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.

On Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, @louisvuitton has

Just saw @ellenjoy26 & @an_uptown_girl’s #equalo

Just saw @ellenjoy26 & @an_uptown_girl’s #equalopportunityforphotos idea and I adore it. Feels like the old days when this was a photo sharing app only.

So here’s a recent photo I just really like. It’s how it captures a place that feels both European and yet so California at the same time that makes it for me in addition to also just being - I think - a lovely photo. This was captured during a hosted brunch with my partner on a side of town we rarely visit on a day we are normally doing errands. It was nice to venture further afield and surround ourselves in newness for a few hours.

The food was excellent too 😉 a true bonus 😋

📍 @cobis.la in Santa Monica

📷 Shot on @sonyalpha a7R II and 50mm f/1.8 lens

Several locals made my latest trip to Iceland give

🪷 Seven stages or steps will take you on a well

At 4 am on a summer morning in Reykjavík, it’s

At 4 am on a summer morning in Reykjavík, it’s as bright as it is back home in LA at 8 am. Unable to sleep because of the brightness through my hotel room window, I get dressed and head out to stroll the streets, camera in hand. The melodic chirps of birds greet me as I walk. Puddles of recently fallen rain reflect the charming, colorful houses of the greater Grandi area like gigantic mirrors. They make the streets subtly glow. Covered in their painted corrugated metal cladding with white trim the houses alternate space with gardens that overflow with tulips and queen anne’s lace. A Defender here, another Defender there. My dream home on one corner. A tangle of well-loved bicycles on the other. I pass no one and hear nothing but a sleeping city and the natural creatures that enjoy the freedom its slumber provides. I breathe deep of the cool, clean air - a mask always at the ready should I pass anyone, but never needed. I think of the long winters where this fantastic light is replaced with such endless hours of darkness that allow the stars to shine and the Aurora to take center stage. I wonder, “could I live here?” Just like I do in every place I enjoy, whenever I travel. Yet all too soon, it’s time to pack up and head home. To edit the photos, to write the stories, to make the posts I’ll share with you about this latest trip to Iceland…

I met so many amazing women when I was in Eugene,

This VW Karmann Ghia sits in front of a 1920s inn

Load More... Follow on Instagram

On Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, @louisvuitton has

Just saw @ellenjoy26 & @an_uptown_girl’s #equalo

Just saw @ellenjoy26 & @an_uptown_girl’s #equalopportunityforphotos idea and I adore it. Feels like the old days when this was a photo sharing app only.

So here’s a recent photo I just really like. It’s how it captures a place that feels both European and yet so California at the same time that makes it for me in addition to also just being - I think - a lovely photo. This was captured during a hosted brunch with my partner on a side of town we rarely visit on a day we are normally doing errands. It was nice to venture further afield and surround ourselves in newness for a few hours.

The food was excellent too 😉 a true bonus 😋

📍 @cobis.la in Santa Monica

📷 Shot on @sonyalpha a7R II and 50mm f/1.8 lens

Several locals made my latest trip to Iceland give

Load More... Follow on Instagram

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

Bastille Day Cocktail Recipes for my Fellow Francophiles thumbnail

July 14, 2022

Bastille Day Cocktail Recipes for my Fellow Francophiles

You’ll Now Have to Pay an Entry Fee to Visit Venice thumbnail

July 6, 2022

You’ll Now Have to Pay an Entry Fee to Visit Venice

Where to Stay in Southern Oregon thumbnail

June 28, 2022

Where to Stay in Southern Oregon

Grandi in Reykjavík – A Guide thumbnail

June 6, 2022

Grandi in Reykjavík – A Guide

San Luis Obispo and the Keys for Trees Program thumbnail

March 30, 2022

San Luis Obispo and the Keys for Trees Program

See where I’ve been, where I am and where I’m going next…

FEATURED BY

DISCLAIMER | PRIVACY | WEBSITE BY FURTHER BOUND | Portraits of Kirsten by Danté Vincent | COPYRIGHT © KIRSTEN ALANA 2008-2022