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It’s a rainy day in Colorado, and I’m reminiscing on this moody afternoon at Mount Cook in New Zealand.
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I learned the indigenous name "Aoraki" means "cloud piercer," because it’s almost always shrouded in clouds. Rain or shine, it’s breathtaking and was one of my favorite spots I visited in the country.
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A few miles down the dirt road from Hope Haven School in Rwanda is Kabuga Market, an incredible experience for the senses! I remember the first time I went in 2018 to buy food supplies for a few families we were going to be visiting later that day and felt totally captivated by the beauty and the chaos that surrounded me. Since then, visiting markets in various countries has become a favorite activity when traveling. The more local vibes the better!
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Which markets around the world have you most enjoyed?
If you love sleeping in and you love sunrises and have been conflicted every day over this since birth… I give you… Iceland in November!! 👏🏼 Funnily, we’ve both been to Iceland in November, just one year apart from each other. Crowds are much less than what you’ll get in the summertime however daylight is also much less… gotta pack it all into about 6 hours. But that can only mean it’s easier to catch those epic Arctic sunrises AND more opportunities to see the famed Northern Lights!
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Have you been to Iceland?? If so, what time of year did you go and what was the best part of your trip?
I just love a good ol’ classic road shot-the feeling it stirs inside you of being on the open road somewhere new for the first time. It’s exhilarating, right? Usually accompanied with some awesome symmetry and a great view… ugh, I love it. You may be thinking this particular shot is overdone and very 2016, which this was… but I stand firm in my preference. :)
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This one was taken in the southern alps in New Zealand just outside of Mt. Cook village. I can’t remember if I was coming or going, but the lines of this scene really grabbed hold of me as I was driving along and so, like so many other instances, I had to jump out and grab it before it flew away forever and was only a memory left in my mind. (It’s a miracle I’ve never been hit by a car, but I always kick myself when I don’t stop… there in lies my deepest dilemma 😂)
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What’s the most scenic road trip you’ve ever taken? We’d love to hear your recommendations!
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Follow for more and adventure photos!
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At , there are always new buildings on the rise! This past year, a new secondary boarding school was built to completion in just 17 months, an incredible feat that required a simultaneous effort from donors in the US and local laborers in Rwanda. Hope Haven hires adults in their own community, oftentimes parents or grandparents of the students, to help with construction efforts and in turn put food on the table for their kiddos that go to the school. It’s a win/win for all and we’re so grateful to be apart of it!
Had just wrapped up an all day mountain biking trip near Boone, North Carolina and decided to pull out the drone to cruise around over the forest as the sun was going down. The Blue Ridge Mountains sure are breathtaking at golden hour!
On our way to an adventure! This was a shot captured on the road while heading out to our campsite in Samburu, Kenya.
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We had just picked up our guides in an indigenous Maasai village and were racing to make it there before the sun set. This, unfortunately, we could not do and ended up having to do a river crossing in the dark. One of our vehicles stalled out mid-crossing because the water was too high and was pouring in through the windows. Our guide jumped out and had to swim down with a tow cable (after we had just seen a crocodile not long before) and connect it to the frame, so the rest of our crew could get pulled across to safety. Will never forget watching this all unfold and wondering if we’d have to abandon the Jeep, if everyone was going to be ok, if we’d lose our gear, and how we’d make it back!
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Everything ended up working out, and we were able to revive the vehicle the following day and continue on with our trip. It made for an incredible experience though!
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Ten points for anyone who can name this building!
Life goal #289: own property in Rwanda
During the 9-5, Evan is a designer for one of the world’s leading tech companies. We’ll show off the occasional art/design projects we’ve worked on on this page as well.
This is some hand-drawn typography that he did while working out west in several national parks a few months ago.
For any lettering, illustration, or branding inquiries, please shoot us a private message!
A few months before the world shut down, I (Paige) took a trip to Europe. I was on my way home from Rwanda and decided to hop out in Belgium for a few weeks to explore Europe. That part was planned. What wasn’t planned were all my flights, hostel stays, and the route I’d take - went for a good old fashioned “European wing” (I made that up) and ended up going to Paris > Barcelona > Istanbul > Athens > Rome. Looking back this was SO much fun, but usually I’m the type of person who would rather spend the entire time soaking up one country instead of hopping around.
