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MY NAME IS KIRSTEN

I’m a travel photographer based in Los Angeles! I’ve worked in more than 50 countries on 6 continents but I’m not done traveling yet. The biggest passion that drives me is using my skills to tell visual stories that are socially conscious and environmentally responsible. 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 daily 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.

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I heard a rumor that there’s only a day or two left before the @secondhome_la Pavilion closes at La Brea Tar Pits here in Los Angeles. So if it’s something you’ve seen or heard about and you were waiting to go to, don’t wait anymore. I recently had the chance to see it when my dear friends @mumhad1ofthose & @descurran were visiting from London, and I was relieved to find it is free to enter. I’m always a fan of art that’s free for all to experience because it’s one of the most beautiful things in life. And while I understand it can’t always be free, when it is, it removes that barrier to entry and gives everyone the chance to be inspired in the way art can be inspiring and entertaining.
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Anyway, the #secondhomela pop up “tent-like” structure designed by SelgasCano known as an art sculpture is part of Second Home which is a socially responsible British business with a belief that diversity makes creativity stronger. They create spaces that bring diverse groups of people together and that’s something I admire. While it has been here in LA, it has hosted live music, performance art, talks, dances and screenings. Their hashtag is #lovelettertoLA but they might as well say it’s a love letter to humanity and what can happen when we come together in a safe space where differences are celebrated and community is valued.
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That being said, the co-working and private offices spaces that Second Home offers which are permanent are not exactly affordable. But this is a feed about travel and that’s another conversation for another day. If you’re traveling around Los Angeles this weekend, stop by the Pavilion before it closes and let me know what you think of it.... 😉💛
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#kaguideLA #discoverLA #publicartwork #publicartinstallation #selgascano

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Didn’t sleep well last night after seeing my dear friend @neumarc’s Stories from a Venezia where there is a flooding event occurring, bringing high tides just shy of the devastating record-high “aqua alta” of 1966. St Mark’s Basilica is flooded. Which, before 2018, had happened only 4 times in more than 900 years. Or only 6 times total in 1,200 years depending on what and where you read online. 🙀 Because Marco is my friend, I worried for his safety and I still worry as the danger is not passed.
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It’s stamped a much more personal note on a crisis that I’ve already been aware of and have been trying to do my part to combat. We can try to ignore it, we can choose to believe it’s not as bad as some say or even that we can’t do much to change things. But we can. And we must.
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We all have hundreds of choices a day that, made the right way - can help make a difference. We can try to eliminate all single use plastic from our lives. We can fly less and take cleaner transportation when we do travel. ✈️ We can donate to organizations that plant trees which absorb co2 or even more importantly, give to organizations that protect old trees from being cut down since older trees absorb co2 more rapidly than younger trees. 🌳 We can vote in representatives and leaders that believe there is a climate crisis and that will fight to make laws and processes that will combat the problems. You can request that your energy supplier only use clean energy - something Danté & I have done here in California. 💡 We can unplug or power off our tech when we’re not using it. 🔌 We can choose not to waste food, grow our own food, eat less meat and buy local whenever possible. 🥬🥕 We can choose to walk, ride bikes or take public transportation instead of an Uber or Lyft. 🚲 We can choose to buy less and consume less. And so. much. more.
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I know it’s not always easy to see how these actions might directly have a positive effect on lessening the occurrence of floods or wildfires. But they do. Research has proven that. We just have to choose to listen. And act. If not for ourselves, then for those we care about. ❤️

