Last week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to travel to Monaco, Spain, and France. I wanted to remember the trip and the incredible places I saw, and I chose to do this visually, and focused on taking photos I thought would represent the places as well as the experience as a whole.

I quickly noticed that every city had a very distinct color palette, and that this shaped the way I perceived these places. Monaco, a country smaller than New York's central park, seemed like a fairytale town, in which all the buildings are made of pastel-colored cake. An older city founded by the Romans, Spain was a lot of neutral tones and old, weathered buildings. However, the beach there was vibrant and colorful, a contrast to the more historical areas. Also a coastal town in France, Nice was mainly comprised of bright, warm buildings and patterns.

I used my Canon Eos Rebel and a new 50 MM lens. I captured candid shots of the buildings, and sometimes recruited my gracious friends to serve as live examples of the city. I later made minimal edits to the pictures on Lightroom.

My friend-models certainly loved the photos as they serve as stunningly vibrant reminders of this amazing trip & I will always remember the lively streets of these countries. Individually the pictures show places, people, and things, but together, the sets represent an experience.

Muriel Steinke

I'm an 18-year-old artist & graphic designer. The majority of my work is fine-arts based and graphically oriented, but I like to play with all kinds of styles and mediums. Additionally, a lot of my pieces are centered around people, because I am a person and I like them.

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