MY NAME IS KIRSTEN

I’m a freelance travel photographer and blogger based in Los Angeles. I’ve worked in more than 60 countries on 6 continents. Scroll down and let’s connect, Shop my Store or Learn more…

Whether he is an artist or not, the photographer is a joyous sensualist, for the simple reason that the eye traffics in feelings, not in thoughts.

– WALKER EVANS

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Follow my posts to see where I am and what I’m currently working on! I also provide travel tips and historical details in my captions so you can use my feed like your own personal guide book.

🧡 “Halloween” takes on new meaning living i

🧡 “Halloween” takes on new meaning living in LA, where the traditions of Dia de Los Muertos [Day of the Dead] occur all around the city for more than a week. These photos are from Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Though it may be more commercialized than other events, I’ve come to love it because woven into the altars families make are often commentaries on issues that directly affect the families represented. They also honor 1 artist every year with an exhibition. I learn in addition to being inspired. 💀 From my research it seems that Dia de Muertos is a Mexican holiday once celebrated primarily in the Central and Southern regions. Before Spanish Colonization in the 16th century, it occurred in summer. But as the celebration took on aspects of Western Christianity to be combined with Aztec and other traditions it ended up coinciding with All Saints Eve and All Souls Day aka Oct 31 - Nov 2. Awareness, immigration, and cultural appropriation combined with commercialization expanded it around the world to be what it is today. Some do not see that as a good thing, and that’s totally understandable, but I’m glad it has become well known. I hope that means more people will ultimately connect with the deeper meaning, to remember, learn from, and honor our ancestors. Chicana altarista Ofelia Esparza said in LAmag that, “We all suffer three deaths. The first death is the day we give our last breath. The second death is the day that we’re buried. The third, most dreaded death of all, is to be forgotten.” Through the altars Esparza and others build - the most important part of the holiday, not the face painting and dressing up - cultures are bridged and generations are brought together. And like any form of art, altars can take on an aspect of political resistance that is universally important. For no one is coming to save us but ourselves. We must all take an active part in the fight to create a world worth living in that is fair and just for all. 🧡

🇬🇷 After Santorini, our last stop on ‘Empi

🇬🇷 After Santorini, our last stop on ‘Empires of the Mediterranean’ was Athens. Amongst my friends and colleagues, the city has a divided reputation. [Have YOU been? What did you think?] So I was excited to have a day there to finally experience it for myself. Though now that I’ve been I can assure you a day doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface! Figuring this was the case, Danté and I didn’t put pressure on ourselves. We took the complimentary shuttle from our ship into town and just walked. We listened to buskers, picked through antique stores, chased down balloon men, popped into hip boutiques, sampled street food, and relaxed at cafes that called to us like siren songs. First a wine bar. Then a Greek restaurant with delectable small plates. Before we left to sleep on board for our last night, we purchased olive oil and spices from the chic boutiques we’d passed; some like little jewel boxes and some that would be at home in the design districts of Los Angeles. As the fragrant Greek Oregano has perfumed my hands when I’ve crushed it between my fingers to scatter into dishes at home, I’ve closed my eyes and remembered the islands. That will always call to me. With cities like Athens that I long to dig ever deeper into. What a privilege it was to return to Greece, this time hosted by @VikingCruises. Thank you, Viking! #MyVikingStory

🇬🇷 It’s hard to deny the beauty of whitewa

🇬🇷 It’s hard to deny the beauty of whitewashed buildings against cobalt-blue roofs and matching skies… but we dislike the crowds in Santorini. It can ruin the experience of photography, and of the culture. And what about the effect on residents? This time we mostly put the cameras away to shop the boutiques hoping to contribute positively to the local economy. And we strolled the narrow lanes looking for cats. But we noticed a lot of advertisements addressing tourism that weren’t present last time we visited.

Being educated about the volcanology of this unusual part of Greece through our Viking guide taught us that Santorini is in the visible top of a dormant volcano. The ocean-filled Caldera is so deep that cruise ships cannot anchor in place when they “dock”. Shipboard anchors cannot reach that depth. Instead they have to use a system that keeps them “treading water” as guests depart on tenders and until they return. DYK that? 🛳️

We also enjoyed riding the cable car from Fira down to the Old Harbour. The water close to shore was crystal clear. Last time we were in Santorini, we didn’t get on a boat at all. It made for an unusual, and beautiful, view as the tender pulled away bound for Saturn and we pondered our own complicity in over-tourism.