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Like I said yesterday, I partnered with @Ford and @LonelyPlanet to discover greater Los Angeles. #ad A map, that was painted on a wall just off Melrose, acted as the springboard for my adventures into the history and culture of Los Angeles. 🌴 My first stop was the mural which then led to Olvera Street, created in 1930 “to preserve and present the customs and trades of early California." Today the area boasts many vendors who are second or third generation sellers as well as museums dedicated to Chinese, Italian & Mexican heritage. 🇲🇽 Next I visited downtown’s Central Library, home of LA’s written history, beautiful rotundas and (when I was there) an exhibition of Ansel Adams photographs. 📚 Then Highland Park Bowl, home of LA’s oldest bowling lanes and a dynamic spot to just hang out. It has a bar area with a steampunk-meets-vintage-sports vibe. The restored lanes are backed by a stunning mural that looks like it depicts California’s iconic Redwood and Sequoia trees. 🎳 I was happy to see the Original Farmer’s Market was part of this map-based exploration since it is one of my favorite places to go where the French store Monsieur Marcel is usually my first stop if I am planning a picnic or want a bottle of wine for a special occasion. It’s also a great choice if you’re craving multiple cuisines and want to share lots of small plates with friends. There are grocery vendors, a toy shop, a stall with the largest selection of hot sauces that I have ever seen and more. 🇫🇷 Ending closest to our home at El Capitan theatre, I watched a movie from a balcony seat which took me back to the days of going to plays and musicals with my mom when I was a kid. 🎭 After perusing all the classic black and white Hollywood photos in the hallways, I was pretty much the last one to leave before seating for the next showing started and what was happening outside? Of course, setup for a movie premiere! 📽 Check out my Stories for video from all these stops 🚙 #everydayexplorations

Instagram post 2174114426247300928_116480

I’m excited to bring you two posts telling the story of how I partnered with @Ford and @LonelyPlanet to discover greater Los Angeles. #ad A map, that was painted as a mural on a wall just off Melrose, acted as the springboard for my exploration of the history and culture of my city. I traveled around from Highland Park to Hollywood to Downtown Los Angeles to discover and document five total spots represented on the map. Have you ever wanted to know more about the Mexican culture of Los Angeles or the historic theaters that often host the premieres for the movies crafted in and outside of Hollywood? Then you will enjoy what I have to share! I’m looking forward to sharing more tomorrow and here is a teaser from my journey, an image captured in an area that’s dedicated to celebrating, preserving and protecting the city’s past. Check out my Stories today and tomorrow for a deeper look into the whole journey with videos from the spots I found on the mural. #everydayexplorations

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Thrilled to announce I’m partnering with @passionpassport for their latest Instagram Challenge with @hoteltonight. The big question is - what role does spontaneity play in your travels?
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Are you a “fly by the seat of your pants” traveler or do you like to plan ahead? ✈️ Do you prefer your days to be all scheduled out? 📝 Or do you like to have the freedom of unplanned discovery that can lead to pleasant surprises? 🤔
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I believe not every journey should have a planned itinerary and I’ve come to think that way because most of my best travel memories were made in the space that a lack of planning provided. That’s why I was so happy to find out the theme for this particular challenge. 😍
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Head on over to the #passionpassport feed to see the instructions for how to enter and possibly win up to $2,500 in #HotelTonight booking coupons. I’m looking forward to seeing all your entries and picking a winner with my fellow judges. 🎉 You have until November 19th at 11:59 EST to show us your #PPSpontaneity 😉🤩 Good luck! 🤞🏼

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Living in California has given me a new perspective on nature. Both its majesty and inherent wonder but also its capacity for destruction as I’ve watched communities and lives all around our own home, affected by fire. When I took this photo many people assumed that’s what this was. In fact, it’s the effect of a 20 second exposure that captured the lights of cars as they drove through marine layer fog in Malibu Canyon.
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Yet just after I posted this, the same hills were engulfed in flames and a year later, it’s happening again not far from where I stood to take this and in many other places around California.
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I’ve watched my friends displaced from their homes and can’t help but feel grateful to our public servants like firefighters and first responders who walk right into danger to ensure the rest of us go to sleep safely at night and wake up safe the next morning. I know that by choosing to live here it’s probably not a matter of if but just when, I will have need of the same protection. And that’s ok. Living here has taught me the value of gratefulness and the importance of cherishing each and every day when it’s happening.
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If you’re a firefighter or first responder or anyone who helps keep others safe, thank you. If you know one, be extra kind to them, don’t take them for granted. And thank you too for supporting them because being their support isn’t always easy either. ❤️

