Given everything we've been through in the last year as a result of COVID, our experience of what it means to go on vacation may be colored differently but that doesn't mean we can't still enjoy traveling. I get it. Everything feels different because there’s more loops to navigate than ever before, but they’re all preventative measures that benefit everyone so we can recapture the joy of what it feels like to going somewhere new or revisiting old spots that mesmerized us the first time. 

For the past three years, my wife and I have set aside four days in the Fall to visit a location that meets 4 criteria: it’s logistically easy to get to, has gorgeous beaches, wonderful food, and provides enough downtime for us to enjoy each other's company without the kids.

We've previously visited Cartagena, Colombia with our full family and had a fantastic time, but traveling with a large family and with children changes the dynamic in comparison to how quickly a party of 2 can move from point A to point B, so for that very reason we returned but this time just the 2 of us and I wanted to share some photo of our experience. 

In no particular order, here's a few of our favorites places in which the food was absolutely delicious:

Eateries: Buena Vida Marisqueria Rooftop, Rosa Mezcal Taqueria, Pezetarian, Pascal, La Brioche, DKP Restaurant Bar

Lodging: NH Cartagena Urban Royal

Colombia is one of those places where you don't just see the sights, but also feel them, and while you might be inclined to spend your time exploring the culture and people on a bright sunny day, you'll be surprised at how equally charming the town is once the sun has set.

My wife and I went out to dinner one night, and to really appreciate the fact that we had an entire 4-days to ourselves without the kids, we toured the streets of Cartagena at night, avoiding any guilt we would have felt if the kids had been with us.

We are not responsible for whether or not anyone can afford us. We are only responsible for the service/product/value we bring to that client. Don't be afraid to be expensive.

It took me a bit to figure out this one. I used to think that if a potential client contacted you to inquire about your service and decided the price was too high during the conversation, it meant we'd automatically not be booked for nothing else. Lowering your prices seemed to be the answer but eventually I realize that regardless of how great your work may be, you have to be content with knowing that your service will not be for everyone and it's up to you to respect that by not devaluing what you already offer.

Whether we like to admit it or not, we sometimes enjoy making the simplest task more difficult because it's easier to blame the many loops it would have taken to finish it if we don't succeed. I'm guilty of this, and I'm reminded of it whenever I feel overwhelmed by the want to do too much of what's eventually important for me to advance my photography business. When this does occur, I'm reminded of this by Brad Stulberg:

"You can’t hide behind simplicity. You have to show up—day in, day out—and pound the stone. Do the work. Rest. Progressively make it harder. Tweak as needed. Repeat. Nothing complex about it. It is as simple and as hard as that."

Few portraits I managed to capture of Aimee as she was visiting New York over the Summer. We tried several times to align our schedules, but the process of preparing everything became too hard, so one day on a whim, without much planning, we decided to just meet at her apartment without having to deal with a lot of the things that were preventing us from meeting.

Hijas del Mar was born at the beginning of 2018, as a non-profit initiative that seeks to unify and empower women and girls who practice surfing in El Salvador. I had been communicating with founder Suri prior to my visit to El Salvador this year and I had the pleasure to attend one of their practice session at Puro Surf Academy in El Zonte, La Libertad.

View the rest of the photos of my evening spent photographing such an amazing mission.

To make a difference, we need the practical empathy to realize that the other person doesn’t know what you know, doesn’t believe what you believe and might not want what you want. We have to move from where we are and momentarily understand where they are.

If there's one thing I've learned from working in retail for more than ten years and meeting so many people thanks to my camera, it's that understanding is the final thread that binds us all together. There is no harmony without comprehension, and without harmony, your ability to appreciate individuals is severely limited.

Seth Godin always has the remarkable ability to put into few words the most thought-provoking thoughts.

I’ve known of Alex for quite some time before I actually had the opportunity to meet her at a fitness event I was hired to shoot in Union Square, New York more than 4 years ago.

When you Follow individuals online, it’s easy to imagine that what you see is all they do but like anything in life, there’s a lot of balance going on beyond the screen that we don’t often see and it’s the opportunity to chat about that as we collaborate together that I rejoice in because I learn more about myself by learning about other people’s experience. 

Working in retail has taught me a lot about social interactions because I can tell you that the photos stem from that and not the other way around.

In between family vacations in El Salvador, I was able to arrange a meeting with Salvadoran stylist René Valdivieso. He's become one of the most prominent social media celebrities, so it was a true honor for me to meet someone who is always generous, amusing, and straightforward in everything he does, which explains his appeal.

We happened to be staying at a neighboring hotel in San Salvador near his hair salon, which made it even easier for us to meet. I'd want to emphasize that strangers are simply friends we haven't met yet, and you often don't realize the influence meeting new people may have on your life until you realize that they are guests in our story, just as we are in theirs.

There wasn't much to work with during quarantine in terms of fitness equipment unless you already had it. I had a set pattern for getting to the gym at 6 a.m., and when that was taken away, I was left with possibly the most intimidating piece of gear in the gym which was the only thing I could get my hands on via Amazon. I was familiar with the kettlebell but was unsure on how to properly use to simply mitigate the chances of getting hurt with it.

I ultimately gained comfortable with it, to the point where it's the major piece of equipment I use to test my body, thanks to many Youtube videos, patience, and a few bruises. With that stated, I'm always fascinated by trainers who have honed their ability to maneuver such a large piece of machinery, which leads me to Collin who's a complete master at it not just at Dean CrossFit but where he gets the opportunity to challenge himself with it.

I was in Miami a few weeks ago for a shoot that lasted only a day. I arrived in Miami at 9 a.m., and my flight back to New York was at 6 p.m., but I managed to meet up with Rachel Mariotti, a professional mental health counselor and personal trainer located in Miami, before my flight. The most surprising aspect of the rendezvous was riding around on the back of her Vespa scooter, hoping to find the perfect location for a photo session. Rachel was someone I knew while she lived in New York, but we never met until recently.

“You don’t need a logo, you need a story.”

For the most part, everybody we've grown to like has done so because they've influenced a section of our lives that we didn't realize needed nurturing. Their ideas, and viewpoints have enlightened us, so we eagerly anticipate what they have to say and accomplish. We've grown enamored with them, rather than anything flashy they employ to sell themselves.

I can't tell you how much time I've spent sprucing up my website with the intention of keeping it new, but where I frequently fall short is expressing more of who I am as a person, my narrative either via Tweet or Instagram. Fortunately, I can always count on Zach Tyler's succinct but insightful Tweets to remind me of what's more important, and what's more likely to make us relate with individuals we haven't met yet.

I have a few Apple ecosystem subscriptions, but one that I look forward to the most on a monthly basis is AppleNews+, partly because of the vast number of magazine publications that you can quickly devour without danger of physically hoarding any of them.

I tend to pay more attention to magazines like SHAPE, Women's Health, Men's Health, Men's Journal, and even Outside Magazine because they all cover the types of subjects I enjoy photographing. The intriguing aspect of it all is that with each new edition that hits the digital stands, there's a good chance that someone featured in the magazine is a personal trainer I've shot with in New York.

This time in the June/2021 issue of SHAPE Magazine, I was startled not just by someone I know and have worked with, but also by the fact that the photo used in the issue to showcase Erika Hammond was a picture of her I shot in 2019 at Rockaway Beach which I was completely ecstatic by.