MY NAME IS KIRSTEN

I’m a freelance travel photographer and blogger based in Los Angeles. I’ve worked in more than 50 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

Instagram Kirsten Alana

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.

In autumn of 2022, I stayed in Prague three separa

In autumn of 2022, I stayed in Prague three separate times between visits to Brno, South Bohemia and a project in Estonia. Each time, I stayed at @astenhotels Golden Key Prague Castle.

They went above and beyond whenever they could. Even storing some of my luggage for free one of the times I left so I could travel lighter to/from Estonia. It came to feel like a home away from home. And that kind of service, will make me a loyal customer every time.

But even more than that, it was how the castle side of the river began to feel like “my” Prague. It’s where the embassies and the Senate are located. Where government does its work. And where some tourists, of course, explore. But nowhere near the numbers of those that visit to inhabit the astronomical clock side of the river.

Even in a highly-touristed city like Praha, there are areas that can feel more “authentic.” And I found that on the castle side of the river. Just wandering. Capturing moments like this.

They may not have the mass appeal of ticking off “bucket list” landmarks but these quieter moments represent how I fell in love with a city that so very many people have been to. But perhaps not enough people truly KNOW.

Thank you @visitcz for hosting part of my first visit and giving me the chance to fall so deeply in love afterward that I returned over and over. I hope to return yet again! ❤️ #VisitCZ

I'd left my hotel early. Walking downhill toward t

I'd left my hotel early. Walking downhill toward the Vltava River. Eager to meet my local guide on Charles Bridge. To get some unusual images because of the weather he'd forewarned me about.

I had a good feeling about the day. I was sure it would be a good one for photos. It would start with a gloriously foggy morning.

I knew it was going to be because, the second I walked under the arch of the tower on the castle side of Prague's Charles Bridge, I couldn't see the far side of the river or the other tower of the bridge.

Excitement thrummed in my veins...

And the morning did not disappoint. It resulted in some of my favorite photos that I took while in Czechia. Click through the link in my bio to get to the full story and see more photos of "Prague in the Fog."

I'm much indebted to Martin of @inscapephototours who was an exceptional guide during two tours in the city, made possible by @visitcz. He leads photo tours inside of the country and outside of it in destinations such as Norway, Tanzania, and New Zealand. He's an exceptional person, guide, and photographer. I highly recommend you hire him or book one of his tours! Bookmark this post so you don't forget him once you're ready. And Prague... do you even need me to recommend the city? I can't believe it took me this long in my career to finally visit. 😂 But now that I've been, I already want to go back for longer!! 🥰 ❤️

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Natchitoches,

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Natchitoches, is that it was the home of Black artist Clementine Hunter [1887 to 1988] who only began painting in her 50s and never had formal training. She had a remarkable gift for cheeky symbolism. She would paint a priest as the smallest figure in a scene to communicate her dislike or distrust but paint a chicken as larger than a house to denote her love for the bird. She was honest about the plantation system.

Hunter’s work, and reproductions of it, can be seen all over the grounds of Melrose in Natchitoches Parish, an artist’s colony from the 1920s through the late 1940s thanks to then-owner Cammie Henry. The same property Hunter lived on for most of her life. She was a free Black woman, but the granddaughter of enslaved Black people with Native American heritage. Some highlights:
- produced an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 paintings in her lifetime
- part of Black Women Oral History Project records, housed at Harvard University
- memorialized on stage in Robert Wilson's modern opera, "Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter" and in Shinnerrie Jackson's one-woman musical “Ain't I a Woman?”
- awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Northwestern State University
- exhibited at SCAD and in the Smithsonian
- the first Black person to have a solo art show in New Orleans
- shown at the Louvre in Paris
- changed the world of art when a case of forgeries of her paintings set FBI precedent ensuring Folk Art cases are still prosecuted today

From Africa House where the roof is larger than the first floor, to her cottage, to a barn, and the gift shop - at Melrose, her feisty spirit lives on. Hopefully, forever.

