Back for our Mui-Ne-versary.

“In Vietnamese, the nickname for a person’s life partner is “my home”. So, for example, if someone is asked, “Where is your partner?” they might say, “My home is now at the post office.” If a guest said to someone, “That meal was delicious. Who cooked it?” they might answer, “My home prepared the meal” meaning “My partner cooked the dinner”. Every one of us is trying to find our true home … [and] when you’re in a loving relationship, you and the other person can be a true home for each other.” (- Thích Nhất Hạnh)

Grateful to be back in one of our favorite places on this earth, Mui Ne, the land of fairy streams and fairy dreams // layers upon layers and gradients upon gradients of fairy dust // where our off-the-beaten-paths to private sand dune worlds and secret beaches still remain.

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Home Again in Saigon.

In April 2018, I headed to Vietnam for my first ever sponsored health disparities research / humanitarian photography work trip. It felt like such a personal and professional milestone, to get to go back to Vietnam and do what I love for a place and community that I also love. It was also my 10th trip back to Vietnam in 11 years. That very moment I touch down on land never stops feeling special, like I’m arriving home again and again.

First stop: Saigon.

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Late Winter at Bald Head Island.

Late winter beach trip / vastness & emptiness / iridescent hours / from the beach world to jurassic marsh world / sea textures during l’heure bleue / the earth is like a child that knows poems by heart.

[Travel Diaries from Bald Head Island, NC | March 2018]

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A Friend and his Horse.

Yesterday I got to photograph one of my best friends with his best horse and all the photos hilariously came out looking like they were from a fwd truck ad series. Hope y’all are ready for your Davey & Charles 2018 calendar.

[Travel Diaries from Portland, Oregon | February 2018]

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Research Storytelling in El Salvador.

In November 2017, I took a work trip to El Salvador for a research site visit and a humanitarian photography gig. It was my first research storytelling job based in Latin America for a project very parallel to my dissertation topic. The project, titled “The National Evaluation of Quality of Childcare in El Salvador”, focused on improving the caregiving environments for vulnerable children by effecting changes within childcare centers and orphanages.

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Finding My Ikigai While In Santa Monica.

There’s a Japanese concept that I love called ikigai that means “a reason for being” or “a reason to get up in the morning.” According to Japanese culture, everyone has an ikigai. Finding it often requires a deep and lengthy search of self, but it’s usually a sweet spot made from a combination of four things: what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs.

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Marigold Garlands For Healing.

“In the end, only three things matter how much you loved, how gently you lived, and how gracefully you let go of things not meant for you.”
I lost one of my best friends this week. I’ve cried more in the last week than I’ve cried in the past ten years. I’ve hugged loved ones longer and tighter than I ever have before. And yet, throughout this full-on grieving process with our close circle of friends, I’ve also experienced such a healing new depth of love.

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