I went on a tour of Peru with LaloFitness and the MacaTrim team.  Below are some personal photos from the trip, with a little video at the end.

The roads were SCARY.  I thought I was going to die only about…16 times.

A kid driving a car full of ladies!  Hahaha.

I’ve always wanted to do this on a train.

Met up with some friends in the Sacred Valley. 

Lalo & Eugenio.  BFFs.

The best shrimp soup EVER!

Alpaca burger.

At Chi Cha de Gaston Acurio in Cusco.  Yum yum yum!

My favorite fruit – Granadilla!

Elevation in Puno: 12,500 feet.  Chewing on cocoa leaves to minimize altitude sickness.

The kids were selling something in a bag and said, “Vizcacha?”  We asked what Vizcacha was.  They opened the bag.  Ohhhh….

I want a pet Alpaca!

Guinea Pig – It’s what’s for dinner.

Making friends.

Here’s a short video from the road trip.  Thanks Lalo, for putting it together, and making me look “cool.” 

For more scenic photos of Peru, click here.

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I decided to bring my film camera on a rocking boat.  It made me woozy looking through the view finder attempting to manually focus (big shock), so thank you to Jana Williams and Jeremi Peck for helping take photos.  I love geeking out with other photographers. 

Photos taken with Kodak Portra 400 & Ilford Delta 400 B&W film.

I decided to change to B&W film as the fog was rolling in.

I always imagined steering a boat to be easy but it’s not!  Did you know it’s possible to lose control and have the sailboat make a 180 on you?  I learned the hard way.    #AsianDriver

Recently I went to the countryside of Peru with a health supplement company called Maca-Trim and my job was to  1. Photograph the textures of the country.  2. Document the search for Maca root.  3.  Have fun (though our job is to always have fun, right?!).

Travel the world, connect with people, and take pictures. . . it’s what I live for!

With pro sandboarder Perro Chacra.

Running at super high elevation – not recommended.

Lake Titicaca – highest lake in the world.

Maca-Trim also gives back to the community so we got to work with the kids living in the Andes!

The clouds – you feel like you can reach out and grab them.

The farmers were the sweetest people.  You can see the love and respect they have for their animals and land.

Near the end of the trip we finally found Maca root – Success!  Funny story with this farmer.  Basically, while he was helping us find Maca, his horses ran away and we watched him chase after them in the mountains like a video game character.  He ran FAST, for miles!  It was amazing.  He eventually caught up to them.  Haha.

The trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.   I took over 2000 photos and honestly, I wasn’t sure where to start when it came to sharing pictures!  Will share more personal photos soon . . .

Every time I travel, I like to reflect and think – how has this experience changed my life?  What did I learn?  It makes me feel wholesome.  :)

5 Takeaways from my trip to Vietnam last week:

1.  Life functioned fine before cell phones.  The Saigon airport is like any other airport in Asia – a freaking zoo.  My uncle came to pick us up.  I didn’t have access to my cell phone the entire trip.  As we walked out of the airport, all I could think was - It took us an hour to get through customs.  Is he really here?  How is he going to find us among this sea of 2000 people?… We found each other within a few minutes which confirmed to me once again, that life functioned fine before cell phones.  Better actually, because people have more integrity without them.

2.  Vietnamese people are gangsta.  Just one of MANY examples I witnessed – You know the 50’s style diners where the waiters roller skate to bring you food?  They have that in Vietnam but instead of burgers and fries, they are serving hot pot and Pho.  Carrying boiling hot liquid on roller skates . . . GANGSTA.

3. The traffic situation in Vietnam is like my brain.  The streets are filled with hundreds of thousands of scooters.  No one uses turn signals or yields.  You can drive on the sidewalk, through the grass, against traffic, diagonally with the traffic, with how ever many people you can physically fit on your bike (the most I saw on this trip was a family of 6).  It’s a cluster f*ck, but somehow it still works.

