Bali

Bali Indonesia has been on David’s and my collective bucket list as long as we’ve been dating. With about 33+ hours of airport lines and plane seats (everyone’s favorite, right?) before even arriving, it was always a little hard to find the time we were able to dedicate to the travel alone. When considering options for our honeymoon, it was the obvious choice.
Our typical travel style is adventurous and gritty, spending very little time in our lodging, and probably ruining at least one pair of shoes on any given trip. This one was a little different, and it was perfect. We rented a villa near Singaraja for the first 5 days, and the thing had everything we could have possibly wanted from a private infinity pool, to open air dining (open air everything if I’m being honest) with an insane view of the sunset. We took our time on this trip, enjoying each other’s company, the space we were in, and the local area without worrying about how much we could fit in or how many photos I should take. We had amazing food, swam in banyumala falls, and visited a coffee plantation complete with tasting.
The last few days, we ventured south to Seminyak, enjoyed yet another awesome villa, the city life, and the Bali Sea. I wore next to no makeup the entire time, and loved every minute of it.

Things you should know about going to Bali:
- The roads are insane. Most are actually paved better than Michigan roadways, but with curves, three or four abreast scooters, and narrow lanes, we were beyond grateful that our driver knew what he was doing, and we didn’t have to.

- The food is excellent, and you should definitely go for spots off the beaten path. David’s favorite dish was nasi goreng, a fried rice dish. Mine was definitely cap cay, which is a soup filled like heck with amazing fresh vegetables. Order with satay for sure.

- It’s okay to be where the tourists are, but feel free to explore some of the lesser known areas. Our one wish was that we had more time to seek out the less popular waterfalls and views, there is so much to see!

After the hecticness of the summer, and all the work that never seems to seem less than urgent, it was an incredible time and I got to spend it all with my favorite person, and my lifetime adventure buddy.

Until next time Indonesia, thanks for the memories.

Up North p.2

The second half of the northern adventure was just as splendid. 
We made a one night stop in Marquette that included the most amazing discover of Dia De Los Tacos! No lie, the best taco truck I have ever found in my life, and discovered completely by accident as David and I stopped for gas. Sadly I have no photos of this beautiful thing, as my hands were quite full of tacos and not cameras. 
I wish I could tell you I'm sorry. 

We then made our way to the porcupine mountains where we stayed in a yurt one night to escape the rain. I have to say, I've never felt quite so much like a millennial in my life, but no judgement! It was dry, and was right off of the beach which made for the perfect excuse to climb out of bed at 5:30 am to watch the Michigan sunrise. 

The following night was right back to tent camping. There is some evidence that tent camping might not quite be ideal for ones sanity or sleeping habits as the last night before heading back across the bridge, David spent a good hour or two staring into the woods with a headlamp, and a hatchet in each hand confident he heard a bear. Right when we were debating whether we should sleep in the car, or drive through the night, a tiny black rabbit hopped out of the trees, and up to our campfire. 
David paused for a moment before saying "I'm willing to admit.... The bear may have been a bunny." But let me tell you what, I have absolutely every confidence that this man would have had the situation well in hand regardless of the intruder. He's pretty awesome. 

The finale of our trip was an afternoon spent on Mackinac Island eating way too much fudge, as trolls are meant to do. We know our place. 
Overall, being without cell reception was super refreshing, and I would encourage any person who hails from the mitten state to explore the gorgeousness that is the upper peninsula!

- Esther

Up North p.1

It's crazy to think how often we Michiganders forget there's practically a whole other world right in our backyard.
This camping trip was everything I didn't know I needed until we were out there with the mosquitos, pasties, and more stars than I think I've seen anywhere. It was perfect. 
There were way too many photos to try and fit them all into one post, so there will be another half of "hipster stock photos" coming soon!

Favorite campground: Lake Kingston. You have a ton of property to play on, and we could hang our hammock right on the water. What more could you want??

Favorite beer discovery: David and I are a little divided on this one, but my favorite was Woody Wheat from Austin Brothers, and His was Yooper Ale from Upper Hand. Both amazing, and links are in the gallery. 

Favorite camp coffee: Kalamazoo Coffee Co. Backpackers Blend as always. 

You'll have to wait on part two for dining recommendations (spoiler alert, I think we found the best tacos in the 50 states) and BTS stories such as the "Bear incident". 

Until next time!

- Esther

Adventure time

Hello all! 
As I've mentioned before, I place a lot of value on travel. 
Seeing and doing things with the people I care about is something I've always cherished, but never took the time to really do until about a year ago, and now I'm scrambling to make up for lost time. 