I can’t show you photos of the room that preserves many of her paintings. Photos aren’t allowed. But I’ve shared a few I found online for those whom her work is unfamiliar. I will forever treasure the ornament version of one of her Zinnia paintings that I was able to bring home. They were her favorite flower. 💐

AD ⚜️A Christmas drink recipe from Natchitoche

AD ⚜️A Christmas drink recipe from Natchitoches, @louisianatravel.
▪️ Drop pomegranate seeds and springs of Rosemary into glasses.
▪️ Add Prosecco or your favorite sparkling water.
▪️ Top with your favorite pomegranate juice.
▪️ Enjoy! 🎄

Courtesy of @natchitochespicnicco and the amazing lunch they catered for us @the_perrault_house with the best Quiche. Working with local small businesses to make your experience more special is just one way that Perrault House welcomes their guests. I personally loved the rocking chairs on the porch, the Clementine Hunter art, hammock, fire pit, and the deep soaking tub + cabinet full of bath products since I was under the weather when I visited and baths were so good for my aching muscles 🥰 If you visit, during summer, you can take advantage of their pool!

In my next post after the holiday, I’ll introduce you to the work of Black artist Clementine Hunter. One of her paintings of zinnias is just to the left of the hall tree I use for the self portrait in this carousel, taken at Perrault House. I loved seeing all of her paintings that they have around the house!

However, and wherever, you’re celebrating the holidays — or even if you’re not — I hope this finds you happy and safe. ❤️✨

#OnlyLouisiana #NatchitochesChristmasFestival #StellerAlwaysFreshLouisiana @StellerStories #VisitTheUSA #Natchitoches

AD ⚜️When I visited Natchitoches in @Louisiana

AD ⚜️When I visited Natchitoches in @LouisianaTravel, the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory; one problem plagued me. How to actually pronounce the town name! 🤪🤯 Knowing it might be an issue from the moment I saw the word in an email, I planned ahead. I decided I would ask everyone I met, to show me the way. A solid ice breaker and a good excuse to talk to people when I might otherwise not have felt very outgoing in the moment. [Fellow introverts, I know you can relate.] And having an excuse to talk to people, provided the opportunity for some very memorable conversations. It even led to meeting the Mayor spontaneously! As so often happens when traveling, the people of Natchitoches became the best part of the trip! They’re also representative of some of what I think you should do when you’re in town; since most of these locals own small businesses or work in businesses you’ll probably want to frequent. So bookmark this post and you’ll be well on your way to knowing what to do, as well as who to meet, when you arrive in Natchitoches:

- Mayor Ronnie Williams Jr. @cityofnatchitoches
- Christina Johnson, Service League of Natchitoches
- Savannah, Katrice, Kaylee at Prudhomme-Roquier House, only two-story structure left from Louisiana Purchase era
- Meshelle at @natchitochestourism Visitors Center
- Blaze and Sylvia LaCour, @canerivercommissary
- Brittany Williams, owner, Sweet Fruit Delights on Front Street
- Brian Armstrong at Laureate House
- Megan Brooks, owner @lilliann_moon
- Sydney Frederick at @kaffiefrederickgm General Mercantile store
- Susie and Laurie Berry @natchitochespicnicco available for events @the_perrault_house

Did you catch that many pronounce it: Nack a Tish? Though some also replaced the CK with a G! So in the end, the “how” may still depend on who you’re talking to 😉🤷‍♀️ #OnlyLouisiana #NatchitochesChristmasFestival #StellerAlwaysFreshLouisiana @StellerStories #VisitTheUSA #Natchitoches

AD ⚜️ I celebrated an early holiday in Natchit

AD ⚜️ I celebrated an early holiday in Natchitoches, @louisianatravel.🎄The town, that is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase territory, has a month-long festival devoted to Christmas beginning the Saturday before Thanksgiving. That history, and the connection to one of the most renown Black artists in the USA [Clementine Hunter], is what drew me to want to visit and explore it for myself. The festival is one of the oldest community-based holiday celebrations in the country with more than 350,000 lights illuminating the area every evening. Every Saturday, during the festival, there are fireworks at night. And different activities take place each weekend like cookies with 🎅, tours that allow to you to see inside historic homes, a lighted boat parade, and more.

