Milk and Honey in San Luis Obispo
California’s Golden Coast is the land of milk and honey. Colin Nearman’s Instagram proves it. His photos capture a life of adventure, surfing, and good times outside with friends. One look at his feed and you’ll be wondering, what the hell am I doing sitting in front of this laptop? Check him out at @colin_nearman.
Place you live: San Luis Obispo
Places your Instagrams were taken: These pictures were taken all throughout San Luis Obispo county.
Can you sum up San Luis Obispo? It’s a photogenic playground. It’s a great source of inspiration for any type of artist.
What is a perfect day in San Luis Obispo? If I could wake up with a cup of coffee and spend from sun up to sun down scoring waves and good Mexican food with friends, I’d be pretty stoked. Then maybe take a night hike to end the day.
If San Luis Obispo was a person or character who would it be and why? Gordie Lachance (Will Wheaton) from the classic movie Stand By Me. His character can’t be understood easily; it takes an open mind and a deeper connection to break through and start a relationship with him. I feel that same concept is true in building an appreciation and respect for where I come from.
How long have you been using Instagram? I’ve been using Instagram for about two years now.
Do you shoot with your phone or other cameras or both? Both. I use whichever camera is in my hand to practice what I love to do.
What is your editing process? I try to stay true to my image when editing, whether it was taken with my camera or my phone. I focus a lot on the details of the raw image before editing. Things like natural light, composition, angles and shapes. From there I use programs like Lightroom or my VSCO app to define those details and make them stand out.
Do you create images outside of Instagram? I do. I’m a published surf/adventure photographer outside the walls of IG.
Has Instagram/phoneography affected how you shoot? Most definitely. Any social site I can pull inspiration from affects my shooting in some way or another. I think it would be hard to argue otherwise for any avid user of Instagram.
Can you give a couple tips to aspiring Instagram photographers? Be creative, always have fun with your work, and never be too critical of yourself or your feed. The quality of your work isn’t based on the number of followers you have.
Who are your three favorite Instagrammers? @juxtapozmag, @markomcinnis, @drew_martin_photography.
Name:Colin Nearman
City:San Luis Obispo
Best place to eat:
Best place to drink:
Best outdoor activity:
Hiking
Must do:
Visit Gopher Glen Apple Farm on See Canyon Road.
Local tip:
Stick around on Sunday. Our swap meet is pretty rad.