How I Became a Travel Photographer
The call of adventure has always been persistent in my life. At 10 years old I would dream of road tripping with my friends in a Barbie flower power Beetle with the tunes cranked high! But I never did buy that VW (probably for the better). As I grew older, road trips and travel photography became those fun things you talk about doing but never actually do. 2016 was when I started to get fed up with my lackadaisical, dilly dally shilly shally attitude. I had a dream. I wanted to pack all my life essentials into my car and just drive. The question was... could I do it alone?
The answer came from social media of all places. Instagram did its algorithm thing, inspiring me with kayakers paddling their Golden Retrievers across mountain lakes and back country hikers carrying tabby cats in their backpacks. I. was. hooked. From there it didn't take long for me to find Brie, my beautiful black Goldendoodle doggie. She had such a calm yet fiery, adventurous spirit at 2 months old. The perfect match!
Brie and I trained extensively for our first adventure in 2016. We've since taken many road trips, traveling over 10,000 miles across California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, and Oregon. There's nothing quite like stargazing with your warm, fluffy doggo, or listening to bears roar outside your tent. We've kayaked on mountain lakes, hiked in the snow, and squeezed through canyons. All in the name of adventure! And food... And photography hah. Being a travel photographer is amazing!