Viva la France! Road-trip Foolishness Pt. 6: Chamonix

The crowning jewel of our trip to France was Chamonix.

Chamonix, located near where the borders of France, Switzerland, and Italy meet, is a resort-town. We drove in mid-afternoon and spent the evening wandering around finding dinner before heading to bed for an early night.

In the morning I woke up, made some coffee, and bundled up to go sit on the balcony and enjoy the view of Mont-Blanc, the highest summit in France. Once everyone was up, a few of us walked over to the cable-car that would take us up the mountain. The cable car was cheaper than was listed on the website, and ended up costing us only 15 euros round trip.

If you’re making the hike up to Lac Blanc, I highly suggest taking the cable car to cut time off of your trip up the mountain. The hike up (sans cable car,) is barren, boring, difficult, and quite frankly, a waste of time. You would have to wake up hella hella early to even make it to the Lac Blanc refuge at the end of the hike, and even then you may get there after dark. So, be smart, and take the cable car.

Our early-morning hike was pretty interesting, as it was extremely cloudy. I didn’t mind, and neither did my companions, as the higher we went, the thinner the clouds became and leT ME TELL YOU, there are fewer things as sublime as hiking the side of a mountain and looking over your shoulder to see a break in the clouds and THERE THEY ARE, THE MIGHTY AND MAJESTIC ALPS. It was like peek-a-boo, only epic instead of weird.

The hike up to Lac Blanc Refuge wasn’t too difficult, the hardest part being the incline at the beginning. Now, I’m not the most active person, as I’m just mostly on my feet all day and I run some mornings (I’m not a marathon runner–hell, I’m not even a mile runner,) so when I say it is do-able, I really mean it. There is a part of the hike where you have to rock scramble up, but as long as you have the proper shoes the worst that will happen is you get a nice leg workout.

When we reached the refuge, the cloud cover pretty much cleared up, and we were able to take in panoramic views with our own eyes and cameras.

We hung out at the refuge for a while, ate some granola bars and apples, and took lots and lots of selfies. Eventually we knew we had to hike back down to the cable car, as it stops running at a certain time and we did not want to be stranded in the French Alps. The hike down took a while, as we had to be careful coming back down the rocks, and that incline from the start of our hike became the craziest decline– I definitely slipped on my ass a few times, and I wasn’t alone.

We ended up having to wait in line for about 45 minutes to catch the cable car down, mais c’est la vie. My group and I kept taking turns to hold our place in line to take pictures, and when you’re in the company of friends, 45 minutes waiting for a cable car in one of the most beautiful places in the world isn’t bad at all.

When we got back down to the bottom of the mountain, we walked back to town to meet up with the rest of our group. As we debated our dinner choices, we stopped and saw an aerial performance mother-daughter duo, who were using bungees to do stunts in the spaces between buildings. It was a little thing that made an already special day that much more excellent.

We all stayed up talking before we went to bed that evening, and the next morning we woke up to explore the town some more and do some last minute souvenir shopping. We came across an older gentleman who was selling dog key chains, except they were made out of pipe-cleaners and the man made them himself. I practiced my French a little because I wanted to get his photograph, and I opened the conversation with “Hello, how are you today?” and he just responded with “No, don’t ask me that!” I laughed and he let me take his picture when I asked. Not the best quality image, but still one of my favorites from the trip.

After our shopping trip we had to leave this gorgeous place and make the drive to Lyon. We were genuinely sad to leave and most of us shared that we would definitely make an effort to return and spend more time in the area.  So, if you’re ever in the east of France, check out Chamonix. There are hikes for everyone, skiing, and a charming town with an old guy making awesome key chains.

Safe Travels, and Happy Shooting!

Florida After 10 Years

My best friend and I have been planning to go to Walt Disney World together for the entire duration of our over-a-decade-long friendship. There have been a couple instances where it almost happened but then didn’t, leaving us both broken hearted and disappointed.

BUT AFTER TEN YEARS, WE DID IT YA’LL

One of the perks of being an adult and out of college– you can go to Disney when you want (well, after over a year of planning and saving, but you get the picture.)

