Jessica Rayborn Photography » Uncategorized

Hervey Bay, Australia

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 07:09:18 +0000

Ryan and I rode into Hervey Bay with expectations that the only thing we would do in town would be park our van and join a group to go camping on Fraser Island. Little did we know that we would stumble across the best camper park and best fish & chips joint. It’s not every day your accommodation is beach front for only $20. We set up at our campsite and took a moment to watch the sun set. Ryan and I had been eying this little shop as a possible place to grab a bite to eat. We had been cooking our meals from the back of our van, but figured we needed to get some good ole greasy food in our bellies. Ryan’s rule of thumb is that if a vendor’s sign looks at least 20 years old, the food has to be good! Birney’s not only had the 20 year old sign going for them, but when we walked in we were the only ones there under the age of 60. That sold it for me and Ryan. Let me tell you… that food was amazing. Ryan ordered the fish & chips special and I got a cheeseburger. Delicious. Before we were half way done with our meal we were already making plans to swing back by after our Fraser Island trip.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Beaches Backpackers and met up with our travel group. There were eight of us in our jeep. Two girls were Dutch, one girl from Norway, one Canadian, one guy from France, and one girl from Prague. We spent the next three days riding together, swimming together and camping together. My favorite part of Fraser Island was the Champagne Pools. I could have stayed hours and hours swimming in the sea. To be honest Ryan and I were hesitant at first to do the group camp. The success and enjoyment of the trip could really be affected by the group of people you are with. So far with all our summer travels we’ve been fortunate to meet some fantastic people. The Fraser Island trip was no exception. I truly believe the folks in our jeep were what made the trip so amazing! We even scheduled an after Fraser Island “reunion”. Since Ryan and I were returning to Birney’s for one last fish & chips we figured we might as well get the whole gang involved. It was a great way to end the trip and say goodbye to some wonderful friends we made.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 17:24:23 +0000

In the morning Ryan and I leave Phnom Penh for Siem Reap. It’s been a great city to visit. When we arrived in the city Ryan and I took a walk to familiarize ourselves with the area. We noticed there weren’t many tourist out on the streets with us and wondered where everyone was. As it turned out, they were on the streets with us, just hidden in tuk-tuks that flew by us. We had been so used to walking to all the tourist attractions in Vietnam that we thought we would do the same here. Things are a bit too spread out to do that. Don’t get me wrong… we have done our fair share of walking, but we also opted for a tuk-tuk when we could negotiate for a $1 fare. We met a very sweet tuk-tuk driver who we hired for our second day to take us to the Tuol Sleng Museum and the Killing Fields. Ryan and I spent over four hours reading every word in the Tuol Sleng Museum. It was incredibly emotional. The pictures of the victims were heartbreaking, especially the ones of young children. Before our trip we watched a documentary called S21: The Khmer Rouge Death Machine but it didn’t prepare us for how we would feel once inside. After a draining time at the genocide museum and the Killing Fields our tuk-tuk fulfilled a few of my strange requests and took us a few miles out of the city. Our day ended on a much happier note with me and Ryan playing with several children from a village.

Ryan and I spent our last day in the city shopping in the markets, visiting the Royal Palace and eating some amazing street food. As a side note, we’ve always done quite well eating from the streets. I think we both prefer it over any restaurant recommended.

It’s been hot in Cambodia and Ryan’s beard was getting a bit itchy. For a $1.25 he sat on the side of the road and got a hair cut and a good shaving.

Macau

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 03:35:22 +0000

On our last day in Hong Kong, my uncle took us to Macau Island. We spent the whole day there walking around the city and eating at a wonderful Portuguese restaurant. I was interested in photographing some of the backstreets of Macau. Ryan and I ended up showing my uncle some areas of Macau he’s never been to while on our photographic expedition. We also did a bit of shopping. We have a tradition of getting something to use as a Christmas ornament for our family tree from each place we visit on vacation. Ryan did an excellent job finding us a traditional Chinese dragon.

After Macau my uncle took Ryan and I for goose at a place he and his siblings frequented as children. The building was the exact same as when my father was a young teenager. The only difference was that sky-rises had replaced the ocean when looking up to enjoy the view.

Help-Portrait, Charlottesville VA

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:43:30 +0000

Need your photo taken? Want to help take a photo? Come join us at Portico Church Saturday Dec. 12th. Photos will be taken all day long! See the flyer below for additional details.

Want your photo taken but are not located in Charlottesville? That’s totally fine… it’s world wide. Fina a location here you at Help-Portrait.com

Office Closed…

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:52:15 +0000

The office will be closed for awhile as I’ll be in Sunset Beach, NC boogie boarding, eating fried shrimp, playing putt putt and flying kites!

Out of the office…

Jessica Rayborn Photography — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:11:59 +0000

Hello everyone! I just wanted to inform you all that if I don’t get to your email or phone call right away, it’s because I’m out of the office shooting a wedding. I’ll be traveling this afternoon through Monday.