10 Creative Underwater Photography Tips 💧

Underwater photos are so dreamy! Even if you’re not a pro in the water or with a camera, you can still create beautiful photos underwater. It just takes a bit of knowledge and practice. Here are ten things I try to keep in mind when taking underwater photos.

~ Incorporate Flowing Fabric or Clothing

Part of what makes shooting underwater so magical is the movement. I love experimenting in the water with fabric and letting it swirl around me. You can play with dresses with long trains, skirts or use large cuts of fabric to achieve a similar effect.

~ Experiment with Poses

I’ve come to notice that poses that look good out of the water don’t always look good in the water and vice versa. Since you’re working with different gravity, try all kinds of poses that would either look crazy or be impossible to achieve on land. There is so much room for experimentation under the surface. Have fun with it.

~ Take a Split-shot

A split shot is style of photograph where the lens is half under the water and half above. To make it even easier to achieve, you can use a dome attachment for your camera. Opt to take a split shot when there are items of interest both under the water as well as above such as rocks, fallen trees, a mermaid or animal.

~ Play with Reflections

Keep your eye out for interesting reflections on the top of the water. Tilt the camera upwards a bit to get this area in the frame. Aim for a perfect a mirror image, however the swirls created with different colors and shapes look cool too.

~ Add in Effects

I love using bubbles, orbs, rainbows or sun rays in the apps Lightleap and Motionleap to make the photos even more whimsical.

~ Pull your Photos from Video

This is my number one tip. Since there is so much movement underwater between hair, fabric, floating leaves, bubbles, hands, legs etc. it’s hard to otherwise compose the perfect shot with all elements in perfect alignment. In the past, I would think I nailed a shot only to discover a bubble over my eye. Now, I simply video everything and pull the best photos from the footage.

~ Use Props

I actually don’t have a photo where I am using props, but I’ve seen many underwater Halloween and mermaid-themed shoots incorporating different accessories, props and outfits that playfully bring a creative vision to life.

~ Practice - A lot

Holding your breathe is hard work and so is controlling all parts of your face, body, clothing and hair to hold a pose while floating. Underwater photos are something I’ve had to really really practice, but its worth it!

~ Explore Caves

If you’re looking to create interesting underwater photos, consider diving deep and seeking out caves and crevices, especially here in Florida. These types of photos and videos are always so beautiful to see.

~ Look for Playful Natural Lighting

Depending on where you are and the time of day, nature may already provide beautiful natural light for you to work into your photos instead of adding it in post. Underwater photos with natural light rays are truly mesmerizing.

Writing this post has really inspired me to carve out that kid-free time in the water to practice both my freediving and my underwater photography.

How do you like to play with underwater photography?

Pick Your Own Fruit & Flowers at Southern Hill Farms 🍑🌻🫐

Picking your own tree-ripened fruit is a fantastic way to enjoy the beautiful spring weather, time outdoors with your loved ones and a healthy treat. We recently visited Southern Hill Farms, where we picked our own blueberries, sunflowers, zinnias and peaches.

Know before you go:

• Arrive early to beat the crowds and mid-day heat.

• Before visiting, check their website to see which crops are available.

• Southern Hill makes picking easy. You will be provided with scissors, cardboard boxes, buckets and bags with water to collect and store your fruit and flowers.

• Bring or rent a wagon for $8 to save yourself from tired arms and multiple trips to your car, which is not the ideal place to leave your fresh produce between pickings. The wagons are first come first serve, so this is another reason to arrive early.

• U-pick blueberries are $5/lb, peaches are $4/lb, zinnias are $1/flower and sunflowers are $2/flower.

• Pre-picked fruit and flowers are available for purchase along with green beans, zuchini, yellow squash and sweet corn.

• Flower field passes are required to cut your own flowers for $5 plus tax for guests 10 and older or $2 plus tax for guests 3 to 9.

• Reservations and tickets are not required for entry to the farm.

Let’s get picking!

I suggest you start with picking the peaches first. Compared to the blueberries, there are naturally fewer ripe peaches at a time but we were still able to find some ripe peaches high in the trees well into the late afternoon. Peaches are ready to be picked when they are soft to the touch, large, rounded and blood orange in color. This is important to remember as peaches will ripen, but not sweeten once picked.

Next, I would recommend picking the blueberries. Strolling through the blueberry bushes sampling the berries was easily my favorite part of the day. It was very peaceful and relaxed compared to my usual adventures swimming, hiking or kayaking. When picking blueberries, pay attention to the coloring. You want them to be deep blue/purple and avoid any that still have spots of red, pink or white.

This is my biggest tip! Pick your flowers last as they are extremely fragile. We picked our flowers first and the zinnias wilted quickly in the heat even in a jar of water.

Food trucks and a children’s area with bounce houses, jump pads, slides and carnival rides provided even more fun at Southern Hill Farms. I had an epic smoothie bowl from Absofruitly while the kids played. It was as delicious as it looked.

We had a blast at Southern Hill Farms & can’t wait to go back for pumpkin picking in the fall & strawberries in the winter!

Monthly Highlights: April 2021

It’s been quite some time since I’ve done a monthly highlights post. Thanks, Covid! I hope to bring this monthly feature back so you can see what I have been up to and get some inspiration for your own adventures. Here’s what I did in April of 2021.

~ Lukas Nursery and Butterfly Encounter

Scarlett and I wandered the grounds of Lukas Nursery, an extravagant garden supply store located in Oviedo. In addition to an abundance of beautiful flowers and trees, there is also an enclosed butterfly encounter on the property. Inside, you can feed butterflies from your finger tips. I’ve been to several butterfly gardens, but having a butterfly land on my finger is a new experience for me!

~ Silver Glen Springs

Silver Glen is one of my favorite springs to swim in, but this time I went arial to view the spring at a new angle. It’s so beautiful!

~ Marineland

We also took a family trip to partake in Marineland’s Dolphin Encounter. We had a blast! I shared more about this epic opportunity in this post.

I hope everyone had a wonderful month! What have you been up to?

Marineland’s Dolphin Encounter 🐬

Opening in 1938, Marineland was the world’s first oceanarium. Eighty-three years later, Marineland continues to operate as a favorite family attraction. Marineland offers several options for guests to learn about Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphins, sharks and turtles. Even more exciting, Marineland offers several options where you can get up close and personal with the dolphins.

We participated in the dolphin encounter where we joined the dolphins in their habitat to learn more about how they communicate and behave. The encounter took place on a raised underwater platform, making it ideal for those who do not wish, or are otherwise unable, to swim.  

During the encounter, a staff photographer took our photos and we had the option of viewing and purchasing them afterwards. Here are the photos after I edited them.

I love this pose as it looks like they are laughing and dancing.

The picture of Scarlett above looks like she is getting a dolphin kiss!

At the end, we were able to rub her back and belly as she swam back and forth.

Playing in the water with a real dolphin was fun for the whole family and we enjoyed making memories the kids will have forever! Marco couldn’t wait to tell all of his friends at school he pet a dolphin!

Thank you so much Marineland for having us out! If you are looking for a unique family activity your kids will never forget, I highly suggest you check out Marineland’s multiple animal encounter offerings.

The Essential Guide to Florida's Natural Springs

It’s no secret that I love the springs. I am often asked what my favorite spring is or if I can recommend a spring that fits a certain criteria. Living in Florida, I am lucky enough to have hundreds of springs to visit. With so many beautiful and unique springs, these are hard questions to answer! I usually respond with my quick suggestions and refer to the interactive springs map and my individual spring Instagram highlights, but I felt it was time to do one better and write this post that I can simply link to.

A few notes:

~ Please keep the health of the spring and the animals that live there in mind when you visit.

~ This is not an exhaustive list. This list includes only some of the more well-known springs. I also included some sinks on this list that I think are worth visiting.

~ If you are looking to avoid the crowds, want to skinny dip or discover springs not easily found or well-known, I highly suggest booking a guided springs tour for a unique, educational and personalized experience.

~ Under each photo are two links: directions (opens the spring in google maps so you can get the address and see how far away it is from you) and the official website (takes you to the spring’s website). Please refer to the websites for additional information including entrance fees, a complete list of amenities and hours of operation.

Please also note that due to the pandemic, not all springs are open for swimming or renting kayaks/canoes/tubes.