Allie, my bff, is an expert on all things Disney. She will smoke your ass in trivia, knows probably every song from every movie (even obscure ones,) and has been to WDW in Florida more times than years she has been alive. It’s wild, she’s wild, and our trip was amazing for it.

We drove down from Michigan for two days, finally stopping in Celebration, FL. Celebration is a town that was designed by Disney and it is very charming with its colorful buildings and hybrid 1950s-meets-Cuba architecture.

After Celebration, we went to our rented condo and relaxed for the night, going out to Old Town to check out the shops. There was an anime shop and the guy working there was so friendly and enthusiastic, I asked him to pose for a photograph. He moved his hands at the last second, but like I said… he was enthusiastic!

Our trip was jam-packed, wild, and AMAZING. We started our marathon with a full-day at Magic Kingdom, where we of course Disneybounded. My partner, Mitchell, was the Prince Charming to my Cinderella, and Allie was Merida. We made the cutest princesses ever, and it was super fun to hear parent’s say to their kids “Look honey, those girls are dressed as Cinderella and Merida!”

In the evening we ran home, changed, and went to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, also in Magic Kingdom. Mine and Allie’s favorite holiday is Halloween, so we got all dressed up as extra af. Allie went as a mermaid (she made her entire costume herself and it was INSANE) and her boyfriend, Dom, went as a pirate. I was a rainbow and Mitchell was the sun. Some Disney Cast Members stopped Mitchell and I and gave us pins that said “Most Dynamic Duo!” because they loved our couple costume so much. Yeah, we were all super damn cute.

I ADORED the Halloween party. As an adult who doesn’t like to go to adult-parties (where there is alcohol and awkward socializing,) it’s hard for me to celebrate Halloween. It’s legit my favorite holiday, but it’s not like I can go trick-or-treating, and I live in an apartment in the city so decorating my house and passing out candy is a no-go. The Halloween party at Disney was awesome because we got to actually go trick-or-treating, there was a dance party, and the park was only half-full because you have to have a special ticket to get in after 6PM. There was also a special Halloween parade and a Halloween stage show, which featured the Sanderson Sisters from Hocus Pocus and all our fav Disney Villains. I wish I could spend every Halloween there!

Our second day in Florida was spent at Universal Studios. We went on some of the rides, got super sick because apparently we are all old and can’t handle anything anymore, and spent the majority of the day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This was my second time there, but the first time I went the park had just opened, so it was really like I was experiencing it again for the first time. The best part? Allie and I went to Ollivander’s Wand Shop, and there is a little show that they put on where Ollivander picks someone from the crowd and has a wand “choose” them. Allie and I were picked because we were dressed head-to-toe in Slytherin garb, so basically it was the coolest thing ever and Allie and I got interactive wands out of it. Best. Day. Ever.

The Disney-marathon continued with the Food & Wine Festival at EPCOT, which was AMAZING. It’s hard to say it was my favorite part because I adored Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, but man, it was incredible. I love food, EPCOT is my favorite park, and I got to Disneybound as my favorite character ever, Quasimodo. The whole gang had Hunchback themed bounds that day– Allie was Esmeralda, Dom was Phoebus, and Mitchell was Clopin.

After getting rolled out of EPCOT (we were sporting food babies after all the delicious food we consumed,) we took a break from the parks and spent a day walking around Disney Springs, formerly called Downtown Disney. We all Disneybounded as droids from the Star Wars franchise for this expedition. I was BB-8, Mitchell was C3PO, Dom was R2D2, and Allie was K-2SO. It was a pretty relaxing day, after spending three full days in the parks.

We picked back up with an adventure in Animal Kingdom, where we saw the new Avatar-themed world, Pandora. The new rides, Rivers of Light and Flight of Passage were AMAZING, especially Flights. Like, goodness, I could stay on that ride forever. For that day, Mitchell and I bounded as Pongo and Perdita from 101 Dalmatians, and Allie was Dr. Facilier from Princess and the Frog and Dom was Hades from Hercules.

