My family rarely traveled beyond the United States. Aside from road trips to Tijuana, various National Parks, and Crestline, we stayed close to home.

As a child, I frequently visited San Francisco and Palm Springs. After high school, New York City became a regular destination. But it wasn’t until my first flight to Hawaii that I realized travel could change how you feel. Waking at 5 AM—jet lag, maybe?—and diving into the Pacific made me recognize that a place could shift something inside you. And it did.

There’s no way to fully understand a place until you’ve been there. Everything else is just speculation.

Growing up in Los Angeles—and still living here, despite an eight-year stint in New York—I know this city intimately. Maybe too well. A trip to Bali in the ’90s cemented what I had been searching for: otherness. Something beyond American culture. Seeing a bare-chested woman balancing fruit on her head as she walked a dirt road in Ubud made me realize—I wasn’t in America anymore. Later, witnessing a bloody cockfight solidified that notion.

The heat and humidity never deterred me from traveling. I explored Bali, Australia, Europe, the Maldives, Mexico, Belize, and many other countries. For years, I made a tradition of celebrating my birthday somewhere new—Japan, Paris, Greece, Bangkok, Rome, Hong Kong. Perhaps it was the fatigue of the familiar that pushed me toward fresh scenery, new music, and unknown languages. Travel was never a burden; it was anticipation. Planning was half the fun.

I didn’t always have a camera. I missed what could have been an award-winning shot—Paris, 2015, Vogue’s 95th Anniversary Party at the Hôtel Potocki—and countless other moments where light shifted, people moved, or a car blocked the perfect frame. But I captured some that still feel timeless.

Some shots were taken with a 35mm camera, but most with an iPhone—often the better tool, especially when traveling. Photography isn’t just about the camera; it’s about how you see the world and the ability to capture fleeting moments.

It’s a game of sorts—visiting famous landmarks and attempting to photograph them differently. At the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, tilting my camera toward the vaulted ceiling revealed a kaleidoscopic masterpiece.

Travel creates stories. And every place has its own, as do the people you meet along the way. Engaging with a culture—its language, cuisine, and traditions—offers a unique, sometimes transformative experience. Travel can be exhausting—airports, delays, misplaced toll tickets—but the moment you step onto foreign streets, taste the local cuisine, hear the music, or see the art, all the hassles fade into the background.