I love walking up and down this pier, it’s one of my favorites. Most of my time there in San Clemente was full of fog but the temperature felt really nice.
If I could have access to the beach every day or close to that, I would love that. I miss having the opportunity to get to a beach at anytime. Whenever I am near a coast, I try to get there as often as I can. Being able to see the beach here in SC as well as my weekend in Morro Bay, it brought me peace.
Until next time San Clemente.
The Integraton, Homestead Valley
The California desert is beautiful. I tried to find new places I have never been to before and take all the photos. This place that I found wasn’t too far from where my aunt lives. It really gave me a strong Wes Anderson vibe.
The Integraton, Homestead Valley
Yucca Valley
Joshua Tree
It was pretty hot most of the time I was in the area, a bit too hot to go on photo walks. Most of the time when I went out, I made sure I brought my camera. It ended up turning into a photo drive instead. I would drive around to find some cool spots, park, take some quick photos and head to the next area.
Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree
Joshua Tree
Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley
Yucca Valley
I love how this last photo has the huge shadow of a Joshua Tree.
One of the weekends I was in California, I had the chance to go to Big Bear. This was my first time there and I loved it. It’s so beautiful there.
Going up there, it was a possibility to stay two nights, but a few hours after we arrived, we were getting some of the smoke from the nearby fires. The sky for our first night was a bit dark and creepy but by the following morning, it had cleared up a lot. We still decided to leave early, just in case. We are glad that we did, as the nearby fires got worse. Thankfully they didn’t touch Big Bear, though they got close.
Big Bear reminded me a lot of Mount Herman and going there often as a kid.
Hopefully next time I will get the change to go again and spend a little bit more time relaxing and exploring the area.
Whenever I go to Disneyland, I always make sure I get to Downtown Disney and walk around the Resorts. And being my sister, she hadn’t seen all of the changes to so many of them.
Besides the OG, Disneyland Hotel, I really love this Pixar Place one. If I was able to stay in any of them, this one would be a lot of fun.
Years ago, back in the 90s, my family had some good deals and we stayed in the Disneyland Hotel for $100 a night. Too bad if you want to stay now, you kinda have to take out a loan! 😜 I remember as well, the courtyard area was different back then. I remember one or two small pools, and a small body of water with remote control boats that you could play with. There was also an area where you could feed koi fish. Another spot of the courtyard had a water show at night.
I love the colors of the new Villas. They just opened up last fall.
I enjoy finding shadows around of different things, when the sun hits.
Palm Springs has become one of my favorite cities in the states to photograph. Whenever I am in town visiting family, I make sure to walk around and explore this city. Most trips, I am able to find new places I’ve never seen, and going back to some of my favorite spots.
I have a love and passion for this type of architecture. I especially love all the colors that pop on the houses and businesses. This building (above) was found by accident, happy I came across it. The orange and white with the palm trees in the background bring more textures to the photo.
I love the colors of this newly renovated Bank of America.
This home reminds me of the Brady Bunch house.
On my last to Palm Springs, I stopped by this hotel but it was already dusk, and getting dark. I wanted to make sure to stop by during the daytime on this trip.
I love seeing the mountains in the back, behind the homes.
This house always has some type of fun decorations on the statues. This time, tootsie rolls. One time, they had some blow up flamingos out.
Somewhere around Los Angeles.
I lost track of how many times I went to In N Out on this trip to California!!! I had to make sure I went plenty of times though since we won’t be getting one here in Tennessee for another 1-2 years.
Morro Bay
My aunt and I took a 3 day weekend trip to San Louis Obispo county. It was so needed and such a great time together. It had been around 4 years since I was there. I grew up in this area and miss it at times.
Morro Bay
I took my aunt to some of my favorite spots I would go to as a kid, and love visiting whenever I’m in town.
Morro Bay
Morro Bay
Morro Rock and the beach there was always one of my spots I loved going to as often as I could. I love going and watching the waves and surfers. There were times I went and it was super windy, so I would sit in my car, and watch from a distance.
Morro Bay
Morro Bay
Morro Bay
The pier here and especially along the Embarcadero are so beautiful. I just love this area.
Downtown San Louis
One day we went to downtown San Louis and walked around. There were lots of changes around the area for sure.
Downtown San Louis
Santa Margarita
As we were driving back from San Louis, I got off the freeway to drive through Santa Margarita. When I was a kid, one of the places I lived was between Santa Margarita and Atascadero. We tried to find our old house but no luck. I was so excited that we stopped though, I came across a couple of these old Volvo’s that were so cool.
Santa Margarita
Templeton
Had to stop by Templeton as well, especially to grab the best donut ever, the butterfly! This is the town my family last resided in before moving to Tennessee.