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Curious to know what style of travel you prefer: to be in one country and get to know it better or hop around to several and hit the highlights? We would love to hear what your favorite European countries are too!
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PS - This is in Brugge, Belgium! … a quick train ride from Brussels airport. Highly recommend for a quintessential Belgium experience!
This photo was taken while on a camping safari in the Samburu preserve in Kenya.
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I (Evan) was playing cards by my tent with some friends when our Maasai guide came over and quietly told us we needed to evacuate. A herd of elephants was approaching our site by the river and would likely move through our camp. We hurried up the ridge to look down on them as these giants slowly passed by.
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It was a wild experience, and I’m grateful for even a minute spent getting to be so close and capturing such a magnificent animal in its true habitat.
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Follow for more adventure photos and travel stories!
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Meet Ornella! Ornella is a student at , the school in Rwanda that I (Paige) have been involved with for the past 5 years. Ornella is the second to last of 5 kids in her family, raised by her mom Sandrine and her grandma Flavia. This family of 7 lives in a humble mud home across the road from the school, along with their cow who seems to get a new name every time I visit. :) Ornella is always smiling and is usually up to something… The classic combination of sweet and ornery.
This family is something special and so when our friends at asked if I could get some shots of a family using their water filters that they’d just distributed, I knew exactly who to ask! You can be sure we’ll be posting more photos and stories of Ornella and her amazing family in the future.
Friends, this is Señor Liberato. He is a kind and gentle man and the cultural leader of the indigenous Maijuna tribe in northern Peru. While we were visiting his home in the rain forest, he used his photo wall to tell us stories of he and his wife in their younger years and then jumped at the chance for a quick portrait session after.
This woman caught our eye as we were doing home visits in one of the indigenous villages along the Napo River in northern Peru. She was the oldest woman in the community and was returning from the river, water jug in hand, back to her home.
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Upon seeing us, she gave us the biggest smile and walked our way to say hello. Although it was tough to communicate due to the language barrier, her warmth came through clearly, and we were grateful she was kind enough to come chat with my us and let us take her picture.
4 years ago I was on a shoot for a church in Jerusalem taking photos of landmarks and towns that are central to the Christian and Jewish faiths.
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I guess it looks a bit different now than it did 2000 years ago, but this is the same road and the same steps that Jesus walked with a cross on His back. It was pretty wild to stand here and think on that moment and remember His humility and sacrifice.
When we arrived at the monkey sanctuary in Peru a couple weeks ago, these guys literally ditched their ape-ricots and slid down the banana-sters to come see us. After some gorilla warfare and gibbon take to see who could be our newest Amazon Prime-mates, these were the two chimp-ions!
Hit the road early to catch the sunrise and ended up getting caught in a snowstorm while we were crossing Dream Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. Still, the mountain views were incredible when we got to the end of route and couldn’t have asked for a better day.
Back in Colorado for the week! Can’t wait for warmer weather and some big adventures planned for the summer, but still trying to slow down and enjoy these winter months. What are your go-to cold weather activities? Need more to add to our list!
One of the many smiles we’ve captured that makes us excited to work each day. Seeing joy and restoration on the faces of people impacted by the humanitarian projects we’ve partnered on will never lose its effect on us. Each one tells an incredible story and we’re humbled to be a part of it.
If you’ve never had a staring contest with a lion before, you’re doing life wrong 😜
A little Monday portrait inspiration for your feed!
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This is the oldest man in a rural village we visited that bordered the Amazon. When we arrived, he joined us at the front of the room to represent his community as we helped teach on clean water education and distribute home filters to each of the families in the village.
