My love for travel photography began at age 19. I boarded a plane with an Eddie Bauer daypack, passport, and the manual Pentax I bought with my first paycheck at age 16. I ventured to North Africa by way of Rome. I then moved myself to Paris, where I lived, worked, and studied for the next many years. In that time, I slept on an open rooftop in Santorini for $3, "hitchhiked" on the bridge of a freight carrier bound for the Turkish coast, and traveled Ireland for a week by bus for less $200.

Those times of freedom and adventure — not safety and comfort — are the happiest of my life. 

I aim to own little. I travel anywhere — full gear in tow — in a single day pack. My philosophy is travel light, try strange foods, and make friends along the way.

I was raised a Gen X latchkey kid in a solid middle class home in Southeast Michigan. My dad was ta 34-year UAW auto worker; my mother made good on the feminist promise of her time. She began college when I was eight and ascended to Senior VP of a large commercial bank. My parents realized the American dream. Along with my younger sister, Jennifer, who died in 2002 at age 23, ours was a happy home. 

I have a B.A. in History from the University of Michigan with coursework at the Université Paris I - Sorbonne. I'm a self-taught photographer and writer. I live outside of Ann Arbor with my husband, our son, and crazy dog, Schrödinger.

ABOUT KAREN