My first trip I did without family was when I returned to Europe on an exchange program in high school. I had the time of my life discovering new sights, experiencing the culture, and I couldn’t wait to do another trip. The travel bug hit me hard, and I eagerly did another trip with my high school to China. After high school I wanted to leave my small hometown and experience the city life, so I left for college in Los Angeles, California. During college I was able to do one of my semesters abroad in Australia, studying tropical biology as a part of my biology major. I had always thought I would become a doctor or a veterinarian, so I studied hard to get good grades and was completely focused on that path. But I had always had a fondness for art, as I did some fine art lessons on weekends during high school, and in college I did an art minor, although it was difficult to balance studio time with biology labs. During my semester abroad, I took a photography class, and I enjoyed it so much that when I returned to my home campus in Los Angeles I worked at the school newspaper as a photographer, and I even took up an internship with a wedding photographer. All the while I embarked on mini solo adventures around Los Angeles and the surrounding areas on the weekends to Joshua Tree National Park, Yosemite National Park, and more, wanting to explore as much of the area as I could.

In my last years of college, I felt like I had a quarter-life crisis of suddenly realizing I didn’t want to become a doctor and thus had no other idea of what to do with my life. Since my whole life at that point had been building up to one specific career path, I felt completely lost. After graduation, I worked a few jobs and somehow stumbled upon the perfect answer to my biology-art-photography crisis: I discovered there was a Master’s program in the UK to study “Biological Photography”. It felt like the answer I had been searching for, and I was excited at the possibility to live and travel around in a new country. In my program in the UK, I learned wildlife and macro photography, video and cinematography, design, business practices, film photography, and more – it was quite the jam-packed experience. My days were long and filled with classes, practical applications, and field trips, and I filled my weekends with alternating classwork and traveling around the UK. During my holiday breaks, I sought out cheap flights and took solo trips to various European countries, and a friend visited for part of an extended multi-European country trip near the end of my Master’s. I felt like I was living a dream, having so many incredible experiences and being able to see more of the world.

After my time in the UK, I moved back to Oregon, began my relationship with my now-husband, and started up a graphic design job, as I wasn’t quite sure yet how to make photography a full-time career. I lived the weekend-warrior life, going on photography trips, building up my skills, meeting other photographers, and practicing my photo editing. Although it was a great opportunity to save up to be able to travel and purchase quality camera gear, the 9-5 job was otherwise completely miserable for me. I didn’t have much time off for travel, and I just felt like I was working toward someone else’s dream and not my own. At the time, my husband was also working toward his dream career, so when we had to move for his Master’s program, I decided to make the leap and start a full time career in photography and travel after I got back from a life-changing trip to Bali. It was the most terrifying decision I have ever made, but now I can’t imagine being on any other path.

So here I am having traveled to 17 US states, 15 US National Parks, 25 countries, and counting. I spend my earnings back into my travels, into my business, and into experiences over possessions. With every new place I visit I discover dozens more I want to experience and capture, and I am so excited for this wild ride ahead. It has been a rollercoaster of challenges and a lot of learning on this journey to chasing down my biggest dreams, so thank you for being a part of it. I can’t wait for all the adventures to come!