Map courtesy of Wanderlog, a journey planner app

~ Blue Springs State Park (Orange City)

Directions ~ Official Website

This was actually the first spring I had ever been to. I usually visit in the winter to see the manatees as hundreds of them seek warmth in this spring and it is quite a site to be seen. They also have a yearly manatee festival around the same time. Along the lines of notable wildlife, I’ve seen quite a few gators resting on these banks, which may or may not be your thing. Blue Springs has a very nice playground, a historical home you can peruse, a boat tour and kayak rentals. It’s a favorite place of mine to take a picnic.

~ DeLeon Springs State Park (De Leon Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

Deleon Springs is a spring that is set up more like a pool than a natural spring. This is a great spring for kids, but I find it less ideal for nature lovers who want to enjoy some beautiful views. They have a small waterfall, sugar mill ruins and are well-known for their make-your-own pancake breakfast. I would recommend heading to this spring early enough to be able to enjoy the pancake breakfast, a hike and a swim.

~ Gemini Springs (DeBary)

Directions ~ Official Website

This spring is not one you can swim in, but it’s a perfect spot for a picnic, fishing or taking your pet for a stroll while enjoying the views.

~ Alexander Springs (Altoona)

Directions ~ Official Website
Alexander springs is one of 33 identified first magnitude springs. To be classified as a first magnitude spring, the spring must discharge at least 100 cubic feet of water per second. Alexander is a big spring and seems to be the spring that everyone has visited. It’s set up like a large pool with a shallow side that is perfect for families, yet gets deep enough that you can actually scuba dive here as well. If I want to take landscape photos, this is not the place. If I want to take underwater photos, this is the place. The water is so clear! They have a few nature trails, a kayak run and camp sites.

~ Rock Springs / Kelly Park (Apopka)

Directions ~ Official Website

This is my favorite all around spring for the views. The rock formations around the head spring are absolutely breathtaking. You can really do it all at Rock Springs/Kelly Park. Walk up to the head spring and float down the natural lazy river, kayak, drone, or hunt for shark teeth. I would recommend this as a great camping and swim spot for families as the main swimming area has a shallow beach-type entrance. I would avoid it in the summer completely due to large crowds making the best time to visit early on a winter morning.

~ Ginnie Springs (High Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website
Most people have a love/hate relationship with Ginnie, especially after the Nestle water permit fiasco. It’s location near Gainesville, makes it a major party spring for families, college kids, and large groups. If you can get past, or learn to enjoy the madness, you will find that Ginnie has spectacular views including cypress trees and underwater caves. Just be forewarned it can be loud, pricey, and crowded. I would avoid it during the summer as the entire place seems to be over run with county music, irresponsible party goers and enormous floats. Sometimes, I’m totally into that and sometimes I prefer to enjoy nature more solitarily. Ginnie is is a very unique spring experience., but not one I would want to miss.

~ Silver Glenn Springs (Salt Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website
This is my favorite spring to recommend to people who haven’t been to a spring before. It’s a beautiful spring lined with trees and filled with fish! I haven’t quite seen anything like it. In the summer Silver Springs is such a good time.. The boaters line up and play music. Don’t worry, it’s large enough that there is still a area for safe kayaking and swimming. The nature path also has some cool sand boils I never get tired of watching. I would note that it’s not the best for younger children as there is not much of a shallow play/swim area.

~ Rainbow Springs State Park (Dunnellon)

Directions ~ Official Website

I adore Rainbow Springs and anytime I can pass through the area, I always make a stop. This spring used to be a amusement park/zoo and there are still some abandoned animal cages on the property you can check out, but the highlight of this park are the gorgeous waterfalls with total Bali vibes. I suggest heading down the waterfall walk, as I call it, then the butterfly garden and then jump in the cool spring or float down Rainbow River.

~ Juniper Springs (Silver Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

The spring area of Juniper is much like a pool with the big wheel and historical house. I highly recommend you take the nature hike all the way to the end where it appears to dead end and make that left to Fern Hammock, one of the most magical spots in Florida.

 ~ Wekiva Falls (Sorrento)

Directions ~ Official Website

This spring is a little on the pricier side and the smell of sulfur can be bothersome, but we have never had a problem visiting this spring. Arrive early to snag a spot at one of the tiki tables and let the kids enjoy the water slide. This spring also has a shallow end with a gradual beach-type entrance perfect for young children. The store here sells chocolate covered bananas which are a nice unique summer treat and there is often a dj hosting hula hoop contests. There is also a kayak run we like to stroll down.

 ~ Itchetucknee Springs (Fort White)

Directions ~ Official Website

I haven’t gotten to float down this natural lazy river yet, but it’s high on my list. This is such a peaceful beautiful state park. Every time I’ve visited it’s only been for a few moments, but there is plenty of fun and beauty to see here.

~ Royal Springs (O'Brien)

Directions ~ Official Website

I went on a spring hoping adventure a few years ago and found this location by searching ‘springs near me’. It looked nothing like the images on google and I was amazed with its beauty in person. Royal has a big platform you can jump off of and is probably my top favorite spring tied with Rock Springs. If you plan to visit, just make sure it’s not flooded, which happens occasionally.

~ Devil’s Den (Williston)

Directions ~ Official Website

Devil’s Den is very reminiscent of Mexico’s cenotes and is essentially a sink hole. This spring is a bit expensive, you have to bring full snorkel gear including fins or rent them on property and pre-schedule your hour and a half swim time but I highly recommend it as there are few places I’ve found quite like it in Florida. While you’re here, I recommend you visit Cedar Woods and Gardens which is located right down the road.

~ King’s Landing (Apopka)

Directions ~ Official Website

This was my location crush for 2020. While not a spring per say, the water from the rock spring run are magical! One side is more wild with gators and darker water and the other side has clear blue/green water. This is located next to Rock Springs/Kelly Park.

 ~ Gilchrest Blue State Park (High Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

I really enjoyed Gilcrest when I camped there one fall. The camping was very inexpensive and close to the water. I got to watch sunrise and sunset at the spring. This is a great place to kayak.

~ Ponce De Leon Springs State Park (Ponce De Leon Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

Not to be confused with Deleon Springs in Volusia County. I really liked how they had the most darling wall set up around the perimeter. We watched the tiniest snapper turtles in the clear blue water underneath us and walked a trail along the water.

~ Vortex Springs (Ponce De Leon)

Directions ~ Official Website

To tell you the truth, this was a strange place. I am not sure if it was just under serious renovations after the storms or if it just was a hodgepodge of randomness thrown together. I think it was a little bit of both I learned after my visit it is sometimes called Redneck Rivera. Apparently, there is a very deep cave and a sunken boat here so it might be worth a trip back to see those.

~ Morrison Springs (located in the city of Ponce De Leon)

Directions ~ Official Website

Morrison is so pretty! It was actually a very cloudy cool evening when I visited (sky is FAKE in the pic) but I’m sure it’s a fun place to swim /dive especially with the floating docks.

~ Green Springs (Deltona)

Directions ~ Official Website

You can’t swim here and the spring is very small, but I really enjoy visiting Green Springs once a year or so. The jade waters are so mystical looking and there always seems to be a baby alligator here. There is a little hidden waterfall on the property ss well. I like to do Gemini and Green on the same day as they are very close to each other.

~ Jackson Blue Springs County Recreation Area (Marianna)

Directions ~ Official Website

This spring’s water levels were extremely low and under renovations when I visited. There were a few people who had kayaked in and some were diving but it was eerily deserted and looked like a lot of the slides and life guard towers were unusable giving the spring a creepy post-apocalyptic vibe. I am very curious to see how this cave looks under the water. I will have to circle back to this spring once it’s back up and running.

~ Devil's Millhopper Geological State Park (Gainesville,)

Directions ~ Official Website

Not a spring, but a 120 foot sink fed by 12 seen and unseen springs. This park is so pretty and the water-filled sink gives off some really unique rainforest vibes. It reminds me of Green Springs in a way. No swimming, but plenty of trails and….steps! 

The following springs I haven’t been to in years or have not been to at all, so I don’t have to offer by way of opinion or photos, but they are on my list and should be on yours too!

~ Silver Springs State Park (Silver Springs, FL)

Directions ~ Official Website

Silver spring has kayaking with monkeys and glass bottom boat tours but no swimming. This is a great place to visit on a cooler day when you don’t need to jump in cold water after being outside for a few minutes. They usually host a Spring Fest here so that is usually when I visit this spring.