Templeton
Templeton
Templeton
Templeton
Mel, I’m so glad we had this time together. Loved it and love you!
Disneyland is a magical place. I would live there if I could. This trip was a lot of fun as I got to spend the day in the park with my sister. She hadn’t been in around 5 years, and we had so much fun together.
The morning started out pretty foggy and cool (which felt nice) but later on in the day, the sun came out and warmed us up.
The last few trips to Disneyland, I’ve enjoyed bringing my camera along with me. I usually just use my phone, which takes great photos but I love toting my camera around. Some photos include people around the park, but of course I love photographing the small things I see around me, catching all the details close up.
If I could work (or live) in one land, it would be in Galaxy’s Edge. The first time walking into this land, back in 2019, my jaw dropped. It was like I was walking on the set of a Star Wars movie. We ended staying in this land a bit longer than we had expected, as some of the rides broke down as we were in line.
I was so glad we got some blue sky for the photos!!
On this trip, I made sure I went to ToonTown during the day to get some fun, color popping photos. Last year when I was there, I knew I wanted to get some photos, but lost track of time. By the time I had arrived in that land, it was already dark.
I love the building of this newer ride so much. I think it’s my favorite one right now in Disneyland. I love all the colors that pop out at you. ToonTown as a whole is a great spot to photograph for sure (during the day). It’s full of lots of colors and textures from spot to spot.
I think this shot above is one of my favorite ones from ToonTown. Mickey and Minnie are adorable!
I love when two creative minds come together and make art!! Coni and I bounced ideas off of each other for this session and here are some of my favorites.
I got super excited when I saw this image!!! I think it is by far my favorite portrait of the year. I love the colors that pop and the symmetry of the sign and Coni.
Thank you, Coni!!!
The Royal Tenebaums
If you have never seen one of Wes Anderson’s many movies, I encourage you to try one. They are full of creative artistry at its best. Over the years, I love chasing beauty where I travel and find different Wes Anderson movie color palettes on the streets.
The Darjeeling Limited
The Darjeeling Limited
On this last trip to Budapest, as I was editing some photos, I could actually see countless of his movies come to life in my photos. The different angles, buildings, objects, and color palettes reminded me of so many of his movies.
Moonrise Kingdom
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The French Dispatch
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Darjeeling Limited
The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou
The Life Aquatic of Steve Zissou
Isle of Dogs
Astroid City
The Grand Budapest Hotel
Astroid City
The Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Grand Budapest Hotel
I love walking around Constanta and looking for beauty along the streets.
Finding these electric boxes outside of homes or apartments were things I enjoyed photographing. Some people might not notice them at all, others might think they are an eye sore but I found beauty in them.
The Rompetrol gas stations I think were my favorite to photograph. I love the colors and their flower logo!!
This was my second trip to the little amusement park to walk around and photograph it. I always in the morning time, before it was open to catch the emptiness of it. And the weather wasn’t as hot in the morning time. I loved all the bright colors of the rides and ticket booths.
This Ferrari was a nice surprise to catch as I was walking around the Mamaia area, along the beach.
This is one of my favorite photo bombs I’ve seen with a bus!!
I love all the types of public transportation in Budapest, especially the trams. It’s so easy to get around the city with a tram, a bus or the metro. I get a pass that is good for all of those and I’m able to hop on and off as often as I need.
Some of my photo walks included times to just watch the trams pass by.
I was so happy to notice this cool old bus as I was out walking. I quickly grabbed my camera and took a photo. I wish I could have seen it more up close but I was glad I got this shot of it.
The Liberty Bridge (green bridge) is my favorite bridge to walk across. I think because the old trams pass over this bridge, the 47 and 49 and they are some of my favorites.
I’m so glad I got over to this area on this trip. I love these cute little trams that go up to the Castle Hill area. I didn’t ride on one, but went to each little bridge/overlook to get as many photos as I could.
This city is one of my favorite places to walk around and explore. I am always finding new spots to photograph.
Each trip I take, I always find a new favorite place to hang out. In 2022, I loved sitting near the Parliament building, watching the old white and yellow trams slowly come around the corners. Last year, I fell in love with the 13th District (I still love it there). This trip, I fell in love with the Castle Hill area. I think I went to that area at least 3 or 4 times. There’s a beautiful view of the city but I really love the fun colored buildings and narrow roads.
Sometimes on my photo walks, I would go back to some places I’ve been before and try and ind something new. The above photo with the Shell station was in an area called Mammut. I’ve been to the mall over there but never really explored more. I went out one day and just walked up and down some of the streets.
I love finding windows with fresh flowers on the sills.
Even with going to the Castle Hill area multiple times on this trip, I would still find something I didn’t notice before. Or I would photography some of the same building at different angles.
This photo above is one of my favorite photos from the Castle Hill area. I love the colors, one window open and all those chimneys.
