Latest News + Work Updates: Slow but Steady

I realized I haven’t done a latest news post in awhile to update you guys on what has been cooking behind the scenes workwise. It has been a slow but calculated few months of freelancing. I’ve been pitching a lot less, working on a handful of higher paying assignments, and also getting work from editors reaching out directly (which I absolutely love and continue to appreciate).

Writing + Photography

If you’re flying with Malaysian Airlines this month, you’ll see the cover photo and feature on Odense, Denmark, in their Going Places inflight magazine. This was a last minute assignment which I thoroughly enjoyed and you can view a ton more images from photogenic Odense in my image bank.

I wrote an opinion piece called The Shots that Got Away for Four Seasons Magazine about lessons learned from photos that didn’t turn out as well as shots I purposefully didn’t take. You can pick up a copy if you’re staying at one of their fabulous properties around the world. I’ll also scan and upload it to my tearsheets section soon. You know I’m a huge fan of the Four Seasons brand. I’ve worked on a ton of assignments for them in the past including my favorites from Mauritius and Seychelles last year.

Been selling photos as well through my agency, National Geographic Creative, and I’m still in the throes of continually uploading photos which is a never-ending but rewarding task.

Upcoming articles – Several for Sweden.se, Delta Airlines, KLM Airlines, The Guardian, ELLE Decoration, National Geographic Traveler,  Duty Free Magazine 

Speaking Gigs + Interviews

Was part of the Skype Moments Sunrise Chat for Social Good series alongside Dylan of The Ripple Movement and hosted by Kasha & Marla of The Global Sunrise Project. My video interview starts at 1:55 minutes in.

Excited to be heading back to speak at TBEX – world’s largest conference for travel bloggers – this time in Bangkok, Thailand, in October. I’ll be speaking about how to improve your environmental travel portraits and interaction with people to get better photos. I may also be leading a photo walk to illustrate some of these concepts in the field in some of Bangkok’s most vibrant neighborhoods.

Oh, the photo below is from one of Stockholm‘s vibrant neighborhoods – Södermalm. I was running around town on a last minute photo shoot for KLM Airlines as well.

Partnerships + Projects

I was traveling around the Emilia Romagna region of Italy as part of their award-winning campaign and I got to spend time with wonderful creative souls and learn more about traditional gastronomy as well. I’ve been sharing a ton of articles and photo essays from my experience and have about 3 more in the pipeline so please grab a cup and explore them.

I also co-founded and launched the Nordic Travel Bloggers (NordicTB) collective alongside my fabulous friends, power women, and colleagues in the travel industry, Inna-Pirjetta (Finland) and Janicke (Norway). Check out some of the services we provide including designing and working on paid campaigns to help promote various destinations and experiences.

Working on a digital content project with MasterCard which I’ll share once everything is launched. Will be heading back to Gothenburg and exploring West Sweden’s shellfish journeys and local gastronomy as part of the Culinary Academy of Sweden this fall.

Also have various ideas in the works including developing a grant-backed collaborative project with fellow photographers and another product concept which requires working with an illustrator. And yes, I would  still love to put together those book ideas as well.

Which all brings me to the next section below…

Transitions + Time off

There are a couple (important to me) projects I really need time to actively launch and grow, and right now, I’m freelancing 100% which sucks up all my business time. What I would love to do is bring down my active freelancing to about 50% and work with 1-2 steady clients that will make up the remaining 50% so I can free up that time always chasing new work to get those projects (they have huge potential) off the ground.

That’s where you guys come in – If you know anyone who might need my creative skills, please get in touch. This would still involve me working remotely and doing what I love to do but in a more regular contributing writer/editor/photographer type role to free up time to launch those projects.

Anyways, I’ll also be taking some much needed and long overdue family vacation for most of August.

How are you guys doing? How are you spending your summer?