~ Weeki Wachee Springs State Park (Spring Hill)

Directions ~ Official Website

Weeki Wachee Springs is a popular tourist attraction with live mermaid shows, waterslides and river cruises.

~ Lithia Springs Park (Lithia)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Fanning Springs State Park (Fanning Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Manatee Springs State Park (Chiefland)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Hart Springs Park (Bell)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Little River Springs (Branford)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Madison Blue Spring State Park (Lee)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Troy Springs State Park (Brandord)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Lafayette Blue Springs State Park (Mayo)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Otter Springs (Trenton)

Directions ~ Official Website

~Wes Skiles Peacock Springs State Park (Live Oak)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Wekiwa Springs State Park (Apopka)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Salt Springs Recreation Area (Fort McCoy)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Levy Blue Springs (Bronson)

Directions ~

~ Poe Springs Park (High Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Convict Spring (Mayo)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Falmouth Spring (Falmouth)

Directions

~ Rock Bluff Spring (Bell)

Directions

~ Rum Island Spring (Fort White)

Directions

~ Warm Mineral Springs (North Port)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Wakulla Spring State Park (Wakulla Springs)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Werner-Boyce Salt Springs State Park (Port Richie)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Suwannee Springs (Live Oak

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Three Sisters Springs (Crystal River)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ Pitt and Sylvan Springs (Youngstown)

Directions ~ Official Website

~ 7 Sisters Springs (Homosassa)

Directions

~ Ellie Schiller Homosassa Springs Wildlife State Park (Homosassa)

Directions ~ Official Website

And that’s a wrap, for now! I plan to update this list and the information overtime, so check back and keep an eye on my stories for updates. Please feel free to ask any questions and tell me your thoughts on this post. I want this to be useful for everyone.

Exploring North Carolina’s Wilderness: Waterfalls, Caves & Mountains

It had been a dream of mine for the past few years to take Marco to see snow and stay in a cabin in the mountains with a hot tub. 2020 was a bust, but we finally made it in 2021 and I could not have been more pleased with how the entire trip turned out.

~ The Cabin

While not technically a cabin, it was absolutely the ‘cabin in the mountains’ I had dreamed of. The home was perfectly perched on the edge of a cliff and hidden up a winding mountain road that required all-wheel drive and two point turns to navigate. The drive up to the house was a little scary for me as I could see over the edge and straight down! Once we got to the top the views were breathtaking. The hot tub was just next level and we enjoyed it every night while watching the sunset over the mountains. It was the perfect spot for our family snow-cation.

Watch this video for a tour!

~ Scaly Mountain Snow Tubing

The main reason for the snow-cation was seeing snow. From my research, if this area was to get snow, it would be around the end of January, when we visited.  We did see some ice and frost/snow on the ground but it didn’t actually snow while we were there. We chose to visit Scaly Mountain, as they make their own snow and you can purchase a ticket for $30 for 2 hours of snow tubing. The line was long at first glance, but moved very very quickly. The allotted time is more than enough time for you to wear yourselves out if you visit.

This was the kid’s first time seeing snow so they were both excited to tube and make snow balls and we all had a blast. If you listen to Marco’s screams going down the mountain in the video above, you will totally wish you were there.

 
~ Linville Falls

Linville Falls was one of my favorite parts of our NC trip. I really enjoyed the icy hike to each look-out, with each view being more breathtaking than the previous. I really didn’t research this place before I visited. I just knew it was close enough to the caverns and was pleasantly surprised at the beauty of these cascading waterfalls.

~ Linville Caverns

This was my second time exploring a cave of this size. I love caves! They are all so different and I really enjoyed seeing the different structures and how they differed from Florida’s. During the tour, they even had us turn off all our flashlights and we stood there in complete darkness.

This is the fault line that goes across three states located inside Linville Caverns. A fault line is a fracture along which the earth’s crust has shifted. Thankfully, it’s remained inactive. I think it’s fasinating to look at. You can really see where the earth was ripped apart.

~ Deep Creek

We had a lot of fun chasing waterfalls, climbing and skipping rocks at Deep Creek. Depending on which trail you take, Deep Creek has a 2.4 to 5 mile hike along white water rapids with three waterfalls. During the summer, it’s a really popular tubing spot.

~ Soco Falls

As soon as I saw photos of Soco falls, I knew it was a location I did not want to miss. What makes Soco unique is that it is a double waterfall, where the streams of two waterfalls meet. Although beautiful, this might have been the most stressful part of our trip. The location was easy to find and not far from the road, however that path was covered in mix of snow, sludge, and mud. Part of the decent down to the bottom of the waterfall had some steps and then there was a lot of rock climbing and mud slipping while holding onto Marco with one hand and ropes with the other. Most of my body was covered in mud for this photo but I edited most of it out. I’d say Soco Falls is worth checking out for the views of icicles and snow around the waterfall and the adventure. Maybe visit in the summer to avoid the ice!

Enormous icicles on the side of a mountain is not something we Floridians see every day.

It was so nice to be in our little cabin with the kids and no electronics for a few days. We hiked during the day and at night cooked dinner, enjoyed the hot tub, had a fire and played board games. I will definitely be back! There are many more North Carolina mountains and waterfalls on my list to explore.

Have you been to North Carolina or is it on your list? I’d love to hear your recommendations for my next trip.

How to use Fiverr to Level-up Your Brand, Business or Hobby on a Budget

Search for Wonderland has been a rewarding creative hobby for me over the last few years. Thanks to Fiverr, the process of creating an online presence has been easier, quicker and more enjoyable. Plus, I love working with other creatives and supporting artists.

Fiverr is essentially the Amazon of services. Using the Fiverr app or website, you can hire a freelancer to assist you. One major benefit of hiring a freelancer is that they do that particular type of work regularly and have the expertise, desire and time to do a job that you may not. In some cases, it is more efficient to outsource a project or task to someone that already has the skills then to learn to master the skills yourself. Sometimes, there will be tasks that you just don’t like to do. For expample, I do not enjoy building websites from scratch, so I prefer to hire someone who does and spend my time on my photography.

Originally, Fiverr jobs were all only five dollars, but the services have a much wider price range now. Most prices are still relatively inexpensive and that’s another major perk of the site- it’s budget friendly! You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars for logos and a cool website anymore.

To find services, you can search by keyword or category or you can post a request where you essentially advertise the work you need done and the price you are willing to pay and freelancers can apply for the job. The latter comes in handy if you don’t know exactly what needs to be done. Say you come across an issue on your website you can’t quite figure out or don’t know the correct lingo.

~ General Fiverr Tips ~

• Be very specific with your instructions to keep revisions minimal, especially if you are charged for extra revisions. If relevant, provide samples of what you have already (like your logo), examples of work as inspiration and any color palettes or fonts you like.

• Speak up if you do not like something. You want to be 100% satisfied. Don’t be afraid you will hurt someone’s feelings.

• Always look for a freelancer who already has a similar style to you, don’t just purchase by price.

• The logo I thought would look good in my head, actually looked like garbage when it was designed, but the artist came up with the one you see currently and it was much better what I had envisioned. Give the creator some freedom in creating what they think might look good. They typically know what works in their field.
  

~ Types of Services ~

Graphic or logo design: I love having an idea for an image and working with a graphic artist to help me bring it to life. I’ve had logos, highlight covers, and all the images in this post created but you can get literally anything designed. Banners, custom stories, animated icons- you name.

Merchandise design: book covers, album covers, stickers, etc.

Printed media design: Digital PDFs, media kits, calendars, business cards, flyers, menus, etc.

Shout-outs/promotions : Yes, you can pay someone to shout-out your social media accounts to help you get exposure. There are lots of spammy ways to get exposure, but this one seems the least likely to use bots and get your account in trouble.

Web design: I had my website designed after I got bored trying to figure it out. I started it and had someone else breathe the life into it for me. Fiverr made my getting my website up and running super affordable as this can easily cost hundreds of dollars.

Website updates and troubleshooting : In the begning, I hired someone to update my site, install plug-ins and fix technical issues I had come across because it was quicker and more efficient than doing it myself. I highly recommend outsourcing this if it’s not your thing either as it saved my tons of time.

Your shop or mailing list: My entire shop page was designed, updated with photos, and linked to PayPal with coordinating purchase buttons for a nominal fee. It would have taken me days to figure out everything and I plan to do the same thing if I ever decide to make an email list.

SEO: Here’s a gig I haven’t used yet, but plan to. Since this is so important for growth, I want a professional to handle it for me.