If the town rings a bell, it might also be because of its Hollywood or Broadway connections. Steel Magnolias is both loosely based on people in Natchitoches and [the movie] was filmed there. Julia Roberts character is like Susan, sister of playwright Robert Harling, who wrote originally intending simply to create a short story that would help his nephew remember his mother. Later it swelled into what we know it as today and since then people have fallen in love with the all the women who Harling based on friends of his mother.

If you’re going to visit and want to be close to the action, I recommend staying at The Jefferson House. They have an amazing view for the fireworks from their dock and an eclectic collection of items purchased during their years working around the world. Many of which I’ve seen on my own travels! You could also stay at Steel Magnolia House Bed and Breakfast; or rent out the @the_perrault_house, which is where we stayed, farther away but still just an easy bike or short car ride to downtown.

❤️ More in my next post on what you can do while visiting.

Natchitoches is an hour drive from Shreveport, where I flew into on @delta. But you could combine the town with a visit to New Orleans which is less than 5 hours away by car.

@stellerstories #Natchitoches #OnlyLouisiana #NatchitochesChristmasFestival #StellerAlwaysFreshLouisiana #VisitTheUSA

A @puremichigan autumn with @vw! ❤️ When you h

🇨🇿 The town of Český Krumlov is in the Sou

🇨🇿 The town of Český Krumlov is in the South Bohemia region of Czechia and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1992. Google will tell you that, “It’s bisected by the Vltava River, and dominated by its 13th-century castle. The castle has Gothic, Renaissance and baroque elements, an 11-hectare garden and an original 17th-century baroque theater. There are panoramic views of the old town and the river from the top of its round belltower.” There’s been a town or settlement in the area since at least the Older Stone Age (70,000–50,000 BC). The castle itself, the jewel in the crown that is the town, was founded shortly before 1250 by a local branch of the noble Vítkovci family. I’ve now visited twice, and I still want to go back. Each time I visit, the town reveals a different facet of itself to me. This time, the weather and the skies changed every few minutes and it made it fascinating as a photographer to see a visual diary of all the different moods reflected in the sky of varying images.

📝 When you go: make sure to eat open-faced sandwiches and sip amber wine at Topinka, ride a raft down the river with Maleček, shop for Czech antiques at Antique Starožitnosti and enjoy coffee at Kolektiv. Bookmark this post so you don’t forget 😉  ❤️ Thank you @visitcz and @visitsouthbohemia for hosting me this time in @ceskykrumlovofficial. #VisitCzechRepublic #VisitCZ #SouthBohemia #CeskyKrumlovRegion

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In autumn of 2022, I stayed in Prague three separa

In autumn of 2022, I stayed in Prague three separate times between visits to Brno, South Bohemia and a project in Estonia. Each time, I stayed at @astenhotels Golden Key Prague Castle.

They went above and beyond whenever they could. Even storing some of my luggage for free one of the times I left so I could travel lighter to/from Estonia. It came to feel like a home away from home. And that kind of service, will make me a loyal customer every time.

But even more than that, it was how the castle side of the river began to feel like “my” Prague. It’s where the embassies and the Senate are located. Where government does its work. And where some tourists, of course, explore. But nowhere near the numbers of those that visit to inhabit the astronomical clock side of the river.

Even in a highly-touristed city like Praha, there are areas that can feel more “authentic.” And I found that on the castle side of the river. Just wandering. Capturing moments like this.

They may not have the mass appeal of ticking off “bucket list” landmarks but these quieter moments represent how I fell in love with a city that so very many people have been to. But perhaps not enough people truly KNOW.

Thank you @visitcz for hosting part of my first visit and giving me the chance to fall so deeply in love afterward that I returned over and over. I hope to return yet again! ❤️ #VisitCZ

I'd left my hotel early. Walking downhill toward t

I'd left my hotel early. Walking downhill toward the Vltava River. Eager to meet my local guide on Charles Bridge. To get some unusual images because of the weather he'd forewarned me about.