What about you? How do you feel about Santorini? If you haven’t been, do you plan to visit?  
🙏🏼 @vikingcruises for hosting us on “Empires of the Mediterranean.” #MyVikingStory

I’ve been thinking about the Olympic Games. What

I’ve been thinking about the Olympic Games. What it means to have strength and athletic ability at the level it takes to compete in the Olympics. Why we feel such reverence towards those with immense strength and so often scorn for those with disabilities. Because this year has been the year of finding out my own body’s new limits - which are abundant - and of trying to find answers for why that is, and why I live with such crippling pain and unusual types of torment that have changed how I can survive, never mind thrive. These thoughts started when I was in Olympia in Greece standing at the spot where they light the Olympic torch that made its way across the world to France where it will open the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris. [See the second slide for an inspirational video of French paraplegic and Paralympian Kevin Piette who made history by carrying the Olympic flame through Poissy with his exoskeleton. Credit: @Brink_Thinker on X] The spot where the torch is lit didn’t feel grand. What happens there is, amongst rocks and stones with far more prestige. There are the stones that made up the temple of Zeus. There is the pillar on which Nike once stood. There are groves of olive trees, cats that roam in and out of sun rays, small white flowers that look like mini snowballs in the dewy grass, and moss-covered piles of marble that glow in the morning light. Olympia feels like a home of Gods. But where the stone is lit every few years, is just another spot on a planet where lots of stones carry significance and every human being - whether an Olympian or not - matters. My country has platformed vitriol this year which makes some people believe that is not true. Perhaps events like the Olympics could make us think that too. That only those at the peak of human performance, matter. But I’m going to watch the games with this in mind: that celebrating what we can do as human beings, does not negate what we can’t. We can all strive for greatness in different ways. No matter where we start from or what we face along the way. And it’s not about what we accomplish, it’s the journey that matters.

🇬🇷 If I asked you to point out Corfu on a ma

🇬🇷 If I asked you to point out Corfu on a map, could you do it? I could not have before visiting. It’s off Greece’s northwest coast and serves as the capital for the Ionian Islands.

We drove around it first, passing roman ruins of homes that still had their mosaic floors intact and visible from the road before pausing at a harbor for small boats where my feet itched to walk down the stairs into water so clear it was like transparent teal glass. 🐭 Mouse Island, which may owe its name to its size not an infestation of small rodents, and the church of Panagia Vlacherna was seen from the hill above where planes land so close it feels as if you could reach out and touch them. ✈️ Then we made our way to Corfu town and one of the things I noticed immediately was what felt like a mix of cultural influences.

That’s because Corfu’s heritage is a reflection of rule by Venetians, French, and the British before unification with Greece in 1864. The town of Corfu is almost in the center of two Venetian-era fortresses which perhaps contributed to it being the only part of Greece never conquered by the Ottomans. Some of the Old Town’s streets are so narrow as to feel medieval. The area was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2007. And the French-style arcade that’s prominent in town, when you come from the cricket field, felt so Parisian as to give me a sense of deja vu. 🇫🇷

We sampled and then purchased kumquat liquor, which is delicious!! We picked out an olive wood serving dish and wandered some more as town began to wake up and the sun started to bake the island with heat, even in October! Finally, we sat down with @kastilwell and her husband for ice cold bottles of Corfu Special Red Ale.

This was another stop, on our hosted “Empires of the Mediterranean” sailing with @vikingcruises, that I would return to. 📚 Perhaps after I read Gerald Durrell’s trilogy of Corfu memoirs or watch all four seasons of “The Durrells in Corfu” which was based on his family and partially filmed on Corfu. Have you seen it? 🎥 #MyVikingStory

Have you been to Montenegro? Do you know anything

Have you been to Montenegro? Do you know anything about it?

I was excited when I saw it was a port of call on our cruise itinerary, since I’d never been but always wanted to go!

It felt like we almost drifted into the Bay of Kotor, which resembles a fjord, we were sailing so slowly in the pre-dawn light while the sun lazily appeared behind us. I sipped my coffee on our balcony, watching coastal churches and fortified towns come into view, gazing at the houses and the towering expanses of green above them.

Later after the ship had dropped anchor and we’d taken a tender into Kotor, I found myself walking through a town that felt similar to all the European ones I really love but wholly singular onto itself in a way I can’t put into words. Up onto stone ramparts we climbed, past purple clumps of flowers spilling out of rock crevices like pastel tears, and through gleaming stone-paved squares already teeming with people we passed till we hit the side of a mountain. We paused to pay the man guarding a small gate and began a climb I naively thought might be easy!

