Among My Souvenirs

I can hardly believe it has already been a year and a half since my travel book, World of Wanderlust , hit the shelves. Publishing a book had long been a dream of mine, though if I’m completely honest I never thought that dream would come to life until the moment I received my first copy in the mail. Blogging has truly changed my life inside and out, so I wanted to do a little throwback post to share my story – how I came to blogging, how my blog became my full-time job, how I came to publish a travel book with Penguin Random House and a behind the scenes of what that journey looked like! My Journey: How World of Wanderlust Came to Be I was just thirteen years old when I embarked on my first international adventure. I had been selected to join a group of kids my age to visit Hong Kong, sing at a movie premiere (in a choir – oh the joys!) and experience the city sights for nine days. Prior to this trip, I had absolutely no exposure to cultural experiences. This was...

I have been lucky enough to get in front of some pretty amazing wildlife during my travels including a 43 day African safari and a trip out the Galapagos Islands. I have summed up my experiences into 5 short tips that will help you get the best pictures of wildlife. Ordered in terms of importance, with the first being the most critical to getting better safari photos. #1.) Get Close! This may seem obvious, but nothing will impact your shot more that getting as close as possible (or safe) to the animal you will be photographing. In terms of an African safari, close may not alway be an option and that’s where it is important to use longer lenses. I would recommend having a lens that is capable of 250mm at a minimum. Many safaris get very close to the animals but generally speaking the most interesting animals tend to be the furthest away. To get nice tight shots of big predator species you are going to want a super telephoto lens more in the range of 400-500mm or higher. Many of my fa...