Bombay Beach, Salton Sea, Calif., Dec. 15, 2013. (Shane Hawk)

Shane Hawk’s evolution as a photographer and artist is an interesting one. He went from snapping photos on his iPhone 4 and uploading them to Instagram to dangling his Canon 7D out the window of a car to capture mountains in Hawaii in the perfect light.

But even before he created his popular Instagram account he had always been interested in the outdoors.

“I have always loved nature,” Hawk told weather.com. “My grandmother took my brother and I all over the map when we were younger.”

With an early appreciation of travel and the outdoors, it’s not surprising that Hawk’s portfolio is filled with stunning landscapes of the natural world.

“Taking photos in nature is easy, in all honesty,” he said. “Nature does 90% of the work while us photographers just need to adjust settings in real-time for the optimal outcome.”

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On a recent trip to Oahu, Hawaii Hawk spotted the Koolau Mountains covered in fog out the window of the minivan he was in and decided to whip out his camera.

“It was tough to get some [shots] into focus at that speed and with the wind, but I managed a few,” he explained.

Photos in the fog are some of Hawk’s favorites. “Whenever there is fog, it becomes a dream for a photographer. How it just shuts sunlight out and floats in between trees or rolls quickly over mountains is breathtaking.”

But while fog can result in breathtaking photos, Hawk also enjoys shooting in “amazing weather.”

“My best shots result from having amazing weather,” he said. “Amazing doesn’t pinpoint a specific type, as it ranges. I absolutely love when fluffy clouds hover over the ocean during golden hour. It makes for the best sunsets – without clouds it is very rare to get reds, pinks, oranges etc. in a photo.”

View the slideshow above for Hawk’s stunning landscape shots from Hawaii and various locations in California. To see more of Hawk’s work visit his website.