I was glad to get to Constanta in time for a BBQ with all the base staff, some friends and volunteers. The weather was perfect! Lots of community time and catching up, good food, games and lots of laughter.
It was great to attend a women’s event while in Constanta, visiting and catching up with some of my friends.
It was amazing to see the community center pretty much finished!!! I was able to see it from the beginning, when we were praying over the building until now.
I learned how to make a flat white. I still need some more practice with my latte art!! Some thought it looked like a sea turtle while I thought it was more of a melted marshmallow or abstract art.
I always had fun with the kiddos!! I helped with photographing at the yearly summer day camp one of the weeks.
Every other week I volunteered my time with cooking lunch for the DTS students and staff. Most days I cooked, we had around 15-20 people. It reminded me of my Teen Missions days when I would cook for 30 people.
The kids at YWAM CT always make me laugh!!
Enjoying some of the weekly base worship time.
The board I brought to Constanta back in 2021 is still going strong!! The kids still enjoy riding it.
I was so excited to be a part of the new communication team at YWAM Budapest. We spent days brainstorming new ideas of how to reach the younger generation through social media. We created a lot of reels that we have used on Instagram. I felt real comfortable with this team, like I’ve worked with them for years.
A couple weeks into my trip I got to be a part of larger group, walking around the city evangelizing. We as YWAM Budapest went out as a smaller team, telling others about Jesus and inviting them to Selah Coffee House for Friday night music.
We had the privilege to hear some amazing testimonies and mission stories from Hank Young, who pioneered and started YWAM Budapest years ago. His two daughters stayed and volunteers for one month.
I love when we had creative worship time to express ourselves with the talents God has given us.
I made a new friend while on shift at Selah, Fafa!!
During one of my shifts, I took time to capture some close up shots of the baristas and their latte art!! They are super talented.
With the help of my friend David, we created the “Cory” (pictured above). It’s a shaken hazelnut espresso with oat milk. And I could really go for another one right about now!!
I also was able to help out and bless the sandwich run ministry, bringing food and love to the homeless around Budapest. Some weeks we were were smaller team and other weeks we had so many volunteers that we sent out 5 groups of people.
I had the opportunity to support my friend Hanna at her Hungarian folk dancing recital.
My friend Shannon (YWAM Budapest staff) and I spent an afternoon visiting some local museums.
A bunch of the Americans got together at one of the staff’s houses for a 4th of July party!! We were over 20 Americans celebrating the 4th. Some of us went by train to get there (around an hour from the city). It was a fun filled day with a BBQ, s’mores, lots of food, water balloon fights and ending the night with some show tunes!! Thank you Laser family for the fun day!!
I love having the opportunity to photograph whatever is in my mind. Using my creativity alongside my photography brings me joy.
It’s always fun to photograph the Bruintjes family over the years, especially since their family has grown since our last photo session.
These two together are the cutest!
Thanks for the smiles and laughter you guys!!
I could just leave these pictures here, without words and you could just soak in this cuteness overload. I had the privilege to photograph my friend’s sweet baby, Aslan while in Constanta.
He is the sweetest little one and was such a model for his session.
I’ve known Madi and Giuni since 2021 when I first traveled to Romania. At that time, they were just dating. While I was there that year though, I photographed their surprise proposal. Of course I went back in 2022 and photographed their wedding. And now their firstborn. I love being able to document their life’s precious moments over the years.
Auntie Cory loves you sweet Aslan!!
My friends wanted to get some new family photos and asked if was up for an adventure. Of course I said yes. I love photo shoots and adventures!!
A few days prior to our session they had passed by this huge field of poppies and thought it would be a great spot for photos at dusk. The adventure part came in when we didn’t know exactly how to get to the field by foot. We parked and walked around 5 minutes and came up to the field.
We didn’t realize how tall the poopies grew though, they were higher than my waist.
With all the adventures on this photo shoot, they turned out amazing and have become my favorite.
Thank you Harder family for all the adventures in the poppy field!!
I spent my last two days in Ireland exploring Dublin with a friend of mine. To be honest, it wasn’t my favorite city I’ve visited but it was really cool to explore the city. It was nice to spend time with my friend and catch up with her and eat some good food!
Just in those two days I was able to see a lot and get some pretty fun shots of Dublin.
I love capturing shots of the different types of transportation wherever I travel to.
During my week in Ireland for my writers retreat, we took a field trip one of the days to some of the local abbeys and some coastal areas.
This area of Ireland is so beautiful and majestic. I hope to get back again and spend more time exploring around the area.
As we started out that mooring it was a bit dreary and overcast but later on during our travels, the sky cleared up for us.
It was super windy this day on the coast but I still could have stayed all day, watching the waves crash over the rocks.