Photo/video editing, animation, custom music, voiceovers, video intro/out to scenes: The options under this category are endless, so if you need any type of video, photo or audio creation/editing, Fiverr is your best bet.

Transcription and/or translation: Too time-consuming? Only speak one language? Someone on Fiverr can help you out.

Have you used Fiverr in the past to level-up your online presence, digital content or social media? I’d love to know your experience.

One-click Sky Swaps that WOW

I’ve written about the sky swap tool in this post, but I wanted to dedicate a whole post to this magical tool. Replacing a sky is a one-click fast and easy way to drastically enhance a photo.

There are plenty of other ways to edit a sky, but since I edit on my phone, this is my favorite way. I use the apps Light Leap and Motion Leap. They have a few editing options I suggest you play around with once you’ve replaced your sky including changing the ambiance of the whole photo, filling or removing sky and adjusting the horizon.

~ Here are some sky swap examples in action ~

~ The Sunset or Sunrise

Every so often I come across a photo with tones that would better complement the orange and reds of a sunset then the original sky. Faking a beautiful sunrise is also a great example of a ‘let’s not and say we did’ situation if you don’t feel like waking up early!

~ The Washed-out Sky

I love the lighting on a cloudy day, but gray skies don’t make the prettiest photos. This pic was shot in NC in winter and had a washed-out gray sky but you wouldn’t know it thanks to the sky swap.

~ The Boring Sky

Sometimes a sky is just boring. In that case, I choose a sky with lots of clouds to liven it up. In the example above, the sky takes up 2/3 of the photo and needed to be more detailed.

~ The Beach

I often change my skies in beach photos to make them a little bit more interesting. Usually beach photos have a lot of sky in them and I like those photos to look more whimsical and interesting.

~ The Extra Element

There are several sky options to choose from that include suns, moons and even birds. Choosing a sky with an added element can really improve the photo’s composition.

~ The Fantasy Sky

With these edits, it’s pretty obvious that the sky is fake, but these are so fun to edit. On occasion, I like to be playful and make a pink sky. It’s like lipstick, we know that’s not the real color, but it’s pretty.

Have you tried the sky swap tool?

Best Places to Visit in Florida in the Spring

I know what you’re thinking, FL doesn’t have a ‘spring’. The thermometer goes straight from the 50’s to the 90’s overnight, but hear me out! We can still enjoy some springtime activities before the waves of tourists and heat reach us. Here are a few of my favorite ways to experience spring in the sunshine state.

~ Botanical Gardens

Spring is the perfect time to view the newly blooming flowers before it gets too hot to be outside and away from water for longer than 20 minutes. Florida has an abundance of botanical gardens of all sizes for us to enjoy. If you plan to bring your camera, check out my post on creative floral photography before you go.

My recommendations: Ormond Beach Memorial Garden, Leu Gardens, Sunken Gardens, Ravine Gardens State Park, Sugar Mill Gardens, Washington Oaks Gardens State Park, Cedar Woods Lake and Gardens, McKee Botanical Garden, Bok Tower Gardens.

~ The Springs

Who is surprised to see this recommendation?! Once the weather warms up, the springs start to fill up with kids and giant floats again. Enjoy them now before the summer crowds. The options for fun at the springs are endless; kayak, snorkel, hike, scuba, freedive, swim, hunt for shark teeth or have a picnic.

My recommendations: All of them! Check out this map.

~ Butterfly Watch

Butterfly gardens are a fantastic way to experience an abundance of butterflies at once. This is how I capture almost all of my butterfly photos as the butterflies here aren’t shy and wont fly away if you get close. They are happy to pose for you while eating or resting.

My recommendations: Florida Museum of Natural History, Lukas Nursery (you can feed butterflies here!), Butterfly World, The Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory.

~ U-Pick Flower Patch

Nothing like wandering through fields of flowers or getting to cut down your own sunflowers. This is a wonderful Mother’s Day memory to make with your mother or your own children. There aren’t many in the state, but the photos and memories are worth the trip.

My recommendations: Sunshine Ranch, Sledd’s, or click this link to find a farm near you

~ U-Pick Fruit or Vegetable Farm

There seem to be crops available for picking in Florida almost year-round. Just check what’s in season. U-pick farms are a fun way to spend the day and then test out new recipes with your produce. You can make jelly, jams, juice and even wine, depending on what you pick. Eating fruit right off the tree is truly one of life’s greatest pleasures.

My recommendations: Vo-LaSalle Farms, Southern Hills Farms, Ever After Farms, DeLand Blueberries, Meadors Blueberry Farm, Artisan Acres, Far Reach Ranch, Pappy's Patch U-Pick or click this link to find a farm near you.

~ Aquarium

I love a good airconditioned aquarium to break up outdoor activities on a hot or rainy day. I’ve been to several and am always surprised at the unique exhibits, like the light-up moon bay touch tank at the Florida Aquarium.

My recommendations: The Florida Aquarium, Sea World, Sea Life, Marine Science Center, St Augustine Aquarium.

~ Visit the Baby Animals

I can’t leave baby animals off this list as a springtime activity. Nothing like new life, especially if it’s a cute baby animal.

My recommendations: Santa’s Farm & Christmas Tree Forest, Sunshine Ranch, Cowart Ranch and Farms, Harvest Moon.

All of these activities are great in any season, but I always get a renewed desire to explore and travel with the warmer spring weather and these are my go-to activities.

Do you have anything you would add to this list?

Texas Wellness Retreat

Last summer, I was hosted for a wellness retreat in Austin, Texas. I was able to completely customize the activities I was interested in and the hosts worked with me to create an activity schedule and menu based off of my preferences. I didn’t originally plan to make a blog post but wanted to document and share this experience. I also want to add that these are not my best photos and I casually took them all with my iPhone!

~The Hosts

Meet Brittany, Bridget, Connor, and Ilya.

I have been watching Connor and Brittany's Youtube channels and have been a member of their website for years. They primarily focus on coaching and creating content centered around subjects such as living a minimalist lifestyle, polyamory, sex education, creating authentic relationships, acrobatics, natural health and alternative parenting. I was introduced to Bridgette through their social media. Bridgette is a badass holistic health practitioner who specializes in nutritional therapy, healthy hormones, adrenal fatigue, stress and self care.

Learn more about them here!

• Conor McMillen

• Brittany Taylor

• Conor and Brittany

• Bridgette Wolleat

✨All the details✨

~ Accommodations 🏡

A private minimalist room with shared common spaces. Inside the room were the best goodies to play with during my alone time and included tarot cards, books, essential oils, an acupressure mat, a heating mat and a written retreat guide.

~ Activities 🏊🏼‍♀️

Since we are all big movement enthusiasts, we often started the morning with yoga, deadlifts, rings, box jumps, pull-ups, yoga and handstand training. I was pretty new to most of those moves but Bridgette and Brittany guided me through. Adventure wise, we hiked, climbed a treehouse, swam in the spring and creek, took a walk to view the sunrise in the meadow, and even saw some deer.

~ Coaching 🥗🤰🏻

My first coaching session was with Bridgette. After chatting about my dietary habits and preferences, Bridgette designed a nutritional eating plan that was aligned with my goals. She even put all the information into a presentation and emailed it to me in a PDF. This was so handy because I screenshot it on my phone for super easy access. I still use it to this day.

My second coaching session was with Brittany and we had our session outside on a blanket in the sunshine. Brittany has a lot of online content and a podcast going into depth about her natural pregnancy and at-home freebirth of Illya. If that interests you at all, I highly suggest you educate yourself on your options. That appeals to me greatly so I really enjoyed getting to pick her brain, run my concerns by her and learn about the process from someone who had also done her research, had experience ‘doing the thing’ and didn’t mind me asking her ‘TMI’ questions. I felt really at peace and excited to embark on that journey after our chat.  

~ Massage & Meditation 🧘🏽‍♀️

In their family, they take turns giving and receiving massages and they included me in this routine. Each one of them gave a me a massage for 20 minutes totaling a full 1-hour massage. It was heaven!

For mindfulness activities, we did breathwork exercises (new to me and powerful) and Conor narrated a guided meditation that was so profound I fell asleep!

~The Food 🥑

If I am doing well, I prefer a mostly raw whole foods plant-based diet, so the menu reflected that. I had so much fun learning and trying new recipes. The menu included veggie spring rolls, raw raspberry cheesecake, herbal coffee, natural Gatorade, mamey sapote banana nice cream, big berry smoothie bowls with all the toppings, a tropical smoothie bowl, cauliflower crust pizza with salad, date balls, and banana date cinnamon rolls. I want to give them such a big thank you for making all these amazing meals and drinks for me.

I had a blast doing all my favorite things with some truly badass and inspirational beings. I have some pretty alternative interests and ways of daily life, so it was so nice to be around like-minded individuals. It’s so fun to collaborate, learn from others and see how others are cooking their food, playing, adventuring, even parenting. I can’t wait to see them again!

7 Creative Floral Photography Tips🌺

Sping is finally here and so are our flowers in full bloom. The winter of 2020 was a long one, am I right? Seeing patches of wildflowers along the roads inspired me to put together this post with some of my favorite flower photos from adventures past.

Mother Nature does a fantastic job setting a picture-perfect scene with her alluring details, shapes, patterns, and colors. Despite the natural beauty found in nature, I have a few tricks I use to help my photos pop. Even though I am writing this post to focus on flowers, these tips can be applied to a variety of smaller subjects, especially mushrooms and butterflies.

~ Mind the Background

Remove any distractions from the background to create focus. In this original photo, there were pink flowers in the background that ended up looking like distracting pink dots. I removed them to keep the focus on the subject.

~ Blur the Background

Blurring the background always makes the subject appear crisper and helps your eye focus on the details no matter how small or intricate.

~ Add Water Droplets

Yes, I said ADD. I prefer to shoot in the morning when the natural dew is still visible. If not, I add the water droplets myself. I always carry a tiny spray bottle filled with water in my camera bag. I find the photos much more eye-catching when water droplets are added. I discovered this on accident when I was photographing one day in the rain and realized I loved the look.

~ Place an Element in the Foreground

Sometimes the added element can cause a framing effect, drawing your eye directly to the subject while also creating another level of interest. It helps if these elements are out of focus, even if you have to blur them in post. When shooting in nature there may be leaves or grass that naturally get between you and your subject. It’s not always possible to move them out of the way and you may prefer the look. You can always hold up a blade of grass, leaf, or petal in front of the lens to create this effect.

~ Fake it

Nothing wrong with pretending a flower from the florist is still growing like I did for this temporary tattoo campaign. I’ve been known to seek inspiration from flower shops, picking up a few blooms and staging a shoot.

~ Use Leading Lines

Leading lines are another way to draw your eye to the subject. These are easy to find since so many flowers can be found with long leaves or near blades of grass.

~ Add in Elements

There are dozens of phone apps or good old photoshop that can help you add in orbs, bees, butterflies, rainbows or snow for a more whimsical look.

I hope this posts inspires you to get out and get creative with your flower photography now that spring has sprung. If you use any of these tips, I’d love to see what you create. Have a w0nderful day!

8 Florida Experiences Even More Magical Than Disney

Despite this post’s title, I am not here to knock Disney. Disney is great in its own way, but if you’re like me, you may prefer exploring the magic of earth’s natural w0nders. Here’s a list of some of my favorite magical locations and experiences in Florida that are even better than Disney World. For more information, click the title to be directed to official websites.

Map created using Wanderlog, a trip planner

Let the magic begin!

~ Devil’s Den

Devil’s Den should be on everyone’s bucket list. Every time I think about it, I kick myself for not getting much footage from my visit. It was one of those instances where I got so caught up in enjoying myself that I forgot to document it! Devil’s Den is essentially a sink hole/cave filled with clear water, fish and even bats. It’s very reminiscent of Mexico’s cenotes. The way the light rays danced in the water was one of the most magical things I have ever seen. Snorkeling is by appointment only and full snorkel gear is required for entry and available to rent on site.

~ Fern Hammock

Fern Hammock was my very first ‘favorite place ever’ when I started visiting the springs a few years ago. The bridge is adorable and the area reminds me of an illustration from a page in fairytale. The water here is bright blue, with big sand boils, lots of turtles and fish. Just remember, there is no swimming here.

~ Rock Springs at Kelly Park

In my opinion, this is the most beautiful head spring. The rock formations and bright blue water could easily be mistaken as a tropical location. I suggest visiting Rock Springs early on a winter morning to enjoy the views unobstructed. Otherwise, this area fills up with kids carrying giant unicorn floats as this is the entrance to the lazy river. I’ve gotten a lot of questions about how to find the head spring. It is NOT located near the swimming area. You have to go to the right of that area and down a flight of stairs to get to the head spring.

~ The Florida Museum of Natural History’s Butterfly Rainforest

What could be more magical than butterflies? Inside this 6,400-square-foot screened exhibit you will find an array of beautiful plants, birds, turtles, fish, waterfalls and hundreds of free-flying butterflies. What I love about the butterflies here is that they are not shy and will allow you to get close enough to get some great shots while they are feeding off of flowers, resting on leaves or eating from one of the butterfly feeding stations. Be sure to check the museum’s website and calendar for scheduled butterfly releases and cold weather closures.

~ Bioluminescent Waters

Yes, this photo is awful, but they all came out like this. 🤷🏻‍♀️ Did you know you can only see bioluminescence in six places in the entire world? This glowing phenomenon is created due to a chemical reaction that causes cone jellyfish and bioluminescent plankton to illuminate anytime the water is disrupted. The coolest part was seeing fish appear as blue lines darting underneath the water’s surface and sometimes jumping out! It’s so dark out there you can view the stars, Milky Way and planets.

~ Cedar Wood’s Lake and Gardens

This is my favorite botanical garden in Florida. The multi-level trails are lined with endless flowers, statues, bridges and waterfalls wrapping around this central pond. Complete with cats, swans and koi fish, Cedar Woods and Gardens has it all. It’s actually located right next to Devil’s Den if oyu wanted to make a day trip of it and walk around the garden and then cool off in the spring.

~ The Fairy Doors at Leu Gardens

Every fall Leu Gardens hosts their annual fairy door art display. Over 20 fairy doors are displayed throughout the garden. They are easy to locate as a map is provided with the locations of each door as well as the story of the fairy behind it. This was so fun to take Scarlett, (5), to. Just remember to look up, down and all around because some doors are in very clever spots.

~ Rainbow Caverns at Florida Caverns State Park

Most of this park was destroyed by recent hurricanes. Luckily, the caverns are still accessible by a guided tour. The underground cave system features many different rooms and lighting set-ups like the rainbow effect pictured above. It was really interesting to learn about the history behind the discovery and formation of the caverns. It’s not every day that we happen upon caves in Florida that aren’t accessible only by diving. Just make sure you arrive early to book your tour in person.

Did you know Florida had so much magic outside of Disney World? What experiences or locations would you add to this list?

City Guide: Savannah, GA

Savannah is actually my favorite city. From my home near Daytona Beach, it’s about a 3.5 hour drive, making it an easy weekend or day trip. You can find a little bit of everything in Savannah; including ghost tours, a wide variety of history, beautiful nearby beaches, museums, unique shops, nightlife and delicious southern food. For reference, Savannah is very similar to Charleston or St. Augustine. Depending on the activities you plan to partake it, you can find fun for all ages.

The following photos were compiled from multiple trips to Savannah to create this quick city guide. I plan to add additional photos and recommendations to this list in the future, so feel free to bookmark this post.

This map was created with Wanderlog, an itinerary planner

~ Where to eat ~

Savannah’s Historic District’s open container legislation allows you to carry alcoholic beverages so long as they are in a 16-ounce plastic cup. So grab your to-go cup while exploring the city from River Street to Jones Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard to West Broad Street.

A friend had recommended Huey’s on the River as she had loved their lobster bisque. Long story short, it was not on the menu when we arrived, but the chef said he could make a crab bisque using what he had in the kitchen. The final result was the perfect combination of crab meat, fresh tomato slices and lemon rind with a creamy base. We also shared the Oysters Norman drizzled with remoulade sauce over a bed of sweet coleslaw and sprinkled with applewood smoked bacon bits – all delicious!

Savannah Sweets serves traditional southern candy at it’s finest. Stop in to sample the ice cream, fudge and other sweets. My top recommendation is the pralines. Even if the pralines here are not really world famous, they should be.

The Funky Brunch Cafe is a hip establishment with fun decor and offers a delightful southern-style breakfast. I recommend the grit bowl with shrimp, steak and lobster pictured below.

Little Duck Diner’s chicken and waffles also came as a recommendation to me. I had never tried this popular southern pairing. I was surprised to learn they mix hot sauce with their syrup and that it actually tastes delicious as strange as it sounds.

Leopold’s Ice Cream has been in business for over 100 years. The lines tend to get a bit long in the summer, but it’s totally worth the wait. I love the lemon, coconut, and lavender flavors.

The Collins Quarter makes a lavender mocha coffee that is to die for. I order it cold in the summer and hot in the winter. What’s makes The Collins Quarter especially unique is the marble to-go window styled after Melbourne's historic Collins Street.

~ What to do ~

The Paris Market is hands down my favorite shop anywhere. I’d described it as a giant cabinet of curiosities, with both new and vintage goods sourced from all over the word. I love spending at least an hour in here looking at every little detail and taking 100 photos. I truly believe there is something for everyone in this shop and you never know what you will find. I also pick up my favorite Marche de Macarons from the bakery case here.

The Savannah Bee Company is another shop I always make sure to visit. They have all kinds of honey and honey-infused edibles, candles, coffee and body care. The Royal Jelly body butter in original is the best smelling thing in the store. Individual honey samples are provided, and if you’re lucky, you will get to try the ingenious combination of crisp green apples, cheese and honey. My boyfriend is obsessed with honey loves Acacia honey while I love the lavender. They also have an online store we order regularly from.

I always stock up on a few soaps from Nourish while I am in Savannah. Nourish displays an array of bath, body and home products in their adorable shabby-chic storefront. The glycerin soaps are my personal favorite and all smell delicious.

Explore the City

Walk through the city’s 22 squares to learn more about Georgia’s history and enjoy the views of fountains, statues and historic homes.

Take a stroll through Forsyth Park. Forsyth Park is one of my favorite spots in Savannah. It’s a perfect spot to take a private yoga class, walk your dog, catch some live music or performers, play a game of soccer or bring the kids to play on one of the two playgrounds after shopping. They also have a quaint farmers market here on Saturdays where you can take your pick of fresh vegetables, breads, local honey and even fresh watermelon juice.

Visit Bonaventure Cemetery, located only three miles from downtown. I would like to just note that the Bird Girl statue, famously depicted on the cover of the book ‘Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil’, can now be found at Jepson Center for the Arts.

Savannah is darling city where you are guaranteed to have a w0nderful time.

City Guide: Charleston, SC

This is a collection of photos I compiled into a quick city guide from my solo trip in 2019. I have since been back to most of these locations but did not take updated photos.

This map was created with Wanderlog, a journey planner

~ Where to stay ~

I would recommend this Airbnb. The rental included the full second story master bedroom and bath on a beautiful property. The home, which was also inhabited by the family that owned it, was surprising very quiet. The hosts were super accommodating and even served me a delicious home-cooked breakfast before I headed out in the morning.

~ Where to eat~

🦞🥪 167 Raw had been highly recommended to me. I ordered the oyster poboy to-go so I could walk around the city market before my ghost tour, hence the car shot. I’ve eaten a lot of food while traveling and this was one of my most favorite things I can remember eating. I can’t recall what the sauce was but it was very unique and worth the wait times at 167 Raw.

 🦀🍤 I stumbled across Amen Street Fish & Raw Bar on my way back from a guided photowalk I had participated in. I chose a quiet corner spot in the back and enjoyed the sampler: oysters, shrimp cocktail, clams and muscles. It was so fresh and came with an assortment of dipping sauces. I’ve since gone back and had this again!

🍋🍰 Across the street from Amen’s is Carmela’s, a cafe & dessert bar featured in many magazines and publications. The lemon tarte was to die for. It had a sweet crust layered with tangy lemon curd and vanilla whipped cream. I’ve had this twice now and highly recommend this shop as they have a super unique dessert menu.

~ What to do ~

Take a cemetery or ghost tour- I love to do this when visiting a new city. They are essentially historical tours with a macabre twist. It’s a great way to get to know a city. Charleston is a very old city with a lot of dark and fascinating history. Look for a ghost tour that will take you to grave sights, frequent ghost haunts and famous murder/death locations like Philadelphia Alley pictured below.

Join a photo walking tour and explore the city. I love photo tours because you can enjoy a guided tour from a local, a history lesson and a photography lesson while also having your photo taken. Bonus points for supporting a small business or individual. Charleston is a charming city and has some beautiful architecture. The window boxes, wrought iron and brick work are very well-known Charleston characteristics. It has a more mature and sophisticated, but similar feel, to New Orleans or Savannah.

Visit the Battery. The Battery is a landmark defensive seawall named for a civil-war coastal defense artillery battery at this location. It’s a beautiful area for a walk with the water on one side and beautiful homes on the other.

Visit the historic City Market in downtown Charleston. The market is an old flea market filled with performers, music, and lots of specialty, handmade and novelty items. Walk on through the open-concept market and enjoy the atmosphere of downtown Charleston.

Have you been to Charleston? I’d love to hear about your favorite places to visit.

Exploring Florida’s Panhandle: Caves, Waterfalls and Springs

I took a short road trip from my home through the panhandle. Here’s where I visited.

~ Falling Waters State Park

This 73- foot waterfall is the tallest in Florida and actually a sink hole. There are many other enormous sinks on the property as well as a large lake perfect for fishing and a few trails. The waterfall’s flow was considered to be low on the day we went so there’s not an enourmous stream but enough to get a little splashed on you from the platform.

~ Florida Caverns State Park

These caves are awesome! I was surprised to see how many ‘rooms’ there were all with different shaped structures. The colored lights make for a really interesting experience and really add to enhance the natural shadows, textures and shapes of the cave.

This is the only Florida state park with air-filled caves open to the public. You must book a tour in person to enter the caves. Our tour was about an hour long and due to Covid, the capacity per tour is ten people.

The caves are truly fascinating and our tour guide explained the history of the cave as well as how the structures form and what they were made of. We were even lucky enough to see two tiny sleeping bats and a salamander.

There is a little museum and gift shop on site that we checked out while we waited for our tour. As far as the rest of the park, it’s pretty much completely destroyed after hurricane Michael and not accessible.

~ Merritts Mill Pond Caverns

I am not entirely sure that the name of these caves are, but they are located off Merrits Mill Pond and usually only accessible underwater, however are newly exposed due to renovations. The river is drained and dammed, so this trip was super muddy as the river is extremely low in most areas and is pretty much just mud for many yards near the banks. I think it was absolutely worth the mud to see these beautiful limestone caves and literally go inside the aquifer. We launched at Cave Adventueres in Marianna and also rented a kayak from them. It was about a 10 minute paddle from there. I highly suggest you try and make it out there as soon as possible because I believe it’s filling back up and I am not too sure if this will ever be accessible in this way again during our life time.

~ Ponce De Leon Springs

Not to be confused with Deleon Springs, this spring was super cute. I really liked how they had the wall set up around the perimeter. We watched the tiniest snapper turles in the clear blue water underneath us and walked a trail along the water.

~ Blue Spring Recreation Park

This Spring was also extremely low and under renovations. There were a few people who had kayaked in and some were diving but it was eerily deserted and looked like a lot of the slides and life guard towers were unusable giving the spring a creepy post-apocalyptic vibe. I am very curious to see how this cave looks under the water but we did not swim on this trip.

~ Vortex Springs

To tell you the truth, this was a strange place. I am not sure if it was just under serious renovations after the storms or if it just was a hodgepodge of randomness thrown together. If Joe Exotic had a spring, it would be this place. This view was pretty but virtually nothing else on the property made any sense. That’s all I am going to say! Apparently, there is a very deep cave and a sunken boat here so it might be worth a trip back to see those in the summer.

~Morrison Springs

Morrison was also a really nice spring I am sad we didn’t get to swim in or drone at. It was actually a very cloudy cool evening when we visited (sky is FAKE in the first pic) but I’m sure it’s a fun place to swim during the summer especially with the floating docks.

~ Falling Creek Falls

I really loved this waterfall! It’s about ten feet high and accessible from a free public park on a very short trail. I did have to jump and climb down to get these photos but it’s a beautiful view and feels more like the mountains than Florida especially with the fall foliage.

And that wraps up my panhandle trip. I definitely saw my share of springs, waterfalls and caves.

I hope you had a w0nderful month!