4.  A warm welcome.  The whole family (Vietnamese families entail 15+ people) will go to the airport to send one person off.  It’s lovely.  What a great feeling to be sent off or greeted upon arrival with that much love!  My friends and I try our best to create this here in LA.  Every time one of us needs to be picked up from the airport, whoever is available in our “friend family” will get together and pick that one person up.  We greet each other with love and then all go out for boba after.  I like that tradition.  :)

5. Hot humid weather will make you relax whether you like it or not.  Being in Vietnam during March and April is like being in a steam room 24/7.  You WILL slow down both physically and mentally.  It forces you to relax, which is great for people who find it hard to relax (I think that is most of us!).

This was my second trip to Vietnam.  It remains one of the most amazing countries I’ve ever been to!  I will share some travel photos soon.  :)

I was in Jakarta this last week shooting a wedding.  I love traveling because not only do you get to learn about other people, you get to learn about yourself.

Some things I learned while in Indonesia:

1.  I miss taking baths. Our hotel had this nice HUGE tub, and every morning, instead of hopping in the shower, I took a bath.  I forgot how nice it is to take a bath.  I am going to do it more often.

2. I really like Eastern culture.  Even though I was born in the states, my upbringing had a heavy Asian influence.  From the food to the people, it’s comforting to be around.

3. Take time to really acknowledge people.  This is elaborating on point #2.  Indonesian people are great at this.  When they walk by, they nod their head with a smile and say hello.  When they say thank you, they put their hands in prayer, look at you, and say thank you.  When they give you something or receive something, they use both hands.  It makes you feel really appreciated.

4. No one walks around while eating.  In fact, I think that few countries do this outside of the US.  We like to snack here.  Other countries don’t. On the way to Jakarta I stopped in Germany.  I was eating a sandwich while waiting on the platform for the train . I looked around and realized I was the only one doing this.  In Jakarta I was at a mall.  I was walking around eating a pastry and realized the same thing.  People don’t walk around while they eat.  They sit down to eat.  I think this is a good thing.

5.  Slap me if I ever complain about traffic in LA again.  What would take 10 minutes by car can take up to 2.5 hours (not exaggerating here) when there is traffic in Jakarta.  It is faster to walk, but then you don’t want to walk, because the streets can be flooded or you might get mugged.  Traffic in LA is a breeze.

There is more, but those are the 5 that first come to mind.  I’m in SF hanging out with my family for a couple days before taking off to NYC.  I love being on planes but after this, my butt needs a break (literally)!  Excited to shoot one last wedding before the year ends, and then ring in the New Year in one of my favorite cities in the world!

I photographed Matt & Nichole’s wedding in the Cook Islands recently.  You can see pics from their gorgeous ceremony here!

For destination weddings, I think it’s important to capture moments outside of the wedding.  Matt & Nichole told me I was on vacation and tried to shew me away a few times, telling me to go relax, but my idea of a vacation is to do what I love.  I had a blast tagging along with them for parts of the trip and capturing those in between moments. 

The Pacific Resort.

It always makes me really happy to see brides eat (and I mean EAT) before the wedding. 

Day out on the lagoon.

Honeymoon Island.  Can you see them?

Nichole was 7 months at the time.  Now she’s really getting ready to pop!  She’s due in January!!!

I forgot what this island was called, but it’s where they filmed a season of the show “Survivor.”

Matt found an eel!

Where old planes used to land (on the water) to refuel.  Can you imagine having a stopover like this in the 1950′s, just to refuel?

I thought this was a really funny moment.  Reminds me of Forrest Gump.

Lunch on One Foot Island.

Bike ride around Aitutaki.

Lunch at Puffy’s.

I love when people let me get all paparazzi on them.    Super fun vacation!  And in case you haven’t had enough, you can see some more of my personal photos from Aitutaki here! 

5 reasons why Matt & Nichole are cool:

1. They like adventure.

2. They have GREAT taste.

3. They are laid back.

4. They call each other “bubba.”

5. They brought me along on their super romantic wedding trip to the South Pacific. 

Some photos from Matt & Nichole’s wedding on One Foot Island, Aitutaki, Cook Islands!  It was just the two of them.  <3

Writing vows.

Gardenias!

First look.

Snacky snack.

On our way to the boat dock to head out to One Foot Island!

Nichole got these custom totes made on weddingchicks.com.  Aren’t they super cute?

