Travel Assignment for Stern Magazine

Last summer I was on assignment for Stern Magazine, photographing a 5 day trek in the Corsican Mountains... with my left arm in a brace healing from an elbow dislocation. The first day our German guide Yanni took one look at me and said, 'Nein, I can't take you, it's too dangerous'. Stephan Maus, the writer, encouraged me to prove him wrong and that's what I did. With one good arm, I hiked to the highest peak and documented an incredible adventure. I healed my elbow in cold spring water, got proposed to by an 80 year old sheep herder and made friends with a wonderful group of people. The writing and photography was so loved by Stern that they turned the usual 3 page travel slot into a 7 page feature! I'm very happy with how it came out and want to thank my photo editor Angelika Hala, Stephan Maus and eventually Yanni for believing in me! 

Some other favorites from the trip:

A Night in Vancouver

Last weekend we spent a night in Vancouver, a city that I've always liked, but strangely haven't gotten to know very well considering it's so close to Seattle. Three hours away is this beautiful, huge, metropolitan city- in another country! It's almost like we're in Europe with another country just next door (I wish). We stayed in the West End of downtown with a wonderful view of the shiny buildings, the sound and the mountains. The view from our 21st story balcony gave me much photographic inspiration...

Hawaii Part II: Waikiki

The second part of my trip to Hawaii was surfing in Waikiki on Oahu. I've tried surfing a few times before, but was finally going to have a few days to learn from my uncle, a former Oahu local. It wasn't easy, but living the surfing life of getting out every day was pretty great...

 Delicious Maladasas at Leonard's Bakery!

Hawaii Part I: Kauai

Man, this summer has been amazing and so busy! I'm late on the blogging front, but wanted to share photos from my trip to Hawaii last month. I spent a week on Kauai hiking, scuba diving and photographing a wedding...

 Hiking through the Waimea Canyon to the cliffs above the Napali Coast

 My glamping tent
near Waimea. Sleeping to the sounds of the jungle birds and bugs was incredible.

 Hiking the Kalalau trail on the Napali coast with my cousin Tyler and uncle John

 The Hanakapi'ai waterfall up the valley from the coastline:

 Maria and Jason's wedding in Princeville was absolutely beautiful and the backdrop made my job easy.

Shenanigans with the fam:

Rock Climbing in Vantage

Very excited that I got to squeeze in a day of rock climbing in Vantage, Washington this past weekend. Jean-Pierre and I headed to the Columbia River Gorge to explore the Frenchman Coulee and it's amazing basalt cliffs. I've been coming to this area for years, but this time the beauty of the landscape really struck me. Valleys dug during the ice age, waterfalls cascading over the basalt columns, dry sage brush and bright green lichen make this place feel like the set of Lord of the Rings. Especially since the approach down to Sunshine Wall weaves through a narrow secret passage amongst the columns. I kept wondering who first discovered it and how exciting that must have been.

The view from Moonshine Wall:

Hiking out at sunset looking out over the Columbia River Gorge:

Shot of me courtesy of Jean-Pierre Chery:

View of the wind turbines lining the ridge across the river: