I love the Rockies. The Canadian Rockies, stretching between Calgary and Vancouver is just one of the many reasons that I love Canada. Canadian photographer Julian Bialowas has an eye for imagery and a love of the outdoors. This summer, Julian hit up the backcountry and produced this beautiful series of images from the Rockies. I hope this gives you a glimpse of why I love calling Canada home.


About one month ago, Kyle Frost and I booked tickets to the city I grew up in on impulse after exchanging a few tweets about wanting to tackle the Canadian Rocky Mountains together. (That city being Calgary, Alberta.) It was supposed to be a quick trip up North to spend a night or two in the backcountry with us then returning to San Francisco. But life had different plans for me—as it typically does.

A week before our trip up North I found out I would be moving to Montréal to work and live for a few months. That meant cancelling my return flight to the bay and replacing it with a flight out east. Which gave me some more time in my home province that I wasn’t going to waste. This was the start of a whirlwind 10 days taking me through Kananaskis Country to Spray Valley Provincial Park to Banff National Park all the way to Invermere, British Columbia.
Julian Bialowas: http://julianbialowas.com/
Instagram: http://instagram.com/julianbialowas

Having never set foot in Latin America, the continent is like an enigma to me. At every opportunity available, I love to leaf through photographs from South American countries. Consuming their colors and sights and hungry for more. I couldn't be happier with this Chilean travel story from the wedding photography duo, Nordica Photography. Cole and Jakob capture truly moving images, and makes every wedding look like an adventure of a lifetime.

From Cole & Jakob
In November of 2013, we ventured to Santiago, Chile for a quick four day trip. Amidst photographing a wedding and hosting a workshop, time was spent meandering around the streets of Santiago, the mountains on the outskirts of the city, as well as a short pass through Valparaíso. The obvious memories were of the friendliness of the people and the comfortable climate. The less obvious ones were the stunning backdrops provided by Santiago, all within a short drive.

Within one hour of downtown Santiago, we were atop Valle Nevado staring at wild horses and an apocalyptic sunset unlike anything we had ever seen. We knew Chile had vast backdrops, but so close to the city was not what we expected.




Valparaíso left us with a feeling of inspiration as the artistic flare of the city was omnipresent. The colourful graffiti was not frivolous and mischievous; yet intentful and inspiring. That type of street art is not something you see in every city, and added to the cultural flare of the location. It is an inspiring place, and one we hope to return to one day.

Chile left us feeling for more, and we will return one day without question. If and when we do, there is so much to see - whether your passion lays in nature or the cultural heartbeat of a major city - and encompassing everything is an amazing group of people who will welcome you into their homes, even if you are nomadic visitor.









Check out more from Nordica Photography:

With my days in San Francisco coming to an imminent end, I started to look for ways to document my last memories in the city. On my last weekend in town, Isabelle and I decided to go out and take some portraits of each other.

Accompanied by Karl the Fog, us two photographers attempted to make each other the subject in front - not behind - the camera. A commenter on here once said that all photographers are camera shy, and it couldn’t have been truer for me. I’ll easily check off a few hundred shots on location and not come home with a single image of myself.  This is a constant source of frustration for me when traveling, so Isabelle and I agreed to each play model for the other.
In less than 7 days, I’ll be moving out of town. Trading in my cushy job in Silicon Valley for a summer adventure through China, and then settling down in New York City and giving life in the Big Apple a try. When people ask me what I want to do for my last days in San Francisco, my answer is not to hop off to Yosemite valley or drive down to the City of Angeles - all I want to do is spend some more time with my friends in town, load up on carbs, and, attempting for one last time, to nurture some sun-kissed freckles.

I should have known that there would be few sunny days during this time of the year in San Francisco. While the rest of the country is enjoying the beginnings of summer, June in San Francisco is bristling with chilly mornings and foggy evenings. As Isabelle and I hiked in the Presidio, our fingers going numb in the cold, the evening fog hailed down on us. It cloaked the forest, producing an eery feeling that made us glad that we were not there alone. Daylight was giving away into night and I felt a tingling sensation of anxiety wash over me. As we hiked on deeper into the forest,  I only had vague sense of where I was going and very limited visibility of how I would get there.

Still, the Presidio in the fog, like this next chapter of my life, dared me to keep going.

San Francisco, see you later.