Arriving in Europe.

My journey to Prague was unexpectedly eventful, and the transition did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. But that didn't stop my rising excitement at all. At 6am I flew out of sunny San Diego, finally on my way to the Czech Republic after a year of planning. I couldn't believe I had made it all happen on my own! 10 hours later, I arrived in Dusseldorf, Germany.

Oh Dusseldorf..You gave myself and 4 other CET students such an unwelcoming greeting.  When we landed, we were warned that 90% of all flights were cancelled due to a 24-hour strike that the airport security workers started that morning.  We arrived at 6:05 am, and after much confusion, we found out that our flight was one of the unfortunate 90%.  I mean, how unlucky were we to coincidently arrive in the exact airport, on the exact day that a strike that only lasted 24 HOURS had just begun (literally 5 minutes before we landed). We were directed to a long line of passengers attempting to change their flights, and 3 very irritated employees.  After about an hour, I had a new boarding pass for a flight at 9am. That's pretty good right? However, the lady who issued my pass failed to scan my baggage tickets. And after asking her numerous times, she assured me that this was not needed.  Of course, the rest of the CET kids got their tickets scanned, so I went back to ask her AGAIN. And she still wouldn't scan it, telling me that my baggages were indeed on my plane.. Oh and our new flight was delayed an extra 2 hours.

After 6 more long hours, we finally arrived in Prague, tired but anxious to begin the next chapter of our lives. Not to my surprise, my baggages did not make the journey with us, and I found out that they actually boarded a plane to Munich, Germany instead.  Yeah, thanks lady.  Long story short, I didn't have any of my belongings (except for the clothes I was wearing and my carry-on's) for two days. YAY PRAGUE!!

On a happier note, my flat is so adorable and spacious!! Plus it came stocked with wi-fi, appliances, cleaning supplies, and everything else essential to a new apartment. I absolutely love it, and my flatmates too.  We have such a great dynamic, and we all get along amazingly.  I share a room with Lenka, our local "Czech Buddy," and she is one of the nicest girls I have ever met. She is so helpful to the rest of us who know close to nothing about the city.  Without her, we would have no clue how to use the metro, or what stop to get off at, how to read the labels on all of our groceries, let alone where to find the market, and well you get the idea. Basically, we are forever grateful to have her in our flat!  And my other two roomies are Sophia and Rosie, who are the perfect gals to get lost in the city with.  Not to mention Sophia shares my deep obsession with tea.  Already, we have had numerous unforgettable experiences, and it has only been the first weekend. :)

Cau!! (Good-bye)

Adventures in Sapphire Falls!!

One of the best ways I could have spent my last week in the states was going on a spontaneous trip with one of my oldest friends, Kimmy, and her friends to Sapphire Falls.  Basically, Sapphire Falls is this crazy hiking trail filled with streams, water falls, huge rocks & buildings covered in graffiti, and nature's wonders of course.  Awesome right?! The five of us piled into Kimmy's car to get an early start and spent the entire day wandering in the middle of nowhere, and taking photos along the way.

(shot by Kimmy)

(shot by Kimmy)

 Leishelle is crazy, and she jumped in the stream.

(shot by Kimmy)

(shot by Kimmy)

(shot by Kimmy)

(shot by Myles)

(shot by Kimmy)

And finally after two hours of hiking we made it to an amazing little falls area, where we relaxed and took photos for about 45 minutes in the winter Cali sun.  

(shot by Myles)

(shot by Kimmy)

Sapphire Falls - 1, Nicole - 0

Right when we were hiking back, I fell really hard on a jagged rock. Which was not fun at all. I was slightly proud that I hiked all the way back though!

Overall it was an awesome day!

Golden Hour at Sutro Baths

As I mentioned before, I will be posting a couple of shoots and adventures that I have not released yet. So before I can talk about how awesome Prague has been to me, I must acknowledge the beauties of my California home. During the last weekend of living in San Francisco, I finally had the chance to get together with one of my great friends, and fellow photographer, Jen Cabugao.  We met almost a year ago, and it took us until now to finally hang out, which is ridiculous because we are alike in so many ways, it was obvious we would become close friends. Anyways, I took her to my most favorite spot in San Francisco - Sutro Bath Ruins, where I shot for my final portfolio for my photography class at school (San Francisco Art Institute), and have gone to shoot countless times in the past.

We went during golden hour - which is my most favorite time to shoot. The light is so warm and romantic, it creates such a magical feeling.  I usually hate shooting in direct sunlight because of the harshness, so being able to experience the sun rays at this time of day is beautiful.

(shot by Jen)

(shot by Jen)

(shot by Jen)

(shot by Jen)

We were so busy exploring, that we ended up shooting until sunset.

I am definitely going to miss this place. In one area, I have the forests, abandoned military forts, architectural ruins, and the ocean.  It's a perfect getaway from the noisy streets of San Francisco, and a perfect way to say good-bye to my Bay Area home!

Welcome!

Greetings from Praha!!
Welcome! I have decided to move from my old tumblr (dancingshutter.tumblr.com) to this new blog - which better suits my photographic needs.  So please check here from now on for my blog posts :) If you are interested in seeing my past photography blog posts, please click here.
Here I will share all of my photography adventures and personal ramblings for your enjoyment.  For the next 4 months I will be blogging from central Europe as I embark on a study abroad journey with CET Academics and the Film & TV School of the Academy of Performing Arts (FAMU) in Prague, Czech Republic. I am beyond excited to share my adventures with all my family and friends (and any others who happen to stumble upon this site).  I will also be uploading a couple of photo shoots and ventures from back in the states that I have not yet released, so keep an eye out for those as well.
Anyways, I have already spent 3 days in this wonderful city, and I can't wait to share my stories with you all!
Stay tuned. :)
- Nicole
www.dancingshutter.com