Arriving at our destination!

Private island.  It seriously felt like a dream.

There is something undoubtedly powerful when it’s a private ceremony with just the couple.  Makes it certain that the vows aren’t written for anyone else, except the person you’re looking at.

This is the first time that I’ve ever been the witness!  So exciting. 

Fun fact: One Foot Island is home to the world’s smallest post office.

Aren’t these passport stamps adorable?!

Cheers.

Matt has lived all over the world including the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, and could tell you fun facts about ANYTHING island related!

Thanks to Annie Bishop of Bishops Cruises for doing a wonderful job coordinating and planning.  If you are having a wedding in the Cook Islands, give her a call!

Matt & Nichole – THANK YOU again and again for including me on this trip, and letting me be all up in your space. 

Stay tuned for more vacation photos!   It’s all the fun moments from the trip outside the wedding . . .  small plane rides, biking, snorkeling, turtles, and tide pools.  Fun stuff!!!

Two things that consistently excite the hell out of me year after year:  Christmas, and AwesomenessFest (yes, it’s that great)!

So what is Afest?  It’s a gathering of 200 bright, game-changing, conscious individuals from all over the world.  There are seminars during the day from best selling authors and coaches, topics ranging from health to business to relationships.  After that there are excursions and parties at night for networking and having some good old fashioned debauchery.

Things that attendees have in common: they all have a strong desire to be there, they love life, consistently work on personal growth, are doing BIG things in this world, are compassionate, open minded, and have that magnetic twinkle in their eye.    Does that sound like you?  You can visit the Afest website to get more info for future events!

Here are some of my favorite in between moments from this year’s AwesomenessFest at the Paradisus La Esmeralda Resort in Playa del Carmen, Mexico!

Peter (one of my favorite people of all time) sharing the exciting news that he just proposed to his girlfriend!!!

The Tulum ruins.

AwesomenessFest reminds me that you don’t have to wait for a special occasion to bond with people and have special moments.  YOU SHOULD HAVE THEM EVERYDAY!  Look at people when you talk to them, smile and say hi to a stranger, give a compliment, say what’s on your mind, and have an impact on other people’s lives…

Words cannot describe this place on earth.  My trip to Aitutaki was beautifully serendipitous.  I’m not even sure if pictures can do this place justice.  It is MAGNIFICENT!

Thanks Nichole, for insisting to get some pictures of me.  You’re right, I can use them for my blog! 

Btw, these colors are not Photoshopped!  Deliciously magical…

My beach hut. 

Small island indeed.

Grillin’!

Fried banana is one of my favorite things on this planet.

Parrot fish.

Tiger Lily wanted some.  I don’t blame her!

The island has no dogs but lots of friendly cats.  This is Marmalade.  Love her little ear.

Boat names…

Fishies!

I met Tama and his lovely family (the Benioni’s) while strolling along the beach.  It’s as if they popped out of a Polynesian travel catalog!  “Coconut?”

Yes please!

Island donuts.  Delicious.

The reef was full of these gorgeous blue star fish.

And sea cucumbers, which weren’t as cute.

*Giggle.

Two seconds before I FACE PLANTED.  Not joking.

Diggin’ for seashells.

Anu cuts 12 inches of her gorgeous hair off every year to donate to Locks of Love. 

We played photoshoot.  Can you believe Anu is only 17?  She also told me she has never done a photoshoot before.  Ridiculous.

This picture makes me so happy.  I think that girls are the prettiest when they laugh. 

The trip eventually had to come to an end.  Goodbye Aitutaki. 

I sat in the first row so I got to see the flight attendant Tevai prep everything on the plane.  That was fun!  I love planes.

I can’t wait to share the pictures from the wedding!  Can you imagine what a wedding in this location would look like???

I love mornings.

Waking up early here in Aitutaki is easy.  As soon as the roosters give a cock-a-doodle-doo, I am up and out! 

This morning was lovely.

Good morning Mr. Cat!  I’ve taken the liberty of naming him Bruce.

Good morning Mr. Crab!  His name is simply…Mr. Crab, like from Sponge Bob.