Our last day at WDW was spent at Hollywood Studios (or as Allie and I will always call it, MGM,) where we got sick once more on simulators, I lost an umbrella (and FOUND IT BECAUSE DISNEY CAST MEMBERS ARE AMAZING,) and we saw the incredible show, Fantasmic. Mitchell and I also met Kylo Ren, which was an experience. You can tell that we were terrified to be in his awesome Vader-fanboy presence. (Side note: I constantly refer to Kylo Ren as my space-trash-husband, so this was a big deal.) For MGM, Allie bounded as Loki, Dom as Thor, and Mitchell and I went as Dipper and Mabel from Gravity Falls (my favorite show EVER.)

Disney was seriously a blast. Shout out to Allie for making sure we had a lot of photos together in our Disneybounds, and for putting the adorable borders on the photos!

Speaking of adorable borders… I brought my Fuji Instax Mini with me, and loaded it with Disney Tsum Tsum themed film. I adore these pictures so much, as they add just a little more magic to our already magical trip! You can find this same film (and other films with Disney-themed borders!) on Amazon or eBay. If you order from eBay, it’ll take a while to get to you, so keep that in mind when you order!

So, enough with the typical vacation photos. If you made it this far and you’re wondering where the photography is, you’ll be pleased to know it’s just a few more lines of text away!

The photographs I made in the Disney Parks and in Universal Studios were more formal studies and examinations of light, rather than normal tourist pictures. I can’t help that Disney and Universal make things so picturesque– it’s almost as if they want people to take pictures. Who knew?

It was a little bit of a challenge, though. I wanted to make really cool pictures of a few of the most popular places in the United States– hell, the world, even. I think I managed to get a couple shots in that aren’t so standard, but I’m content with the photographs that are a little more par-for-the-course, because hey, the light was really pretty and I dig it.

We ended our amazing trip with a visit to Daytona Beach, where I lounged like a beach bum, Mitchell built a sand castle, Allie sat in the sand and Dom let himself get knocked about by waves. I love the ocean, I think it is beautiful, but I am not keen on large, open bodies of water where all sorts of critters live and I freak out when seaweed so much as brushes my leg so I sat on the beach and enjoyed the sounds and sights.

Annnnddddd that’s my trip to Florida, told through my rambles, vacation photos, and photography. Again, shout out to my BFF for the best photos of our cute ass crew. I’ve been really spoiled these past few months with all the travel– and next month I’m off to Vermont, so keep an eye out for a post on that!

Safe Travels and Happy Shooting!

I WENT TO TOKYO AND IT WAS THE BEST EVER

Ever since I was 12 years old, I wanted to go to Japan. This is 100% because I was a total little nerd who loved anime and tried to teach herself Japanese and thought everything was kawaii and I was totally awkward and no one told me– but I wanted to go since then.

Overtime, my love for anime and manga became much more low-key (excluding Sailor Moon– I will love Sailor Moon with reckless abandon until the day I die,) and as I learned more about the history of Japan and the eccentricities of Tokyo, my longing to visit only grew.

Visiting Tokyo while on my adventure in S.E. Asia was not anticipated. While I was sitting in a coffee shop in Manila, I decided to book my flight home from Cambodia, which was six-weeks away at that point. The flight home from Siem Reap was crazy long and crazy expensive, so I looked into alternatives, and for shits and giggles I figured I’d see how much it would cost for me to hop over to Tokyo, then hop home.

It was SO much cheaper. Then I figured, hm, well, what if I took a long layover? After doing the math, a two-day layover in Tokyo was STILL CHEAPER than my flying straight home from Cambodia. So, I booked it, and then spent the remaining two months of my trip excited for the end of it so I could go to Tokyo.

And my GOD.

I LOVED EVERY SINGLE SECOND OF IT.

I arrived at Haneda Airport and took the airport bus to Ikebukuro District, where my hostel was– The Sakura Hotel. If you’re a budget traveler like me, I HIGHLY recommend this place! You pay by the bunk, and the bathrooms are so clean and I was very comfortable. The restaurant attached to the hotel is also very good, and I met some amazing people while hanging out there.

