Why Some Of My Favorite Travel Photos Aren’t Ones I’d Ever Put In A Portfolio

I love to take beautiful pictures when I travel. The world is so spectacular – it’s kind of impossible not to and there are days where I can’t wait to take out my camera and snap millions hundreds of photos. Okay, maybe not millions, but definitely a couple hundred. But, funny enough, not all of my favorite travel photos came from my DSLR.

What I love about taking photos while traveling is that it creates a concrete memory. Whenever you look back at that photo, you remember what you were doing, who you were with, and how amazing it was. It’s kind of like a little preview to your own personal movie. The better the experience, the more precious the photo is – even if it’s somewhat out of focus or slightly off centered. You don’t need a fancy camera to document your travels abroad. In the end, you travel for you, so you can choose whether or not to share. (Hopefully you’ll want to share – we’ve got to spread some of that wanderlust around!!)

So, of course, traveling’s all about the views. Certain places just make your jaw drop in awe. Things you find along the way make you smile and laugh. Others are just too perfect not to photograph.

Leaving my dorm room in Canada and seeing this every night

After hiking Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, my friend and I stumbled into a bistro starving and tired, saw this, and cracked up

That once in a lifetime adventure

That one perfect afternoon in Kensington Gardens where I read for 3 hours straight

The cafe Van Gogh frequented and also painted *fangirls hard*

This perfectly British PSA

But, of course, food plays a pretty big part in everyone’s traveling experience.

To hot mint tea and whatever that glorious orange stuff was

My first shot at making Raclette

Picnics with Mediterranean views

When we brought the American Thanksgiving to Canada

I miss poutine so much . . .

But I’d be lying if I denied that most of my travel photos came from Snapchat. I’m not carrying my DSLR 24/7 so, in a way, my Snaps are about as real as travel gets. Gotta love Snapchat.

Because the grass in Hyde Park really is that soft

This perfectly sums up how it feels to be in a strange city halfway across the world

Without this tag, I could be sitting on some US beach

That one time I fulfilled my life’s destiny by seeing the 10th Doctor onstage

Being amused by strange stores with strange names

Shameless Vatican sibling selfies

However, as much as I love my landscapes and selfies, it’s always the people you meet up with along the way who make traveling so much fun.

Repping America and South Africa while wandering Budapest

Adventures in Amsterdam (she’s been keeping up with my weirdness since 9th grade dance class – and no, I don’t dance) 

Making friends in Lyon

Stopping in a mystical shop in Magog, CA

First time in Paris

Until next time,