My Top 5 Favorite Airbnbs 🏠

Since quarantine, I have been going through the thousands of photos on my phone. It’s been fun to look back on the places I have been and thought it would be fun to put together this post for others with the travel itch. I personally love staying in unique Airbnbs and have written a few posts about Airbnb including how to find and chose the perfect Airbnb and an informative Airbnb vs. hotel pros and cons list. For this post, I’ve rounded up my favorite Airbnb recommendations.

~The Treehouse at Danville

This Airbnb is my current favorite. This yurt treehouse is located on a property with several other Airbnb rentals including an airplane glider with games, planes and cars and a more romantic style yurt. The treehouse is located accross from the goat pens where goat happy hour is hosted every night at seven.The treehouse was furnished with almost everything we needed to barbecue premade kabobs and enjoy some chips and quac. There was even a super fun outdoor elevator to take you between levels. I had gone to this location for a fun romantic night away and I got exactly that. We spent the majority of the evening listening to music in the hot tub and swinging on the swings after exploring the rest of the property by golf cart. The next morning, I enjoyed an outdoor shower with a frog! This is definitely a cool spot to chill and let lose. The owner, Dan, has a special sign you can switch out if you happen to be enjoying the hot tub and do not want to be disturbed or visited. I recommend the treehouse if you want something similar to camping but with a few more accommodations.

~ Glamping '60s Style with a Romantic Outdoor Bath

This was the cutest little travel trailer and the outdoor bath was a dream come true. This space is actually in the backyard of a larger home also listed as an Airbnb rental. Inside the camper is the perfect amount of space for any personal items, breakfast, a big comfy bed with lots of pillows and a record player. The outdoor bath was surrounded by beautiful netting, plants, twinkle lights, candles and the sound of the birds. Don’t worry- this area was completely hidden from others and even had a door. To add to the retro vibes, the guestbook here was an instax photo on the fridge. When we arrived, we walked around the neighborhood but it was too muddy on this day to take out the kayaks that were also available on property. We had a big fire in the yard before enjoying Savannah’s nightlife instead.

~ Luxury Mansion - 10 steps to Bourbon Street

This Airbnb convinced me to go to New Orleans after being introduced to the city’s history in American Horror Story’s Coven. It is just beyond luxurious. Nicknamed the "French Quarter Mansion", these luxury lofts have been converted from an 1820's french colonial mansion. This particular apartment featured 18-foot ceilings adorned by TWO crystal chandeliers, wooden ceiling beams, a 7ft gilt Victorian mirror, original exposed brick walls & marble floors. To say they paid high attention to details is an understatement. There was even a bottle of champagne in the fridge and spa bathrobes and organic toiletries in the bathroom. Being ten steps from Bourbon street would also be nice if you plan on visiting the many local bars and want to still be able to make your way back to your Airbnb safely.

~Screen Writer's Nook with Private Porch

This is an older house with separate rooms and shared common spaces. I stayed in the writer’s room during a solo trip and it was perfect. This darling old southern home had so much charm and the beauty really was in the little details. The doorknobs and even the light switches were beautiful and the hosts left plenty of goodies and a very informative guide book on the bed. The room featured a twin bed, a writing desk and a huge window that opened up to a private second story covered porch with rocking chairs. It was the perfect place to enjoy a southern rain storm and relax.

~ Smokey Mountain Escape

How about these breathtaking views of this cabin in the mountains I rented for a family snowcation in North Carolina’s Smokey Mountains?! Epic doesn’t even begin to describe it. It was a total dream! We all loved this location, perched on the edge of a cliff up a winding mountain road that required all-wheel drive and two point turns to navigate. There is something I love about being somewhere new, but being somewhere with novelty; the mountains, the cold weather, making s’mores around the campfire, big mugs of hot chocolate, an indoor fireplace, family game night, watching the mountains change colors as the sunset and the hot tub, is what I really desire. This was a full home rental with a master bedroom on the bottom floor and a loft style bedroom with two beds upstairs, perfect for children. We had everything we needed to cook, do laundry and enjoy endless family entertainment without electronics. You can not go wrong with this Airbnb rental.

There are so many cool places to rent on Airbnb from treehouses to house boats and I can’t wait to add to this list in the future. I’d love to hear which Airbnb would you most like to visit and what are your favorites you’ve already visited.

Have a

w0nderful day!

How to Create an Eye-catching Instagram Grid

I love playing around and planning my Instagram grid and the layout my photos will appear on my profile. Unfortunately, Instagram success is not just about the quality of your individual photos. How your photos present together on your Instagram grid is also a big factor in attracting and keeping followers. Since Instagram is essentially your digitally curated portfolio/gallery, you want it to be well-planned and visually appealing so your account stands out as a whole.

~ Creating a Consistent Aesthetic ~

• Choose an overall theme. Is your account going to feature landscapes, beauty products or food photography? This is important because people will want to know what to expect from you and be able to identify your genre right away.  You want to avoid having jumbled uploads with no clear vision of what your account is about. You can think of your genre as your an area of expertise. What type of information and content do you want to be known for? Your followers should know exactly what they can expect from your account.

• Nail down your featured subjects. It took me a bit of trial and error to figure out what I wanted to share with the world. As much as I love food photography and could fit that in with my travel content, it doesn’t have a place on my grid, so I focus on nature and outdoor adventures with springs and mushrooms being my favorite subjects.

• Hone in on your editing style. If your photos aren’t similarly edited, your grid won’t have a cohesive feel. You want all your photos to have the same overall look or vibe. The best compliment I receive is when people can recognize a photo of mine before they see my username. That’s what you want to aim for. I think your editing style will come naturally with time and experience but I suggest you experiment with filters and presets to help facilitate the process and use your favorites on the majority of your photos to achieve that unified look.

• Choose coordinating color palettes and tones for your uploads. You want your feed to have consistency when it comes to colors and tones. This creates a cohesive flow to the grid even if the subjects are otherwise different.

• Upload photos that look good together. This is where a planning app can come in handy. You don’t want to have a black and white photo next to a vibrant photo next to a moody sunset photo. Remember, you want your grid to flow. Keep in mind the subjects and colors/tones of each photo when organizing them. You don’t want to have too many similar photos together such as too many photos with trees in them or the same mushroom from three different angles in a row.

• Carefully plan your transitions. You don’t have to stick to one color theme forever, you can totally cycle through themes. When doing so, you just want to do so gradually, paying very close attention to the tones of your uploads. For example, the photos below were saved in my planning app until I transitioned the grid into more of an autumn toned theme. When transitioning colors, say from blue to green, post your last mostly blue photo, then several that have equal parts blue and green and slowly transition into green that way.

~ All about Grid Layouts ~

A grid layout is another way to help your grid flow. I usually like to follow some sort of grid layout, or upload pattern, to avoid too many similar photos uploaded too closely together. The layout typically focuses on the main subject or tones/colors of the photos and I tend to use a lot of checkerboard patterns. I find the checkerboard pattern to be the most appealing and is easy for your eye to follow.

• Alternate shooting persepectives and subjects. Don’t post five flower photos in a row. The grid is much more appealing when there is an alternating pattern. In this grid layout, I alternated landscape photos with more macro shots with similar colors and tones.

• Similarly, I experimented with this layout rotating a six day pattern but staying with alternating prospectives. I used the following formula - flower, kayak, butterfly, landscape, a mushroom for #mushroommonday and a video. Eventually I found this hard to maintain as the general colors and tones were hard to harmonize.

• Alternate colors. For this grid pattern I ended up with a lot of photos that had a purple subject so I alternated those with some similarly toned shots.

• Alternate photos with a human element with ones that lack the human element. In my opion, too many selfies or travel-style photos can be a little much unless that’s what you specialize in. If that’s the case, just make sure you alternate your poses well enough so the grid still flows nicely.

• Experiment with the seasons and holidays. It’s hard to do this in Florida where we don’t fully experience the warm tones of autumn or the stark whites of a winter landscape, but I love seeing season or holiday-specific themed grids.

~ Utilizing Planning Applications ~

There are many Instagram planning apps out there, but I really enjoy using Planoly. This helps me schedule, visualize, organize and store my photos, stories and captions for future use.

Planning apps show your most recent Instagram uploads as well as ones you upload to the app allowing you to see exactly how your grid will look. You can move the photos around into an order that is most appealing and upload them straight from the app to your Instagram account or schedule for them to go live in advance.