But anyway– on to my crazy two-day adventure in Tokyo!

The first day I was there, I ran off to Harajuku, the famous fashion district known for its youthful clothes and trends. There are lolita shops, vintage stores, one-hundred-yen stores, accessory stands… It was delightful and the energy was high and light and I left smiling, because this was all very much my a e s t h e t i c.

I also had lunch at the Monster Cafe, which was super cute. Food was meh, but I went for the atmosphere, so I wasn’t disappointed. However, the Monster Cafe was the most expensive thing I did in my two days there, and it cost me around $40. So, if you’re on a tight budget and not wanting to splurge, maybe dodge the Monster Cafe this trip.

After my adorable lunch, I browsed the thrift stores in the area then headed over to Shibuya crossing. My first stop was to see Hachiko, the Goodest Boy That Ever Was™, because if you’re going to go Tokyo, you simply have to go see Hachiko.

I mean, the train station has PAWS THAT LEAD YOU IN THE DIRECTION OF HIS STATUE LIKE COME ON

(I think the reason I may love Tokyo so much is because it is so EXTRA and that’s like, me as a person, so.)

I ended up playing photographer at the statue for a good 15 minutes. So many people wanted their family photo, and I just kept offering, because honestly I was in a good mood and didn’t want to leave Hachiko.

Also, this was probably the cutest I ever looked the entire time I was traveling, because Tokyo had beautiful 80 degree weather and not 100 degree weather like everywhere else I had been, and also, I went to Harajuku that morning and I was NOT about to look like a scrub.

After seeing the best dog ever, I crossed the famous Shibuya Crossing and went to the Starbucks on the corner, which has the best view of the craziness that is crossing the street in the busiest intersection in the country. Apparently, everyone knows this Starbucks is the best spot, because I had to legit elbow my way in to see. But, it was fun, and I was just giggling the entire time because its so ridiculous that it’s fun watching people cross a damn street.

I even left the Starbucks and found a tree to sit under at street-level, so I could keep people-watching until I finished my coffee.

Phew– busy day so far, but I WAS NOT DONE. After people watching, I went to Nanako Broadway. Now, Nanako Broadway wasn’t even on my radar, but my best friend was living vicariously through this trip, and told me I “MUST GO TO NANAKO BROADWAY” because they had vintage anime stuff. So, I did, and it was delightful.

The place was relatively empty, save for a few tourists like me, and I think the best part was when a teenaged-American-boy bumped into me and said “Gomen’nasai!” with the most confident, terrible pronunciation and I was just so delighted because kid, you do you. Follow your otaku-dreams.

I also hit up all the Sailor Moon gachupon machines in the building. No shame.

I ended my first day in Tokyo in Shinjuku. I waited until after sunset to visit this district, because I knew the lights would look hella cool. Now, when I went to Shinjuku, I got completely lost on purpose. I just picked a direction and started walking, and I came across great scenes. One the staples of Shinjuku was the 18+ clubs/movie theatres.

Because I was just wandering around, I accidentally came across Piss Alley– a charming name, I know, but it’s a small, narrow alley with Japanese street food served at counters, like you see in movies and such. A lot of places had signs that stated NO PHOTOS but I found a place where there wasn’t a sign and quickly took a shot of some businessmen eating their yakitori.

The following day I had another early start, because there was still so much to see in Tokyo! I figured day one was more about contemporary culture, so day two would be more traditional (which ended up having some exceptions, as you’ll see later on.)

The morning began at Ueno Park, where I walked around for hours, sitting every now and then to people-watch and write in my notebook. I found a shrine, and I snapped one of my favorite photos of all time of a man praying. He’s glowing— I didn’t do anything to that photo to make it happen. Maybe it’s the light bouncing off of his shirt, or maybe its something spiritual– who knows, but I love it.

I walked around the pond to get back to the train station, and I cooed at the turtles and the koi fish, because I’m that weirdo. No shame.

