Discover Your Adventure: For the Photographers

Auto Counselor: Carri Loken
Personal Interest: Photography
Destination: New Zealand

Just before she embarks on one of her frequent adventures, Travel Advisor Carri Loken snaps an image of her poodle, Major, for her digital photo library.  “This is how I mark where my vacation album starts,” she says.  

With the same ingenuity, Loken designs a scrapbook for each of her trips, matching photos to receipts, brochures, disposable coasters, napkins, food wrappers – you name it, there’s a keepsake captured for a moment she doesn’t want to forget. 

“Of course, the double-edged sword about digital cameras is the sheer number of photos I can take,” she says.  On her recent Mekong River cruise in Vietnam she captured 1900 images of her surroundings- the hotel, people on the street, food, local markets, public transportation, shop items – aspects of everyday life that feel extraordinary in the moment.

Loken is moved by travel destinations rich in history, architecture, and what she refers to as “sensory overload.”  “Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand provide great material for scrapbooking, because they are so visually different from where I live.” Travelers are lured by the contrasts -the reflection of an ancient temple in an emerald pool, pedestrians zig-zagging their way through city streets crowded with tuk tuks and mopeds, and floating markets brimming with bright colors and fragrant flowers.

A self-described “ocean girl” at heart, Loken loves her beach time too, and the more she’s traveled, the more she appreciates natural beauty and the great outdoors as much as the energy of city life. “My first view of the Canadian Rockies was literally jaw-dropping. Traveling between Calgary and Vancouver by luxury rail was an experience that far exceeded my expectations.”

What’s next? “New Zealand. Mountainous coastlines, stunning national parks, and Maori culture – a lot of material to fill pages of memories.”

If you’re interested in creating a travel adventure of your own, reach out to Carri, She can be reached at CLoken@AAAMinneapolis.com