Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, is my hometown. I was born and raised there, and for the first 23 years of my life, it was the only city I had lived in. As the city where I was born and raised, I have a certain connection to it. It just feels familiar and always will. I didn’t know what made it distinctive, or what it was missing.

Travel photography has a constant sense of discovery; what lies around the next corner is unknown, and that unpredictability adds excitement every day you are away. When travelling, it’s easy to come across something visually compelling, something that instinctively makes you lift your camera, and many of those images will stand on their own as strong photographs.

As I’ve mentioned before, my gear list is slim. I use only two lenses and have used them for a few years now. If I find something I like, I usually stick with it. I rarely buy something to try it. It really needs to fill a gap in my workflow, and I haven’t needed to. As a result, those two lenses remain my go-tos.

Travelling solo as a photographer feels like complete freedom, and in many ways, it is. But it also pushes you to be more intentional about what you carry. Travel naturally involves constant movement; as you explore a city, the steps add up quickly.

It pains me to say it, but the summer of 2026 is over, just like that. It was an interesting summer: unseasonably cool throughout May, with the warmth not really arriving until June. This was discouraging, as summer is easily my favourite season; however, once the warmth started to set in, I made the most of my time with leisure and travel.

When it debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG drew enthusiasm as the first car AMG designed and built entirely in-house, not a modified existing platform. The design leaned directly on the 300SL from the 1950s, the original Gullwing: long hood, front-mid engine layout, and, most obviously, the doors themselves.

Lisbon and Porto are easily Portugal’s most popular destinations for photographers. And it’s justified: both cities are beautiful and offer a wealth of opportunities for stunning photography. I’ve been to both locations twice, and I previously wrote tips and practical advice for Lisbon if you plan to visit.

I still think back to our 2019 trip often. It is strange how distant it feels now, like a completely different chapter in life. Lisa and I had set out on what, in hindsight, was an incredibly ambitious European itinerary: seven destinations in under two weeks. At the time, though, it felt exciting rather than overwhelming.

It’s been 8 months since I self-published my second book, and the first on photography technique and process. I was thinking about how long I have been doing it. I don’t get a ton of questions about my photography, but when I do, they usually revolve around light painting. It’s a technique that, for the unaware, looks magical.

My final stop in Portugal before heading home was Nazaré. Conveniently located between Porto and Lisbon, it seemed like the perfect place to spend a slower, more relaxed few days before leaving the country.

Porto, Portugal, is a bucket-list destination for many travellers and photographers. Easily reached once you’re in Portugal, the northern city is connected by a direct train from Lisbon, where many visitors begin their trip. And although the two cities are relatively close, Lisbon and Porto feel very different.

I recently concluded over two weeks in Portugal, and for the entirety of that journey, I shot only JPEGs. Before this, my most recent travels were a combination of RAW + JPEG, but I consistently found that when I returned home and had a chance to look through the images, the JPEGs were the choice almost every time.