Sibling Vacation // Kauai and Big Island

This past August, I made it a priority to spend some much needed time with my brother, Ryan. I funded and planned the whole trip for us starting in Kauai and then going to Big Island. Ryan has never been to any of the Hawaiian Islands before, and since I'm so familiar with them, I thought it would be a great first sibling vacation. I found some pretty rad places on air B&B for us to stay at and obviously I rented a jeep so we could splash around in the mud and rain. One thing I was reminded of about Ryan from when we were kids is that he's always noticing the animals and the tiniest of details. I approach life with a huge picture in mind such as creating a massive itinerary and he was pointing out the smallest reptiles and microscopic water beads on the plant life. Some things never change!

It's so rewarding to finally be in a place in life where we can both do this, and I have every intention of making this an annual venture. Looking back on my life during my teens and early twenties, I have a few regrets with spending too much time with friends and their families and people I will never be related to instead of prioritizing my own family, which matters the most. I'm still a huge fan of having photos made into albums, so I also made these photos into a book for him for Christmas.


Zenni Optical Lookbook and Campaign

I had the pleasure of shooting the new lookbook and campaign for The North Coast Collection of glasses and sunglasses for Zenni Optical in San Francisco. We did the shoot in Point Reyes which is such a beautiful and unique part of the bay area. These glasses are actually really stylish and it's always such a treat to do a shoot where the product inspires me! Tony, the creative director and I had great chemistry when it came to collaborating on these ideas. He wanted to capture the lifestyle and feel of Northern California, which is a very different vibe that southern California. The way people experience the beach, the fashion, weather and the outdoors in general is very different, so our goal was to really hone in on NorCal look and feel.

Personal Work // Golden California short film

For the past year and a half, I've been really inspired by poetry, so all of my personal work has included poems written by friends and people alike who inspire me. Last July, I took a personal trip with my friend David through sequoia national park, San Francisco and Big Sur and filmed him a long the way. Dan and I have been pretty slammed this summer and fall, so we just got around to editing this footage. 

Poetry and voiceover by Sarah VandeKamp

Filmed by Jennifer Whalen

Edited by Jennifer Whalen and Daniel Zhu

Special thanks to David for being a part of the video.