The first time I ever went to Rwanda, my breath was taken away so many times that it’s a miracle I’m still alive. But really, the Virunga mountains you guys?? Incredible. And did you know that gorillas just naturally live on these volcanoes? Bananas. Often times while driving in Rwanda, I’d see something like this scene and shout “stop stop stop!” and jump out to take a photo, much to the locals dismay. They look at me, then look out, then back at me again with confusion, “what is this muzungu taking a photo of?” All the while my brain and nerve endings are doing cart wheels over what my eyes beholding.
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Do you ever wonder about how much we take our own surroundings for granted? It’s actually really interesting. I once had a girl from Switzerland express how she hoped that Hawaii has a Texas Roadhouse like the one she ate at in LA a few years prior. I’m not sure what the answer is, but I do think we can all appreciate exactly where we are at any given time, whether on an adventure or at home, it’s ALL beautiful… and definitely appreciate that as Americans we can eat at Texas Roadhouse whenever we want. 🤠
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Exchanging smiles with strangers is the quickest way to make new friends… lots of new friends made while we were on assignment near Iquitos last week!
This is the exact moment my camera died. Not as in the batteries died, more like as in I naively assumed my waterproof camera was also somehow salt water proof and it was here that it took its final click. (Not a bad way to go out though amiright? just a casual drown in Milford Sound. Lol)
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…and later that night I cried after realizing I had racked up a $500 phone bill and went to drown my own sorrows in a Meryl Streep movie (I should pause here and say this is Paige not Evan lol) which was soon crashed by a couple of Australian children…who brings little kids to stay in a hostel anyway? Anyway, this was all after going through an earthquake/tsunami warning evacuation a few weeks prior and several other little mishaps. Don’t get me wrong, all of this is pretty funny (6 years later) and New Zealand really is and was absolute perfection. It gave me some of my favorite photographs I’ll ever likely take. I think the humor is that I quickly learned that adventure and vacation are rarely synonymous and before this trip I assumed it all to be the same, all the time. Who knew?
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Throughout this page you’re going to see some of our best moments and photographs, but I do think it’s important for us as storytellers to share the scoop behind each one. Whether the shot was born of something dreamy or entirely the opposite, the moments are prized all the same. Like anything in life I suppose, lessons we learn are lessons we keep. And for me on my first solo jaunt down under the lessons were: always always always have camera gear insurance (which I did), get the international plan or don’t make calls when not on wifi (which I did not 😅), expect mishaps and roll with them, and always go off the beaten path - the treasure is almost always just beyond there.
Water is abundant in the rainforest and along the largest river in the world, yet 3 out of 20 people living near the Amazon lack access to safe drinking water.
Collected water from the rivers or rain requires ultra-filtration which our friends at alongside their local partners, provide to the rural communities. We had the chance to be photographers for one of their projects in Peru over the last few weeks and see the benefits to the communities firsthand.
If you’re interested in giving towards some impactful work for today, check them out and donate at the link in our bio!
Follow for more of our adventures around the globe!
Founder, Roger Cabbage, stands on his balcony at to admire Lake Kivu (Rwanda) after a long, yet rewarding day of distributing water filter systems in a nearby village.
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Roger is revered and adored by everyone he meets. He is a light and a gentle force to be reckoned with. In his 70’s, Roger travels all over the world to help communities have access to clean water and has no plans of slowing down. We have yet to come across a man so committed to meeting the needs of others and having a great amount of fun while doing so! And both “want to be Roger Cabbage when we grow up.”
Hi! We’re Evan and Paige and together we are Travelstead. Which… is Evan’s last name and will also be Paige’s come July. (Yay!)
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We both caught the travel bug early in our 20’s and took every opportunity to see the world. It wasn’t until a fateful encounter last year in 2022 where we met in Denver and immediately connected over our similar experiences across Africa. As we got to know each other, much over FaceTime as Evan was in Florida and Paige was in Colorado, it was revealed that we have a mutual passion for photography, travel and humanitarian work.
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Fast forward one year to the day we met and we’re in Peru as freelance photographers for a water filter charity. Towards the end of the trip, we had the realization that we both thrive in this environment and are pretty darn good at it.
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Our goal is to show your organization or product’s impact to the world in the most beautiful and meaningful way possible - and to have a great time along the way.
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