Oru Kayak: Behind the Scenes on Fort Gorges

If you missed the story I wrote for Oru Kayak "All In The Name of Breakfast" I suggest you give it a read.  

Our post-sunrise launch. It was amazing to have the beach to ourselves.

We paused here and listened for the horns coming from invisible lobster boats from deep within the fog. It was almost eerie how we could see so little, but hear so much.   

Just after we arrived on Fort Gorges we welcomed a massive cruise ship into the harbor.

Kaleigh made us some Hikers Brew coffee while I sipped on Untapped Maple syrup and added some granola to our homemade yogurt and fresh picked strawberries.  Had we been a bit more ambitious I would have been all about some eggs and bacon on the island.

We decided to try our hands at being Amazons and attempted to protect the island in our fresh Sensi Graves swim suits.  Kaleigh's off at Officer Candidate School to actually get ripped and I'm just out paddling as much as I can and doing lots of impromptu pushups - explaining to my friends around that if Kaleigh's doing 100 a day I may as well at least try to do 10.

Good golly I miss her.

Get out there and enjoy the last bits of sweet summer sunshine, get a creemee or two and jump in the ocean, lake or stream as many times between now and the first snowfall.

Breakfast: Grandy Oats Grain Free Coconola | Coffee: Hikers Brew | Maple Syrup: Untapped Maple Swimsuits: Sensi Graves | Shoes: Chaco Footwear | Shades: Sunski

Chanel & Patrick || Portland Maine In Love Session

I've lived in Portland, Maine for three years now and I can't believe I'm just now meeting Chanel and Patrick! Chanel reached out to me earlier this fall on instagram to book an autumn session before the leaves were gone and I readily agreed. These two love L.L.Bean more than I do (if that's possible) and I love the way they are with each other. The session flew by and I wished we had more than thirty minutes together - my pup Ella came along as an assistant and made a surprise appearance.  Chanel is a budding architecture and nature photographer and I'm excited to get out on a photo adventure with her this winter!  Chanel and Patrick thank you for showing me a trail in Portland I hadn't seen before. 

Gearist Photos and Videos

I was hired on as a gear tester for GEARIST a few months ago as a contributing editor specifically handling photography gear and nordic ski gear.  Since my initiation into the world of wear testing outdoor gear I've learned a few things:

• In order to write an authentic review, you actually have to wear the product more than once, and make sure to point out the pros and cons of the product.
• There is a lot of really COOL technology out there these days!  Water resistant down, Stretchy and windproof insulation, Merino wool that doesn't stink after sweating in it... 
• I will never understand fashion.  Colors that are hot one year, are gone the next...why womens attire always gets pastelly pinks, purples, and blues and guys get the bold reds, oranges, and royals... but then, I'm a fan of big bold colors.

My favorite part of being a part of the GEARIST team is that it's given me a great excuse to go out and shoot some photos and videos during a time of year when business is slower.  SO! Without further ado, below are a selection of some of my favorite photographs from the past two months, and the videos are at the very bottom of this post!  A big shout out to Kaleigh Wood for taking the photos of me in this post...she's become quite the photographer on my watch.