I found that the best way to clear my head and make room for new ideas is to travel. I'm a pretty passive traveller. During my travels I feel like the best part is just the walking-around-and-exploring-part. I carry my D700 everywhere I go when I travel (a habit I am still trying to work on when I'm in my hometown) and try to "dress it down" as much as I can by removing my vertical grip and carrying my favorite lens. ( The birthday gift from my wonderful and loving man ) I try to leave the big boy equipment at home. It helps me break my routine and just shoot. I always return from a trip feeling refreshed, and funny enough most of the photos I take never see the light of day, so I thought I would take a few from my recent travels and share them here. For me it isn't necessarily about the images I get while on vacation, it's just the pure act of taking them. Anyhow, enjoy my little stories!
-Carlynne
On our last day in New Orleans, Mike and I hit this great little shop on our way back to Houston. Morning Call is this sweet little coffee and beignet shop with so much character! They brew this amazing coffee in giant commercial coffee pots with milk and sugar and it is just heavenly. We snagged a couple of cups to go after our tasty beignet treats and hit the road. This shot is of the sign out front. 10/10, would recommend! I do love some Cafe DuMonde, (it's a tradition!) but if you're looking for a tasty treat outside of the French Quarter away from all of the billions of tourists, this is the place to go.
-Carlynne
On our last day in New Orleans, Mike and I hit this great little shop on our way back to Houston. Morning Call is this sweet little coffee and beignet shop with so much character! They brew this amazing coffee in giant commercial coffee pots with milk and sugar and it is just heavenly. We snagged a couple of cups to go after our tasty beignet treats and hit the road. This shot is of the sign out front. 10/10, would recommend! I do love some Cafe DuMonde, (it's a tradition!) but if you're looking for a tasty treat outside of the French Quarter away from all of the billions of tourists, this is the place to go.
Being from Texas, I always imagined winters in northern Europe to be crazy cold with loads of snow and packed accordingly. I walked down the streets of Copenhagen with a suitcase full of sweaters as big as I am and the shot above is the only snow that in all of my stay actually fell. (Taken near the Berliner Dom in Berlin, Germany, one of my choices during my travels) Don't get me wrong, that suitcase still came in handy and I looked FABULOUS, but I was a little sad that I didn't get to make any snowmen or snow angels to send to my jealous friends back in the states.
The iconic Brandenburger Tor was a highlight of my trip to Berlin. It is at the head of a beautiful plaza that is cut by Unter Den Linden, a road that extends from both sides of the Tor and leads to some amazing stuff. The plaza has a beautifully lavish hotel on one side, surrounded by lovely historic buildings..... and a Starbucks. (One of the very few I saw in all of my European travels outside of the airports) While the image above is lovely, I prefer the one below.
Meet Bearial- my travel teddy. He accompanied me during my entire stay in Europe and I made sure to take his picture anywhere I could.
While in Berlin I thinK i clocked something like 37 miles in three days of just wandering around. Sunup to sundown, Carlynne was outside with her camera. I walked at my own pace, went where i liked and had my bear for company. Tiergarten is a lovely area of Berlin. It has beautiful wooded areas that feel like the middle of the country, right next to lavishly manicured sections that look right out of a dreamy movie.
One of the most interesting things for me is looking at how the landscape changes at the plant level. It's the little stuff. This curious little plant was growing along one of the Tiergarten sidewalks and I couldn't help but snap a picture, fully aware I wouldn't find anything like it back in Houston.
Speaking of Houston, here she is! This was taken from the Franklin Lofts garage facing Main Street at Congress. Each time I am downtown I try to visit this place.
I've been far and wide, but Houston is just one of those places that will always be more "home" than anything else. I'm glad someone woke up and started developing Main Street, look at all of those colors!
This is one of my favorite pictures from a weekend I spent with two of my very best friends. Zac, from SHUTTERWHALE Dallas took me on a road trip one day to visit Denton, TX to see this sweet girl he had a massive crush on, Caroline. She showed us around what has now become my single favorite small town in the entire state of Texas. We walked, we laughed, we met new friends, saw new homes, listened to amazing live music, did water shots with Sarah Jaffe (we ran into her at Dan's Silverleaf after last call, so water took the place of more stiff options) (WOW) played giant Jenga, and took advantage of a stranger's front yard tire swing. Spoiler alert, Zac married Caroline. It was the best trip ever and I could write a book on just that weekend so I'll stop here.
One morning I woke up and decided to leave Texas and go to my second home, Florida. I needed a reset. I settled into a slow, easy, modest life in Fort Walton Beach and lived as indulgently as a person can making $10.50 an hour at Lowe's can. This was probably the most simple, genuine, and eye opening period of my life. I learned a lot about myself and what friendship means, and how to treat people. I loved every single day. This shot is of the inter coastal waterway. I took it one evening while helping someone in my past complete a project for art school. Sunsets like this should be treasured.
While I lived in Fort Walton Beach (FWB from here on out) I bought a little $900 truck named Henry and he and I went everywhere we could. I took a trip to Marianna Caverns one morning, about a two and a half hour drive from FWB and spent a quiet day alone looking at just how GREEN the world is when no one bothers it.
If you guys take a trip out there, make sure you take some time and enjoy the forest around the caverns. Yeah, the caves are great and all, but look at this forest. If I didn't think I was going to get carried away by helicopter sized mosquitoes I may never have left.
I hope you've enjoyed my stories. For more, (I am always happy to tell them) please email carlynne@shutterwhale.com
