The Travel Chica

Live Simple. Consume Less. Experience More.

Great tulip expectations

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The main reason for my day trip to Keukenhof was to photograph the surrounding bulb fields. I had seen photos like this and wanted the opportunity to capture my own.   When my friend and I arrived, we went straight to the bike rentals just outside the entrance. The staff told us all of the […]

Tulipomania

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Yes, that is a word.   Tulipomania was a period in the Dutch Golden Age when people had an obsession with tulips, and prices became excessive leading to what is generally considered the first recorded economic bubble burst. Tulipomania is still a thing in The Netherlands – the obsession part, not the economic bubble part. […]

Lost in Amsterdam

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I have been in Amsterdam for three days, and while I fell in love immediately, I was also a little frustrated. I have never been so lost in all of my life.   When I arrived on a Sunday morning, I immediately set out on a bike from my Oud West apartment rental to go […]

Photography 101: Black and white at night

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I love black and white photography.   However, I have rarely converted my own photos to black and white.  I found it difficult to “see” which photos would look best without the distraction of color. Monochrome forces the photographer to focus on the building blocks of a quality photo:  texture, tonal contrast, shape, and light. […]

Photography 101: Interesting subjects at night

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My photography instructor told me that shooting a photo at night is really no different than shooting a photo during the day.  She’s right of course. However, she also pointed out that subjects can take on a completely different feel at night. An incredible scene during the day can be incredible in a whole new […]

Chasing Ice

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For the past month, I have focused my energy on getting as many people as possible to see the documentary Chasing Ice. The film is the story of how a challenging photography assignment from National Geographic turned into an environmental photographer’s mission to change the tide of history by gathering undeniable evidence of our changing planet. I […]

Night Light

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My home city Columbus recently hosted an art exhibit that really lived up to the hype and also directly tied into recent “Photography 101” night photography posts on my website. Bruce Munro: Light Bruce Munro’s Light features ten light-based installations both indoors and outdoors at one of my favorite places in Columbus Franklin Park Conservatory. […]

Photography 101: How to use light and color at night

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Once you have been practicing the basics of night photography, you can begin to put more attention on the artistic side of your compositions. Light is the most important part of any photograph.   This concept still applies in night photography, but it takes on a larger significance because you typically have very little of […]

Alternative transportation revolution

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What seems like a very long time ago, I wrote about the challenges of living a car-free lifestyle in Columbus, Ohio. I love Columbus. A lot of great stuff has been happening in this city in the past five years, and it keeps getting better. But my biggest pain point has been transportation. That has […]