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Unless memory fails me, I don’t think I‘ve been in a wine region during harvest. What a special time it was to be in Franconia! The region is large enough, the soil diverse enough and the physical landscape changes in such a way that harvest was just completed in some of the towns we visited with @germanytourism while in other locales it was still occurring. I noticed that harvesting by hand was more common than I’ve heard of in the industry at a larger scale, as were more traditional ways of processing grapes such as stomping them physically instead of using machines. The first image was taken in @hassbergetourismus where we went for a long walk in the rolling hills covered with vineyards, overlooking a valley punctuated by picturesque villages, and were able to see harvest taking place by hand before sitting down for a picnic lunch amongst the vines. What a magical experience, which I truly hope anyone who loves wine can have at minimum once in their life. To see the vines that grew the grapes that were in the wine we were drinking while talking with the people who harvested and made the wine, had an effect on the taste [for me] that is challenging to quantify. Though I’m realizing that as a photographer and storyteller, I value the connection to local people most of all while traveling. Now wine harvest is something I want to experience elsewhere to see how it might differ from place to place. After all, the same grapes can be used to make wines with such variety, the landscapes of wine areas can differ so much and yet the culture of the people who make wine can also have so many similarities. I think it’s like humanity as a whole, in that we have more in common than we like to think and I wish we concentrated more often on what unites us rather than what divides us. Speaking of that, the group I did this press trip with was made up of people from Sweden, the Netherlands, China, Slovakia and the USA. Many have already begun to publish their articles and I wonder, would you like me to link to some of them in Stories so that you can read them in your native language if you’re from any of those countries? I’m happy to do so! ❤️🍇🍷 #visitfranconia

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Instagram post 2182810379170891592_116480

I heard a rumor that there’s only a day or two left before the @secondhome_la Pavilion closes at La Brea Tar Pits here in Los Angeles. So if it’s something you’ve seen or heard about and you were waiting to go to, don’t wait anymore. I recently had the chance to see it when my dear friends @mumhad1ofthose & @descurran were visiting from London, and I was relieved to find it is free to enter. I’m always a fan of art that’s free for all to experience because it’s one of the most beautiful things in life. And while I understand it can’t always be free, when it is, it removes that barrier to entry and gives everyone the chance to be inspired in the way art can be inspiring and entertaining.
.
Anyway, the #secondhomela pop up “tent-like” structure designed by SelgasCano known as an art sculpture is part of Second Home which is a socially responsible British business with a belief that diversity makes creativity stronger. They create spaces that bring diverse groups of people together and that’s something I admire. While it has been here in LA, it has hosted live music, performance art, talks, dances and screenings. Their hashtag is #lovelettertoLA but they might as well say it’s a love letter to humanity and what can happen when we come together in a safe space where differences are celebrated and community is valued.
.
That being said, the co-working and private offices spaces that Second Home offers which are permanent are not exactly affordable. But this is a feed about travel and that’s another conversation for another day. If you’re traveling around Los Angeles this weekend, stop by the Pavilion before it closes and let me know what you think of it.... 😉💛
.
.
.
#kaguideLA #discoverLA #publicartwork #publicartinstallation #selgascano

Instagram post 2176344362756538433_116480

Didn’t sleep well last night after seeing my dear friend @neumarc’s Stories from a Venezia where there is a flooding event occurring, bringing high tides just shy of the devastating record-high “aqua alta” of 1966. St Mark’s Basilica is flooded. Which, before 2018, had happened only 4 times in more than 900 years. Or only 6 times total in 1,200 years depending on what and where you read online. 🙀 Because Marco is my friend, I worried for his safety and I still worry as the danger is not passed.
.
It’s stamped a much more personal note on a crisis that I’ve already been aware of and have been trying to do my part to combat. We can try to ignore it, we can choose to believe it’s not as bad as some say or even that we can’t do much to change things. But we can. And we must.
.
We all have hundreds of choices a day that, made the right way - can help make a difference. We can try to eliminate all single use plastic from our lives. We can fly less and take cleaner transportation when we do travel. ✈️ We can donate to organizations that plant trees which absorb co2 or even more importantly, give to organizations that protect old trees from being cut down since older trees absorb co2 more rapidly than younger trees. 🌳 We can vote in representatives and leaders that believe there is a climate crisis and that will fight to make laws and processes that will combat the problems. You can request that your energy supplier only use clean energy - something Danté & I have done here in California. 💡 We can unplug or power off our tech when we’re not using it. 🔌 We can choose not to waste food, grow our own food, eat less meat and buy local whenever possible. 🥬🥕 We can choose to walk, ride bikes or take public transportation instead of an Uber or Lyft. 🚲 We can choose to buy less and consume less. And so. much. more.
.
I know it’s not always easy to see how these actions might directly have a positive effect on lessening the occurrence of floods or wildfires. But they do. Research has proven that. We just have to choose to listen. And act. If not for ourselves, then for those we care about. ❤️