My tourist-marathon continued as I visited Asakusa, one of the more traditional districts, to visit the famous Senso-ji temple. What was so awesome about this experience was the market that lead the way up to the temple (where they had everything a tourist could want– I definitely got my mother a neat mask and myself a Sailor Saturn plushie– see above declaration that I will love Sailor Moon until my dying day).

A surprise for me was seeing women dressed in yukatas and kimonos. Some young ladies were even kind enough to let me take a photo of their group!

Now, remember when I said day two was traditional with an exception? That exception is Akihabara, which is the district where anime-loving-nerds pilgrimage to. Since I’m an anime-loving nerd, I went.

It was super fun, even though I don’t recognize any of the now-popular animes (my day was when Fullmetal Alchemist and like Inuyasha and Fruits Basket were the bees knees,) but what I enjoyed the most was the teenagers who were dragging their confused parents around these stores. 10/10.

For my last evening in Tokyo I knew I wanted to see the city from above at sunset. I left Akihabara and went to Minato, to go to the top of the World Trade Center. However, the sun was still relatively high, and I had about 1.5 hours to kill before I wanted to go up, so I did what I always do and just started walking in any old direction. I ended up walking down by the wharf, where I watched ships cruise by and felt the sea breeze.

When I was heading back in the direction of the Trade Center, I ended up in a throng of white-shirt clad business men. The opportunity was too good to pass up with my camera.

Now, I decided to go to the World Trade Center to view the city instead of Tokyo Tower or Tokyo Skytree. The simple reason why was because it was much cheaper, and cost only ¥600, whereas the other places were five times that much. The more complex reason was I wanted the best view possible of Tokyo Tower, because, once again, I am a Sailor Moon weeb.

Plus, it wasn’t crowded at the “Seaside Top” at all. I got there nice and early, walked around (it has a 360 degree viewing platform,) took lots of photos and took a seat by the window and watched the sun-set. I didn’t ever want to leave.

While watching Tokyo fade into purples and blues, I promised myself I would be back.

After my super-long adventure, I went back to the hotel and ended up at a party-table with the owners of the hotel restaurant and a group of tourists from The Netherlands. That’s what happens when you’re a young lady sitting alone– you get adopted and get drinks shoved at you. And then, when they find out you are American, they ask countless questions about Donald Trump.

I responded by chugging an entire beer without breaking eye-contact.

I had a few hours the morning I was to leave, so I got lost in the neighborhood around my hotel. I wanted to keep exploring, but I had a bus to catch, so the last hour I had in Tokyo was spent rushing around like a mad-woman trying to get to my bus stop on time.

The peacefulness of the neighborhood I was staying in was such a great end to an exciting and crazy trip abroad.

When I was researching what to possibly do with only 2 days in Tokyo, I couldn’t find any itineraries I liked, so I made my own. What I liked about mine is everything I did was free, excluding my lunch at the Monster Cafe and the ticket to the top of the World Trade Center. So, if you’re a budget traveler with a short-stay in Tokyo in your future, here is my itinerary, for your consideration!

Day One:

• Harajuku Shopping District (bright and early!)
• Lunch at the Monster Cafe
• Shibuya Crossing (during rush hour because I’m a sadist)
• Nanako Broadway
• Shinjuku (at night because the lights are so cool!)

Day Two:

• Ueno Park (SUPER bright and early!)
• Asakusa for the Senso-ji Shrine
• Akihabara
• Minato/World Trade Center

And that’s the end of my nearly two-month adventure in Asia. It was wild, fam.

Safe Travels and Happy Shooting!

 

Adventures in Thailand: Taking Tours Solo Pt. 2 (Ayutthaya)

My second adventure as a solo-traveler-gone-rogue was a bike tour through Ayutthaya, the old capitol of Thailand when it used to be the Kingdom of Siam. It’s a gorgeous ancient city, and my older cousin (the awesome one who lives in the Philippines,) insisted I check it out. Ancient history and adventure? Don’t have to tell me twice.

