Our first conversation was about photography. When Danté saw me pull out my iPhone to take pictures using an app he’d never seen, he reached out in conversation and we each found a shared passion that would be the early in-road which helped to bring us to where we are today.
We plan our vacations, his time off from a demanding office job, around places that are very photogenic. We’re each in love with Instagram and the editing app: VSCO. We both prefer places that are warm, over those which are cold.
So when it came time to plan his latest break from the grind, one idea kept floating to the top of every discussion: a road trip through the western USA, hitting a National Park or two along the way.
We settled on Zion National Park and a tour through Upper Antelope Canyon. And for good measure: a jaunt around Southern California.
We’ve been dating for more than a year but this was the first time that our shared passion for photography not only brought us closer together but also reignited a spark for adventuring that had begun to dim for me. Because I travel for work, it’s work. And taking photographs on those trips is often more about satisfying other people’s requirements than it is about fulfilling my own desires. Side effect of turning something I love into my job.
Watching Danté in action and collaborating with him on places we should go, pictures we would take together, or of each other….
it reminded me of our first tenuous days toward love, our first trip together (to Paris), our first conversations where the words tumbled out of our mouths at a rate that’s funny now. So anxious were we to get to the really meaty, good stuff, to share life together.
Well, we share it now. And it’s one of the greatest joys of my life to share a thing I love so much with a person I love so much.
Here are but a few of Danté’s photos from our road trip because in going through our collective library, there’s something about the way he captured our journey that I like far more than the way in which I did. I know you’ll love his images as much as I do. You can follow him on Instagram or check out his Grid to see more.
Zion National Park, Utah
Horseshoe Bend & Upper Antelope Canyon in Page, Arizona
Malibu, California
Santa Monica, California
Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, California
Getty Center, LA, California
Griffith Observatory, LA, California
Lastly, a photo he took of me in front of my favorite wall in Venice Beach and one I took of him in downtown LA…
Can you see the passion for the places we traveled to in his images? When I look at them I fall for those places all over again and already I want to return. // All images were processed by Danté in VSCO on the iPhone 5 but taken with his Sony A7 camera.
Please tell Dante that I love the pictures – they’re beautiful! I think that’s one of the beauties of photography – each picture, when captured with such passion and thought, can instantly transport you back to that moment in time. I have to admit that I’ve shed a (happy) tear or two every time I look through my collections of favourite pictures.
Thank you, Pauline! I did let Danté know. That’s very kind of you to say. I’m so glad you enjoyed the photos.
I loved following along on your trip through Instagram- and these are even more beautiful!
This person thinks your photos are even more beautiful than mine. You’re killin it babe!!
xoxo
Thank you, Elena! I am so glad you liked my photos and these by Danté of our trip.
What a great mixture of places and photos. I especially loved the American Southwest! The wind-swept canyons as well as the out-of-the-way places are so neat! Love your photos!