Nothing that’s worth it ever is, right? That accurately describes the climb to the Fort of St Ivan with its view of Old Town Kotor, the Bay and the Church of our Lady Remedy. But oh what fun I had trying. And then pausing for photos and some droning while Danté continued apace. It was all-too-short but enough to more than convince me that one day I want to return to explore more of Montenegro. I have a feeling there is still so much to be experienced in this Balkan country bordered by Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Albania and Croatia.

Thank you for hosting us @vikingcruises. #MyVikingStory #vikingcruises #kotormontenegro

Bookmark this post with a 💵 money 💰 saving t

Bookmark this post with a 💵 money 💰 saving tip for Dubrovnik!

📌 If you’re planning to traverse the wall around the city, which I talked about in my last post,
- go to Fort Lovrijenac on the hill across from the Old Town first. It will cost to get in.
- But if you keep that ticket, it will get you great views of the walled portion of the city from high up (see video in carousel for what that looks like), you’ll get to meet 🐱 cats 🐈‍⬛
- And then after you’re done there, on the same day that same ticket will gain you reduced admission to the wall!

🎁 Plus, with your ticket, you will get a 20% discount in the official souvenir shop in Siroka Street (marked by the number 5 on the back of the ticket). This is via the Society of Friends of Dubrovnik Antiquities.

So keep that 🎟️ ticket 🎟️ ! And enjoy Dubrovnik! ❤️

#dubrovnik🇭🇷 #dubrovnikcroatia #croatiafullofbeauty #oldtowndubrovnik #visitdubrovnik #traveltipsandtricks #traveltip

When I think back on our day in Dubrovnik now, I t

When I think back on our day in Dubrovnik now, I think of perpetual summer. It felt like those long days of July when we were kids that seemed to stretch forever. @dante.vincent and I wore ourselves out, wracking up one of the largest step counts of all the cities we visited. As painful as it became toward the end, I think it was partially because I didn’t want to let go. I got on the bus to return to the ship, wishing I could just be left behind 😂

Whatever you’ve heard that’s positive about Dubrovnik, it’s true. Whatever you’ve heard that’s negative, it’s probably because of the crowds. Cruise ship passengers like we were that day. I realize the irony.

But the draw is undeniable. The worn stone alleys, relics and jewels in cases ensconced inside cloisters, the clear turquoise water whose surface sparkles like so many diamonds, the cool taste of water from an ancient lion’s head fountain, the tree growing from the crumbling ledge of a building as it hugs the patron saint of the city, glasses clinking as laughter bounces between the water and the ancient rocks that hold up the city walls…

Locals send their kids to school inside the walls, then meet for “happy hour” when they pick them up before leaving the city again for their homes further away. Tourism helped that change come [or arrive sooner?] and I can’t say it’s a fair one. But the basketball courts and the gardens on the roofs, make it clear it’s not literally only a city of tourists.

If you can, visit early in the morning or later at night. And make time to walk the city wall. There are cafes where you can pause, to eat ice cream or sip Croatian wine, while looking out at the ocean. There are so few places in our world where you can still walk a fully intact wall that’s a complete circle. It’s worth the time.

Thank you for hosting us @vikingcruises. #MyVikingStory

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🧡 “Halloween” takes on new meaning living i

🧡 “Halloween” takes on new meaning living in LA, where the traditions of Dia de Los Muertos [Day of the Dead] occur all around the city for more than a week. These photos are from Hollywood Forever Cemetery. Though it may be more commercialized than other events, I’ve come to love it because woven into the altars families make are often commentaries on issues that directly affect the families represented. They also honor 1 artist every year with an exhibition. I learn in addition to being inspired. 💀 From my research it seems that Dia de Muertos is a Mexican holiday once celebrated primarily in the Central and Southern regions. Before Spanish Colonization in the 16th century, it occurred in summer. But as the celebration took on aspects of Western Christianity to be combined with Aztec and other traditions it ended up coinciding with All Saints Eve and All Souls Day aka Oct 31 - Nov 2. Awareness, immigration, and cultural appropriation combined with commercialization expanded it around the world to be what it is today. Some do not see that as a good thing, and that’s totally understandable, but I’m glad it has become well known. I hope that means more people will ultimately connect with the deeper meaning, to remember, learn from, and honor our ancestors. Chicana altarista Ofelia Esparza said in LAmag that, “We all suffer three deaths. The first death is the day we give our last breath. The second death is the day that we’re buried. The third, most dreaded death of all, is to be forgotten.” Through the altars Esparza and others build - the most important part of the holiday, not the face painting and dressing up - cultures are bridged and generations are brought together. And like any form of art, altars can take on an aspect of political resistance that is universally important. For no one is coming to save us but ourselves. We must all take an active part in the fight to create a world worth living in that is fair and just for all. 🧡