He recommended that I go there and rent a bike and explore the city. However, after looking into taking the train, looking at maps, and just psyching myself out, I decided going by myself maybe wasn’t the best idea. So, I signed up for a guided bike tour. It wasn’t as smooth-sailing as the Damnoen Saduak tour, because apparently no one wanted to go on a bike-tour during some of the hottest months of the year, so my tour was almost cancelled. But, at the last minute, a group decided they wanted to go, so I was added.

This time I was adopted by three lovely people from Brazil, who were in Bangkok on a business trip, and had a free day. So, I met them, and instantly became a part of their group photos and they bought me a beer. It was awesome.

 

The bike tour was almost all-day, from bright and early until the sun went down. We took a van to the heart of the City, and started our ride from there. We visited

 

My favs from this part of our day was the Doraemon hanging out with the icons, and the school group that was on a field trip to the complex. I was also completely FLOORED when I saw the Buddha head in the bayan roots– it was something that I only ever saw pictures of, and I actually got to see it in real life. It was surreal and amazing.

One of the things I noticed when exploring the ancient wats was how most of the Buddha heads were… non-existent. They were just gone. When I asked, our tour guide explained that when Ayutthaya was ransacked by the Burmese, they would remove the heads of the Buddhas to see if they were gold inside, and therefore valuable. In other instances, people looted the temples and sold the heads to westerners. Yeah, it’s pretty fucked.

We had a brief lunch of fruit, chips, and protein bars (soda was also available– but that was a HARD pass, considering I was sweating buckets,) and carried on into the rural countryside. It was very pretty and picturesque, and we came across a couple of fun things– like a group of kids on bicycles who wanted their picture with us, but then got too shy so just settled for staring and giggling at us, and a village partying-hard and celebrating a man who was to become a monk.The celebrators offered us beer and wanted to dance with us– I opted for the dancing but not the beer, because again, it was like 110 degrees Fahrenheit outside and I was riding a bike and that just sounded like a bad combo.

 

It was totally gorgeous and an amazing time. I was really lucky to be put with such a friendly group of people who wanted to include me, and at the end of our bike ride we enjoyed Thai food and the beer my new friends generously provided me with.

We were done with the bike rides, but we had another stop before heading home: the Bang Pa-In Royal Palace. It used to be a popular summer-residence for the kings of Thailand, but in recent years it is mostly a tourist site with a very strict dress code. Visiting temples usually requires modest dress and covering your shoulders, but here, men had to wear pants and women had to have their shoulders and legs covered.

I got an amazing photo of my get-up with one of my new friends:

By the way, we had to rent those adorable clothes– not buy. There was a stand outside of the palace for this specific purpose!

We wandered around the palace grounds, and of course I took a lot of pictures. We learned a little bit about the place, like how former King Bhumibol Adulyadej loved the summer palace and tried to spend as much time there as he could, and how the Chinese gifted an entire pavilion to the royal family.

 

After visiting the palace and eating some ice cream, we headed back to Bangkok and I slept for 16 hours. Bike riding during monsoon season is no joke.

Safe Travels and Happy Shooting!

Adventures in Thailand: Taking Tours Solo Pt. 1 (Damnoen Saduak)

You have to be pretty adventurous to be a solo traveler, but everyone has their limits.

My stay in Bangkok has been pretty great, solo-wise. I’ve been all over the city, trying new things, all by myself because I’m brave dammit. But, there are just some things that I wanted to see outside of the city.

Which left me two options: take a bus/train/whatever to the places I wanted to go and try to work out how to get to the sites, or take a damn tour. Seeing as I don’t speak Thai very well (or at all, ขอโทษ,) and I’ve never been to these places, and I’m a young woman alone, I decided to do the latter.

Now, sometimes you can’t take a tour as a solo traveler. However, if you contact the tour company in advance, they’ll usually be super accommodating and slide you in a group tour– this is exactly what I did for my tour to the floating market, Damnoen Saduak.

Damnoen Saduak is a 1.5 hour drive south west of Bangkok (I took a GREAT nap, since the pick-up was at 5:30AM,) and is in the country side. I learned that most of the economy is generated by this floating market for the village.

