Souvenirs have been a part of travel for as long as I’ve been alive. I remember as a kid at Disneyland begging for a Mickey Mouse wall clock. Not just a small, simple clock but a huge red child-sized monstrosity of a clock for my room. Yes, my parents bought it for me, and it hung on my wall for years. Souvenirs, whether a simple t-shirt, magnet or a larger-than-life Mickey Mouse clock, have this incredible power to trigger emotions & memories of a treasured trip or place visited. Today’s most popular souvenirs are probably photos. Photos are the souvenirs I’ve been taking of my trips over the past decade or two. To me, they’re the perfect souvenir. They tell us the story through colors, shape, movement, and light. As the timeless quote says, “A picture is worth a thousand words.” They elicit emotion and invite memory. 

In my experience, I’ve found that photos of nature almost always elicit a sense of peace and awe. I’m a nature (landscape) photographer. Because nature is where I’m most inspired. There’s nothing quite like the rest you find in the great outdoors. It’s an incredible reset for my soul. It’s humbling. It’s refreshing. It serves to remind me of the beauty all around us, given to us for our enjoyment, by the intelligent and ever-creative God whom I love. My job attempts to share and translate that peace, even that reset, into art form via Aaron Svenby awescapes.