This trip isn't exactly what we had in mind when David and I started planning it eight months ago, but the weather around the world right now between forrest fires and hurricanes isn't something I could've predicted. Instead of our original destination, we decided to take a week and a half in one of my favorite places on earth: Northern Michigan. 

It may not sound as exotic, but I am unbelievably excited, and can't wait to discover things that were under my nose this whole time. 
If you don't hear from me due to lack of cell phone reception, no worries! I'll get in touch as soon as I can, and there will be loads of adventure-y photo things coming your way :)

- Esther

France (and Ferraris)

Yeah, this is the part where I make high pitched noises of excitement. 

As I said before, I was brought along this European adventure as the travel photographer, but here's the reason why:

I had the honor to travel with a group of exceptional, hardworking people. They decided that experiences are worth the investment, and that led to plans for a supercar road trip from the South of France to Milan, Italy. 
After all the planning, and arrangements they felt that it would be a shame to go through an experience of a lifetime without a photographer to capture it, and I am incredible humbled that they allowed it to be me. 

*Happy dance*

I've been into cars ever since Top Gear stole my heart almost eight years ago, and this was a literal dream come true. 

Iceland

When I was asked to be the travel photographer for a super car road trip through France and Italy, the answer was a clear yes. I'm always, always up for travel, and who in their right mind would turn down the opportunity to eat that much gelato?
But when they added in the intention to do a "pre-trip" stopover in Iceland and Ireland, I was beyond excited. 
There's an otherworldly beauty you'll find in Iceland, and my one regret is that we didn't get to stay long enough to shoot more of it. 
There's definitely another trip here in the future. More road-tripping, rye bread ice cream, and definitely more Skyr. 

-Esther

 

Poland P.1

Unexpected. 

If I were to choose one word to describe Poland, that would be it. 

This incredible place was nothing like I was anticipating, and I haven't stopped telling everyone who gives me a conversation opening exactly why they should add this one to the bucket list. 

The whole crazy idea came from a text message exchange with David (My supportive, sweet, and quite insane boyfriend) as I sat editing photos:

D: "I love you"

Me: "Aw, I love you too!"

D: "Do you want to go to Krakow with me?"

Me: "... Obviously."

There was no previous talk of trying to plan this trip, but if I've learned one thing through dating this spontaneous gentleman, it's that coming up with excuses not to do something is far too easy, and you end up looking back with missed opportunities in your hindsight. 

So the tickets were purchased, and the plans were made! The timing ended up working out perfectly as, after our week in Poland, I would be spending some additional time shooting for a travel brand in Europe (more on that later). 

Our first few nights were spent at the coolest little hostel right in Old Town. As much as Air BNB is life, you meet the coolest people from all over the world at hostels, and I wouldn't trade that for any hotel.

The food: AMAZING. 

I cannot stress this enough. All over the city you can easily find outdoor cafes serving some of the freshest, most well prepared dishes I've had anywhere in the world. I will be including restaurant recommendations in part 2 of the Poland blog... I need to share this information with the world.

I'm missing this place already, more photos soon!

- Esther 

Adventure time

Guys, I'm bad at blogging regularly. 
That goes without saying. 

That being said....

We take a break from our regularly scheduled wedding gorgeousness to bring you some news:

My favorite human, David, and I are leaving for Poland in a week. 
I can hardly believe it, I'm beyond excited, and it's only the beginning. 

I will be making my way through parts of Europe from May 16 through June 2nd shooting everything under the sun, from gorgeous hostels in Krakow, to super cars and yachts in France. This is an opportunity I never could have dreamed of, and I can't wait to share the images with all of you! 

I Needed This

"That's absolutely insane" I thought to myself, "How on earth can it have been eight months since I've last seen my sister??"
In addition to family time, it had also been eight months since I had leisurely walked through a grocery store, been to the gym for longer than twenty minutes, and really had time to take a trip that wasn't work related. 

Something had to change. 

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy my full time job, that the people weren't amazing, or that it wasn't beneficial to my growing as a photographer, but I needed to take a long, hard look at the quality of life that working 60+ hours a week really left me. Having work ethic is important to me, but I would so much rather dedicate that time to getting to know my clients, delivering edited images more quickly, and building relationships with the awesome community of Kalamazoo that I am blessed to call home. 
So, here we are! Entrada Photography was re-branded with the passion, and desire to share the stories of each of your journeys, as well as letting you hear mine. I can't describe to you exactly how excited I am to get to know the amazing people I have the honor to photograph. My hands are trembling, and it's finally not from an excessive amount of coffee!

Blog things soon!
Photo things soon!
ALL the things!

- Esther Tuttle