Instagram post 2174836192338859788_116480

Like I said yesterday, I partnered with @Ford and @LonelyPlanet to discover greater Los Angeles. #ad A map, that was painted on a wall just off Melrose, acted as the springboard for my adventures into the history and culture of Los Angeles. 🌴 My first stop was the mural which then led to Olvera Street, created in 1930 “to preserve and present the customs and trades of early California." Today the area boasts many vendors who are second or third generation sellers as well as museums dedicated to Chinese, Italian & Mexican heritage. 🇲🇽 Next I visited downtown’s Central Library, home of LA’s written history, beautiful rotundas and (when I was there) an exhibition of Ansel Adams photographs. 📚 Then Highland Park Bowl, home of LA’s oldest bowling lanes and a dynamic spot to just hang out. It has a bar area with a steampunk-meets-vintage-sports vibe. The restored lanes are backed by a stunning mural that looks like it depicts California’s iconic Redwood and Sequoia trees. 🎳 I was happy to see the Original Farmer’s Market was part of this map-based exploration since it is one of my favorite places to go where the French store Monsieur Marcel is usually my first stop if I am planning a picnic or want a bottle of wine for a special occasion. It’s also a great choice if you’re craving multiple cuisines and want to share lots of small plates with friends. There are grocery vendors, a toy shop, a stall with the largest selection of hot sauces that I have ever seen and more. 🇫🇷 Ending closest to our home at El Capitan theatre, I watched a movie from a balcony seat which took me back to the days of going to plays and musicals with my mom when I was a kid. 🎭 After perusing all the classic black and white Hollywood photos in the hallways, I was pretty much the last one to leave before seating for the next showing started and what was happening outside? Of course, setup for a movie premiere! 📽 Check out my Stories for video from all these stops 🚙 #everydayexplorations

Instagram post 2174114426247300928_116480

I’m excited to bring you two posts telling the story of how I partnered with @Ford and @LonelyPlanet to discover greater Los Angeles. #ad A map, that was painted as a mural on a wall just off Melrose, acted as the springboard for my exploration of the history and culture of my city. I traveled around from Highland Park to Hollywood to Downtown Los Angeles to discover and document five total spots represented on the map. Have you ever wanted to know more about the Mexican culture of Los Angeles or the historic theaters that often host the premieres for the movies crafted in and outside of Hollywood? Then you will enjoy what I have to share! I’m looking forward to sharing more tomorrow and here is a teaser from my journey, an image captured in an area that’s dedicated to celebrating, preserving and protecting the city’s past. Check out my Stories today and tomorrow for a deeper look into the whole journey with videos from the spots I found on the mural. #everydayexplorations

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Get social by following me on these platforms but make sure to engage so I can get to know you back!

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Small Business Saturday: What and Where to Buy

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Dia de Muertos: what it is and how to experience it in Los Angeles

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November 2, 2019

A Guide to Visiting Franconia

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October 7, 2019

Yosemite and Sequoia: Tips for Visiting these National Parks

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Genesis G80: test drive in California

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DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY | WEBSITE BY FURTHER BOUND | Portraits of Kirsten by Danté Vincent | COPYRIGHT © KIRSTEN ALANA 2008-2019