🇬🇷 After Santorini, our last stop on ‘Empi

🇬🇷 After Santorini, our last stop on ‘Empires of the Mediterranean’ was Athens. Amongst my friends and colleagues, the city has a divided reputation. [Have YOU been? What did you think?] So I was excited to have a day there to finally experience it for myself. Though now that I’ve been I can assure you a day doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface! Figuring this was the case, Danté and I didn’t put pressure on ourselves. We took the complimentary shuttle from our ship into town and just walked. We listened to buskers, picked through antique stores, chased down balloon men, popped into hip boutiques, sampled street food, and relaxed at cafes that called to us like siren songs. First a wine bar. Then a Greek restaurant with delectable small plates. Before we left to sleep on board for our last night, we purchased olive oil and spices from the chic boutiques we’d passed; some like little jewel boxes and some that would be at home in the design districts of Los Angeles. As the fragrant Greek Oregano has perfumed my hands when I’ve crushed it between my fingers to scatter into dishes at home, I’ve closed my eyes and remembered the islands. That will always call to me. With cities like Athens that I long to dig ever deeper into. What a privilege it was to return to Greece, this time hosted by @VikingCruises. Thank you, Viking! #MyVikingStory

🇬🇷 It’s hard to deny the beauty of whitewa

🇬🇷 It’s hard to deny the beauty of whitewashed buildings against cobalt-blue roofs and matching skies… but we dislike the crowds in Santorini. It can ruin the experience of photography, and of the culture. And what about the effect on residents? This time we mostly put the cameras away to shop the boutiques hoping to contribute positively to the local economy. And we strolled the narrow lanes looking for cats. But we noticed a lot of advertisements addressing tourism that weren’t present last time we visited.

Being educated about the volcanology of this unusual part of Greece through our Viking guide taught us that Santorini is in the visible top of a dormant volcano. The ocean-filled Caldera is so deep that cruise ships cannot anchor in place when they “dock”. Shipboard anchors cannot reach that depth. Instead they have to use a system that keeps them “treading water” as guests depart on tenders and until they return. DYK that? 🛳️

We also enjoyed riding the cable car from Fira down to the Old Harbour. The water close to shore was crystal clear. Last time we were in Santorini, we didn’t get on a boat at all. It made for an unusual, and beautiful, view as the tender pulled away bound for Saturn and we pondered our own complicity in over-tourism.

What about you? How do you feel about Santorini? If you haven’t been, do you plan to visit?  
🙏🏼 @vikingcruises for hosting us on “Empires of the Mediterranean.” #MyVikingStory

I’ve been thinking about the Olympic Games. What

I’ve been thinking about the Olympic Games. What it means to have strength and athletic ability at the level it takes to compete in the Olympics. Why we feel such reverence towards those with immense strength and so often scorn for those with disabilities. Because this year has been the year of finding out my own body’s new limits - which are abundant - and of trying to find answers for why that is, and why I live with such crippling pain and unusual types of torment that have changed how I can survive, never mind thrive. These thoughts started when I was in Olympia in Greece standing at the spot where they light the Olympic torch that made its way across the world to France where it will open the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad in Paris. [See the second slide for an inspirational video of French paraplegic and Paralympian Kevin Piette who made history by carrying the Olympic flame through Poissy with his exoskeleton. Credit: @Brink_Thinker on X] The spot where the torch is lit didn’t feel grand. What happens there is, amongst rocks and stones with far more prestige. There are the stones that made up the temple of Zeus. There is the pillar on which Nike once stood. There are groves of olive trees, cats that roam in and out of sun rays, small white flowers that look like mini snowballs in the dewy grass, and moss-covered piles of marble that glow in the morning light. Olympia feels like a home of Gods. But where the stone is lit every few years, is just another spot on a planet where lots of stones carry significance and every human being - whether an Olympian or not - matters. My country has platformed vitriol this year which makes some people believe that is not true. Perhaps events like the Olympics could make us think that too. That only those at the peak of human performance, matter. But I’m going to watch the games with this in mind: that celebrating what we can do as human beings, does not negate what we can’t. We can all strive for greatness in different ways. No matter where we start from or what we face along the way. And it’s not about what we accomplish, it’s the journey that matters.

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