I had a good feeling about the day. I was sure it would be a good one for photos. It would start with a gloriously foggy morning.

I knew it was going to be because, the second I walked under the arch of the tower on the castle side of Prague's Charles Bridge, I couldn't see the far side of the river or the other tower of the bridge.

Excitement thrummed in my veins...

And the morning did not disappoint. It resulted in some of my favorite photos that I took while in Czechia. Click through the link in my bio to get to the full story and see more photos of "Prague in the Fog."

I'm much indebted to Martin of @inscapephototours who was an exceptional guide during two tours in the city, made possible by @visitcz. He leads photo tours inside of the country and outside of it in destinations such as Norway, Tanzania, and New Zealand. He's an exceptional person, guide, and photographer. I highly recommend you hire him or book one of his tours! Bookmark this post so you don't forget him once you're ready. And Prague... do you even need me to recommend the city? I can't believe it took me this long in my career to finally visit. 😂 But now that I've been, I already want to go back for longer!! 🥰 ❤️

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Natchitoches,

One of the reasons I wanted to visit Natchitoches, is that it was the home of Black artist Clementine Hunter [1887 to 1988] who only began painting in her 50s and never had formal training. She had a remarkable gift for cheeky symbolism. She would paint a priest as the smallest figure in a scene to communicate her dislike or distrust but paint a chicken as larger than a house to denote her love for the bird. She was honest about the plantation system.

Hunter’s work, and reproductions of it, can be seen all over the grounds of Melrose in Natchitoches Parish, an artist’s colony from the 1920s through the late 1940s thanks to then-owner Cammie Henry. The same property Hunter lived on for most of her life. She was a free Black woman, but the granddaughter of enslaved Black people with Native American heritage. Some highlights:
- produced an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 paintings in her lifetime
- part of Black Women Oral History Project records, housed at Harvard University
- memorialized on stage in Robert Wilson's modern opera, "Zinnias: The Life of Clementine Hunter" and in Shinnerrie Jackson's one-woman musical “Ain't I a Woman?”
- awarded an honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree by Northwestern State University
- exhibited at SCAD and in the Smithsonian
- the first Black person to have a solo art show in New Orleans
- shown at the Louvre in Paris
- changed the world of art when a case of forgeries of her paintings set FBI precedent ensuring Folk Art cases are still prosecuted today

From Africa House where the roof is larger than the first floor, to her cottage, to a barn, and the gift shop - at Melrose, her feisty spirit lives on. Hopefully, forever.

I can’t show you photos of the room that preserves many of her paintings. Photos aren’t allowed. But I’ve shared a few I found online for those whom her work is unfamiliar. I will forever treasure the ornament version of one of her Zinnia paintings that I was able to bring home. They were her favorite flower. 💐

AD ⚜️A Christmas drink recipe from Natchitoche

AD ⚜️A Christmas drink recipe from Natchitoches, @louisianatravel.
▪️ Drop pomegranate seeds and springs of Rosemary into glasses.
▪️ Add Prosecco or your favorite sparkling water.
▪️ Top with your favorite pomegranate juice.
▪️ Enjoy! 🎄

Courtesy of @natchitochespicnicco and the amazing lunch they catered for us @the_perrault_house with the best Quiche. Working with local small businesses to make your experience more special is just one way that Perrault House welcomes their guests. I personally loved the rocking chairs on the porch, the Clementine Hunter art, hammock, fire pit, and the deep soaking tub + cabinet full of bath products since I was under the weather when I visited and baths were so good for my aching muscles 🥰 If you visit, during summer, you can take advantage of their pool!

In my next post after the holiday, I’ll introduce you to the work of Black artist Clementine Hunter. One of her paintings of zinnias is just to the left of the hall tree I use for the self portrait in this carousel, taken at Perrault House. I loved seeing all of her paintings that they have around the house!

However, and wherever, you’re celebrating the holidays — or even if you’re not — I hope this finds you happy and safe. ❤️✨

#OnlyLouisiana #NatchitochesChristmasFestival #StellerAlwaysFreshLouisiana @StellerStories #VisitTheUSA #Natchitoches

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