You may ask, “Deo, what IS a floating market?”

I think the best way to explain is to just show you!

The protocol in a floating market is to pay a small fare to end up in one of the long boats. You take the boat down the canal, past the stalls, and if you see something you like, you ask the boatman to stop. From the comfort of your boat, you can haggle with the shop-keeper and purchase your goods.

There are also stalls around the canal, so you can go shopping without taking a boat-ride. I took the boat ride (came with my tour package,) but was too shy to ask to stop for anything. To be honest, I was just enjoying the novelty of it all, and chatting with my new friends from Taiwan.

One of the fun things about traveling solo is meeting new people. A father and his daughter, both visiting from Taiwan, noticed I was alone and adopted me. They fed me fruit and made sure I was with the group when it was time to leave. That’s them in the last pic up there– I hope the rest of their time in Thailand was lovely, as they deserved it!

So, that was my first test in traveling solo in a not-so-solo-setting. Keep an eye out for Pt. 2, where I talk about my bike-riding adventure in Ayutthaya!

Safe Travels and Happy Shooting!

Adventures in Thailand: In the Jungle

What do you think of when you hear the word, “jungle”?

I think of a couple of different things. I think about The Jungle Book, with tigers and bears and Mowgli. I think about Tarzan and apes and wildcats. I think about density, heat, unknowns, and stars beyond the canopy.

After visiting Ao Luek Tai in Krabi, I think about huts, cats, mountains, mosquito netting, and adventure.

We stayed at this amazing AirBnB in Krabi, and I cannot recommend this place enough. Our host picked us up from the docks and drove us the 45 minutes to the place, which is a compound of huts. You sleep on the top level, and the bottom level just kinda has a changing room. Toilets are in a separate hut, and showers and sinks in another. And it’s in the jungle, which was super cool in its own way.

Minus the GIANT blue and pink centipede. Nope nope nope.

They had cats and kittens legit everywhere, and I love kitties, so that was awesome. One of the kittens went after the centipede, but then freaked out when it realized how big it was, and then ran away. Smart kitten.

The main spectacular thing was the view I woke up to the mornings I was there:

One afternoon, we went kayaking through a mangrove forest, and it was AWESOME. I wanted to take so many pictures, my cousin got on my case about not helping with the rowing, and we got stuck in the roots a couple of times because of it… Sorry Ashley, I love you!

The nature was stunning, and I could have spent more time in the area, making pictures and enjoying the peace and quiet. We also explored a cave, which is apparently famous in the area for some prehistoric cave drawings. It was super neat-o.

We also spent some time at a construction site– sounds not-fun, but stay with me. Our host has a friend who is building a new Buddhist temple, and they let us explore. I felt like a kid in a candy shop. I mean, it’s not very everyday you visit an under-construction-holy-site. We oftentimes don’t even think of holy places as things that had to be built, even though they obviously had to have been, and there is this tension when walking around the space. I loved every second of it, but my favorite was the Buddhas wrapped up in cloth, waiting to be prayed to.

On our last morning, we visited a jungle pool… a natural, fresh-water pool in the jungle. No other way to describe it besides tell it like it is. There was a natural rock slide, and the water was refreshing and cool. It was a minor thing, but it was a lot of fun regardless. It kinda felt like I was in The Jungle Book, kinda felt like some terrifying snake would come slithering out of someplace and eat me, but y’know. Fun regardless.

If you’re going to southern Thailand and hitting up Ko Phi Phi and Phuket and the area, I recommend making time to go hang-out in the jungle. Just be sure to avoid the centipedes.

Safe Travels and Happy Shooting!

Times in Washington D.C.

I just realized I never posted the photos from my trip to Washington D.C. on this blog o’ mine!

In the middle of January, I hopped on a bus and traveled to D.C. to see my favorite nerds, who I went on a cross-country road trip with this past spring. My bff Sean lives there, and my other bff Dana flew in from Cali. It was literally two weeks of us enjoying each other’s company, but I made a lot of pictures.

