.  Running a photography studio I often find myself sitting behind a screen more than behind a lens.  But it’s the sessions like this one that make it all worth it.  The next time you’re in LA, take an extra half day to head up to Malibu and check out El Matador Beach!