Windows 10 Backgrounds & Art Direction

A few years ago, I was lead producer and art director for this in-the-moment series of images for Microsoft. After speaking with several talented photographers,I hired national geographic photographer Steve McCurry (widely known as the photographer who shot the "Afghan Girl" for NatGeo) across several areas of New Zealand for a breath of inspiring landscape images.

I’ll never forget that first conference call with Steve and his agent, when he said “We can go anywhere in the world, where do you want to shoot?”. My mind was spinning with ideas, and I was thinking “wow, I can’t believe this is my life - I get to go anywhere in the world with Steve McCurry!”. We decided on New Zealand due to the many different types of landscapes we can get from Oceans to mountains.

We spent 10 days flying, driving and boating around both the North and the South Islands and shot sunrise and sunset every day. I’ve never been more proud of the team, and the images we got from this trip.

Personal Brand

I’ve worked in Graphic design about 15 years now, so it came pretty natural to develop a personal brand. I started with a color palette and typography, then moved into a logo, signature and monogram. For the logo, I wanted something that was a type logo, but not your basic font, so I hired a hand lettering artist to create a logo that was uniquely me. As a creative direction, we went for something elegant with a bit of edge….just like me haha.

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Short photography sizzle reel. Music by The Flavr Blue.

Icelandic Adventures

Iceland is such an amazing and unique place! last spring, I was accepted into a 3 person workshop lead by Cath Simard (@mydetoxtravel) and Niklas Soderlund (@nattesferd). This was hands down the best crew, and we all got along so well.

We started the trip in Reykavik, and went straight to the most amazing waterfall I’ve seen, where we hiked through the snow for a better view. Then we made our way down to midgard basecamp, where we stayed for the next few nights.

During the trip, we saw canyons, waterfalls, ice caves, glaciers and so many horses. The one thing we missed was the northern lights, but it just gives me an excuse to go back.

Adventures in the Philippines

Last May, I was on assignment for a studio shoot in Manila so I had to take advantage of this opportunity and see the Palawan Islands. I had always been drawn to the amazing blue water and luscious green islands.

I flew into Manila, where I stayed with a friend for a night and in the morning I took a small plan over to Coron. The palawan islands have two main areas - Coron and El Nido. I wish I had time for both, but with only 3 days I decided to spend all my time in Coron.

I found a beautiful room on the Busuanga side of the island, which is much more remote than Coron Town, but since I was travelling alone I wanted to stay at nice resort so I could book everything through them.

I hired a boat and we toured over 10 little islands on our 2 day tour. We went to black island, twin lagoons, north cay nature island, the bat caves, siete pecados marine park, tagbnua, coron town, and cayamana lake. What an amazing experience!

The people are so sweet, the water is just as amazing as I thought and the weather is just perfect. I can’t wait to go back and spend more time.

Nomadict Editing Contest

Recently, I submitted images for an editing contest from a magazine called “Nomadict” Here is the story I wrote for the publication, which can also be found here.

“My passion for photography and travel began at day 1. I was named after my great aunt, Marylee Davey, who was one of the first women to grace the cover of sports illustrated for her climb up the Matterhorn in Switzerland. My entire life, I always admired her and wanted to live up to my name. 

My mom has also deeply inspired me, as she was an avid hiker and mountaineer. Growing up in a small mountain town in Washington, I was always outdoors exploring and going on hikes with her, developing a strong connection to the outdoors. I picked up my first camera in high school, where I learned to shoot film and eventually I got more into digital photography, combining my two passions. 

When my mom passed away suddenly in 2016, my world was turned upside down and it forced me to reevaluate my life. I decided that I didn't want to look back, feeling as though I wasn’t embracing every moment for all its worth. So I decided I would cut all the negativity from my life, and just focus on what I love the most: travel and photography. 

Since then, I’ve invested in new camera equipment, and have traveled to several countries (including a visit to the Matterhorn!) on a quest to take all the same hikes my mom once did, spreading her ashes along the way and documenting my experiences to share with others. Life is way too precious not to spend your time doing what you love.”

A day Above the Clouds

During a business trip to Zürich, I had an extra day to myself to explore and was keen to experience the amazing villages and alps that make Switzerland so unique. I asked a few locals where to visit, and they unanimously replied “go see Pilatus”. 

I woke up before the sun that Saturday morning, and watched it rise as we sipped our coffee on the 1.5 hour to drive to Kriens. From there we hopped onto a small four person Gondola, making our way up a Fräkmüntegg and taking in the incredible views of Luzern: medieval churches on snowy hills, and people enjoying typical winter activities like sledding and skiing. 

At Fräkmüntegg we hopped off the gondola and stood at the base of Pilatus with views of the alps as far as the eye could see, toes frozen and hearts full. 

Next we hopped onto a larger, much steeper gondola to take us to the main observation deck. Our faces were glued to the windows as we soared above lakes and layers of snow capped peaks. At the top, we discovered a panoramic view of the alps, way above most of the peaks. With Espel peak shining brilliantly in the backdrop. 

Following our trip up to Pilatus, we stopped in vibrant Luzern to enjoy lunch and wine at a traditional Swiss restaurant, and checked out the amazing architecture during sunset. It was a full day of amazement and wonder. 

While I took what seemed like a million photos, I also made sure to put my camera down and really embrace those incredible moments that I will never forget. 

Exploring the Lofoten Islands

I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of the Loften Islands. Lofoten is an archipelago in the county on Nordland, Norway. And its known for its vast mountain scapes, and icey blue waters.

Getting to Lofoten from Seattle is no easy feat - I flew from Seattle to Oakland, Oakland to Oslo, Olso to Harstad. And from there its a 4 hour drive to Lofoten.

After several hours of flying and layovers, I arrived in Harstad at 10pm. I wasn’t prepared to drive 4 hours solo, so I luckily was able to snag a room at a cute little hotel near the airport called Tjeldsundbrua Kro & Hotell.

The next morning, I grabbed some tasty breakfast at the hotel and embarked on my adventure to Lofoten. The drive was insane, and arguably the best part! I stopped often to enjoy the amazing scenery, including a quick picnic at a waterfall.

When I arrived in Lofoten, I check into the Hatvikka Lodge. Wow, what a cool place! I was absolutely floored by how pretty it was and the owners were so nice and accommodating.

I spent a night chillin solo at the lodge before starting workshop with Nordic photo tours for 4 days. That evening I went to the beach and saw the most magical northern lights show of the trip - too bad I hadnt learned to shoot them yet, but it was magic nonetheless.

During the workshop, we hit all the great spots like the eye of Utakliev, Reiene, Skansanden beach, the hamnoy bridge, and so much more that I can’t spell haha.

We learned how to shoot the northern lights, long exposure, how to use filters, HDR, and editing. It was definitely worth the money.

After the workshop, I had another couple days to myself. So I chose to explore Henningsvaer and look for some of the hidden Dolk art. I found a few, which was really fun! And I had a lovely lunch on the water then checked out the Kaviar Factory modern museum.

My last day, I drove back toward the airport. This time it was getting later and darker and it was really raining so not as fun yet still full of magic. I would definitely do this trip again!

If you plan to go to Lofoten, just make sure you remember that 4 hour drive and be sure to pack light!