We went to a lot of the Smithsonian Museums (because knowledge is power!) and went to some historic sights. The last time I went to D.C., I was in middle school and I was a little punk who didn’t know the Charters of Freedom were in the National Archives.

Embarrassing side-note: My friends and I went looking in the Museum of Natural History for the Declaration of Independence. I’m still disappointed in myself.

One of the most interesting aspects of the trip was seeing everything being set-up for the presidential inauguration. Barring how depressing it was going to be, I was still geeked to see the clash of classical monuments with modern day technology. It’s so funny to see the background work of the pomp and circumstance.

We also took a trip out to Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg.

While in Gettysburg, I visited the site of Alexander Gardner’s famous “Home of a Rebel Sharpshooter” photograph. I hunted around for the Devil’s Den for a long while, and when I finally found it, the lighting was awful, and I had to wait a solid 45 minutes for a cloud to cover up the sun. I was determined because DANGIT I HAD BEEN LOOKING FORWARD TO THIS AND GROSS HARSH SHADOWS WERE NOT GOING TO RUIN THIS FOR ME.

The famous photograph:

I got to see my besties, saw some historical things, created a photo series making fun of the future president… Good times all around.

Happy Shooting!

 

Photo Diary Update

It’s been quite a while since I’ve updated my photo diary. For those unfamiliar, I carry around a small point-and-shoot film camera called a Fuji Natura Classica which is the best camera I have ever owned ever. I love this little thing and how sensitive it is to light and how close to reality it can capture.

I believe these images go all the way back to May or even April, but I kinda lost the roll and got it developed only recently.

My “photo diary” is titled that way because sometimes, I just wanna take pictures of things I like. My brain gets exhausted from thinking about photos from all sorts of theoretical and critical perspectives, sometimes it’s a good thing to turn off and be like “oooo purty like snap snap.”

Go take some pictures because you wanna! Happy Shooting!

New Orleans in 35mm

I went on a wonderful trip to New Orleans, Louisiana over my spring break for the national Society for Photographic Education conference. And, of course, I brought a few cameras with me, one of those being the camera I take with me everywhere, the Fuji Natura Classica.

So, here are some pictures from that wonderful 35mm film camera.

I started taking pictures in Nashville, and continued into Alabama, Mississippi, and of course, Louisiana. Getting down to New Orleans was quite the trip (because it literally was, y’know, a trip,) and I made sure to pull out my camera or my iPhone (do it for the snapchats!) whenever it was fitting.

I think some of the best places to take pictures are antique shops. We stopped at a few in Alabama (our butts were hurting from the driving, so we needed to walk it off and go on a treasure hunt in the process,) and man, you can find the coolest and weirdest stuff. I found a flashgun for my Polaroid Automatic 100 at one, so I’m looking forward to trying that out.

Actually, the southern United States are interesting in general. You should go if you’ve never been, and the rest stops are wayy nicer than they are in the north. They have security and everything, if you can imagine that.

Because rest stop areas are obviously the most important thing on any journey.

At least they are when you live in Michigan, and most of the rest areas look like a place where Freddy is hiding in the forest… Can’t really rest at those rest stops without sleeping with one eye open.

Well, that’s all for this installment of my trip to NOLA. Keep an eye out for some medium format prints, digital photos, and snapchats!

Happy Shooting!

February’s Photos

February was a crazy month for me. I started hearing back from graduate programs and traveled for interviews, and I spent a total of 50 hours on a bus. I was sick for a week, and just generally really, really tired. I may be looking at grad school, but I’m still in undergrad making work. It’s a little rough.

BUT ART IS SUFFERING. YOLO.

But my adventures in February were awesome. I went to Columbus, Ohio and Boston, Massachusetts.

I didn’t get to take many pictures in Boston, mostly because I was super sick, and when I got to my hostel I went straight to bed, as an attempt to feel better for my interview. And I did end up feeling better, so shout out to my friends Mucinex, Halls, and Kleenex. I don’t know where I would be today without their trusted companionship.

My adventures continue right now, actually. I’m on my way to New Orleans, so keep an eye out for photos!

Happy Shooting!