• Upload all your Instagram- worthy photos to the app. Even if your epic sunset shot doesn’t fit your current theme, upload your Instagram-worthy photos to the app for later use so they don’t get lost and forgotten about in your archives. Since you want to curate your grid as best you can, it’s ok to have some time between shooting and posting. It’s totally fine to hold off on posting for the sake of a cohesive grid.

  For example, my feed currently consists of mostly green jungle-esq vibes but these photos have more of beach theme so it wouldn’t make sense to upload them just yet. I can save them in the app for another time when they will fit in better with my grid’s theme. Having them there is also a reminder that I need some more beach shots.

• Use place holders. Sometimes, the photos in your photo bank just wont flow and you will need to use a place holder until you upload a photo in its place. I love that Planoly allows you to upload and label colored placeholders so you know what type of photo needs to fill it’s place. I use a different colored place holders to represent different types of photos. For example, black placeholders are usually a macro shot and blue is usually a landscape. I plan upcoming shoots based off of which placeholders need to be filled next.

Like I said, I have a lot of fun playing with my grid layout and am not afraid of experimenting and switching it up. I hope this post was helpful for you and feel free to contribute your tips, tricks and preferences below.

I hope you have a w0nderlful day!

Top 6 Photography Mistakes & How to Fix Them 👎🛑

This whole post is cringeworthy for me, but I had to find some examples of the most common photography mistakes I see being made. I honestly still make some of these mistakes myself, so don’t feel bad if you do too. Luckily, they are easy to fix and avoid all together with a little bit of mindfulness.

Over or under saturation / unnatural skin tones~

Just look at how unnaturally green this foliage is! The skin tone is also terribly off. It’s really easy to get carried away and amp up (or down) the saturation making some colors look totally off. I end up making this mistake a lot when trying to really bring out the blue spring waters or when adjusting greens that have a tendency to easily get too bright and neon looking. If you find yourself doing this often, try to save the photo before posting it and then come back to it at a later time with fresh eyes. Take your time while editing to make sure you haven’t adjusted the colors so much that they look unnatural.

Not removing ‘junk’ from your photos ~

Sometimes a photo would just look better if you edited a few things out before sharing the final image. Some examples of things you might want to remove from a photo include people, trash, signs, fences and rope barriers. In the example above I should have removed the warning sign on the railing. I use the healing tool in Snapseed most often to simply recreate over any unwanted elements.

Poor composition ~

Check out this post for more composition tips as poor composition is the quickest way to kill your photo’s potential. This was a video still I pulled from a GoPro video shot by a child. Maybe you can tell, it’s got my feet cut off and it’s blurry.

Not paying attention to the background ~

This is the best example I could find of a photo with a background that is a little cluttered. Sometimes, you can blur the background, but a simple change in your angle while shooting is all that’s needed to easily improve the background. Just be mindful when shooting and look behind your subject for other people or elements that take away from the main subject or add too much visual clutter. You also want to make sure there is nothing behind them like a tree that might appear to be coming straight out of someone’s head.

Not editing your photos at all ~

It’s probably the photographer in me, but it pains me to see friends posting unedited images. I can’t help but look at them and think “if only they cropped it”, “if only they applied a quick preset or increased the details it would be that much ‘ better’ of a photo.” A little bit of editing can act as fairy dust even on poor quality mobile phone photos as seen above. I would suggest reading this post where I share some of my top mobile phone editing techniques so you can learn to improve your photos easily and quickly.

Blown out or over-exposed skies ~

Sometimes, I end up with a great photo and a sky that is over exposed and looks white or has a weird glare. I’ve shared this tip before, but replace the sky! You can do this easily in the Pixaloop or Quickshot apps.

I hope these tips help you improve your photography hobby. Have a w0ndeful day!

Monthly Highlights: July 2020

Through July 2020, most businesses remained open, but not without many changes due to Covid-19. Establishments almost always required to enter, had closed many amenities such as restrooms, swimming facilities, shuttles and certain exhibits and limited their capacities and hours of operation. Traveling kind of stinks right now, but I still managed to get out and about on some local outdoor adventures this month.

Rainbow Springs ~

I can never pass up an opportunity to enjoy the waterfall walk at Rainbow Springs. Not all were in working order on this day, but it was worth walking up at 5 am to enjoy the sounds and sights of the waterfalls before the crowds.

Texas Wellness Retreat ~

I flew to Texas for a personal health and wellness retreat. We hiked around Austin, swam just outside Barton Spring and Lost Creek, experimented with movement and ate delicious plant-based food. We did all the things I love! I consider this trip to be a huge milestone for me as I flew alone for the first time and during a pandemic. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity to connect, play, learn and be inspired by Brittany, Bridgette, Conor and little Ilya.

Bio luminescent Kayak Tour~

This is not my photo. I was graciously given permission to repost it from bioluminescenceflorida . Thank you for letting me share your beautiful capture..

One evening after sunset, Evan and I headed out on the water to experience the Bio luminescent glow caused by a special species of plankton. This was such a trippy adventure! I was completely unable to capture it with any of my cameras but the glow produced when the water was disturbed is unmistakably bright blue. It was most visible where the front of the kayak met the water as well as with each paddle but the real beauty was seeing bright blue lines dart under the water’s surface and jump out. These blue lines were fish! They looked like blue lightening under the water. I’ve never seen anything like it and it was truly mesmerizing. We enjoyed our hour and a half long paddle under the stars, seeing the Milky Way, Saturn and Mercury. I highly recommend this adventure as it is truly one of a kind.

King’s Landing~

This month, we took another trip King’s Landing. This time we did a bit of the left side, which is the more wild side. We saw lots of turtles, birds and a few gators.

Rock Springs~

Rock just has the prettiest head spring and it was nice to enjoy the scenery without the crowds since swimming here had been closed. We took advantage of the rare opportunity and got the drone up for some people-free pics.

That wraps up July. I hope you had a w0nderful month!

Monthly Highlights: June 2020

June saw a lot of businesses reopening after being closed due to Covid 19. While we did venture away from home, we tried to find activities with minimal contact with others to reduce any possible exposure to the virus.

~ SEA LIFE Orlando Aquarium

Here in Florida we are in our season of daily afternoon thunderstorms, so this aquarium was the perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon. Although this is a smaller aquarium, it’s home to more than 5,000 sea creatures. I’ve been to a few aquariums and was surprised to still see some unique exhibits at Sea Life. There were special glass bubbles the kids could crawl into and stand up in to view the aquariums as if they were inside the tank, a shoeling fish ring room that almost looked animated, a color-changing jellyfish wall and the only 360 ocean view tunnel in Orlando. As stated above, this is a great indoor activity if you are looking to avoid crowds and Florida’s weather.

~Devil’s Den

I’ve wanted to go to this spring for so long! This location was first on my bucket list and I’m so glad Evan and I got to complete it together for his birthday. Devil's Den is one of the most prehistoric places in North America and is essentially a sinkhole that opened up to expose a spring. We had a blast snorkeling and observing the cavern-like structure, but I think the dancing rays of light under the water were my favorite part. If you plan to check it out, make sure to bring full snorkel and fin gear in order to gain access to the swimming area or rent them on site.

~ Mushroom Hunting

Since we have had so much rain lately, mushrooms were everywhere at Devil’s Den and Juniper Springs. Evan and I had a fun walk through the woods hunting for mushrooms and trying to get to Fern Hammock before the rain. I love when I find a new mushroom because I get to send it off to a Florida mushroom identification group on Facebook. I’m not sure why I have such a fascination with mushrooms. I just think they are so whimsical looking and fun to find. They aren’t super common all times of the year, so each one I come across feels like such a treasure.

~ Fern Hammock

We did make it to Fern Hammock and all the way back to our car before the skies opened up. Fern Hammock is one of my favorite spots in Florida because it’s just so peaceful and blue. It’s surprising, but I have never ran into anyone while out here.

~ King’s Landing

King’s Landing has been my location crush for a while. It was on my bucket list for 2020 after seeing so many photos of these gorgeous blue-green jungle waters. I can’t wait to go back with the drone. This is one kayak run you would not want to miss.

~The Drone

Evan decided we needed a drone and we did! He got the Mavic Mini and it’s a blast! We can’t wait to take it over some springs.

Now that June is coming to a close, Florida has become even more of a Covid hot-spot so we are back to laying low for a while. We will still make our best attempts to find a balance between protecting ourselves and others while enjoy nature. I hope you had a w0nderful June!