Over the summer we had the honor of photographing a wedding in Key West, Florida.  We decided to stay a few extra nights leading up to the wedding day to explore and plan around the colorful island that measures only 2 miles by 4 miles.  At the time I thought, “it would be cool to show our personal photos when it’s winter back in Missouri.”  Here we are in winter, and if you’re like me, you’re totally ready for the warmer temperatures of spring.  As I edited these photos, I loved escaping back into our adventures on the beautiful island.

Day one:  We arrived at our studio rental and immediately hopped onto our bicycles ( the main mode of transportation around there) to explore.  Mallory Square is where a lot of action is going on; we saw several street performers, wildlife, and experienced sunset celebration for the first time.

I love that the community cares for the kitties. <3

Hands down, my favorite performer was the Catman of Key West.  He was sooo full of life and didn’t care how silly things got, you could tell he really has a passion for his cats and sharing their talents.  I find it inspiring when someone is unapologetically themselves, he definitely has that down.  😉

 

Sunset celebration in Mallory Square happened every night, as the last rays of light dipped under the ocean everyone watching erupted into whistles and applause.  No two sunsets were the same, I could stare at the changing colors every single day.

The following morning we woke up before the sun and went out to a pier we stumbled across riding our bikes.  There was a little cloud cover so we couldn’t see the sun at the moment it rose above the water but it was still breathtaking.

Beau’s picture he took of me. 🙂

Our days mostly consisted of exploring every nook of the island on our bikes and taking in every wonderful color and sight.

Chickens everywhere!  At first I wondered who they belonged to, then I realized they were free to roam, I’d guess it’s good to be a chicken on the island of Key West. 😉

All the arrows and miles pointing to other places on the pole at the beach reminded me we were nestled on a tiny island in the middle of the ocean.

I want to take a moment to thank my wonderful husband, Beau.  He helped me carry gear everywhere and was just as enthused about creating photos as I was.  If you’ve seen us together on a wedding day, you know it’s a similar scene then too.  He’s encouraged my photography adventure from day one and I couldn’t be luckier to have him. <3

This was one of my favorite images when it happened, I named it “little boat meets big boat”. 😛

Mahi mahi bites for lunch complete with a cold brew, mmmmm.

What happens when a small island gets a bunch of rain?  Water eeeeeverywhere.

The following day we decided to take a dolphin watching and snorkeling trip.

“We’re on a boat!”  Bonus points if you know the rest of the lyrics to the song I’m referring to. 😉

Turns out you can dock your boat in international waters off the island with no problem.  Such an adventurous life for this pup!

Key West from our boat.

First dolphin spotted, eee!

We took along an underwater disposable camera, below are a few of the best from the roll of film.

Headed back to shore, sunset celebration had just ended at Mallory Square.

The last day was spent riding bikes (of course) and taking it easy as we prepared for the wedding.

One last Catman show before sunset.

I hope you enjoyed the photos from our travels to Key West, it was truly a place of magical light and colors.  In honor of Valentine’s day, I want to spread the love and give away one 8×10 print from our trip.  To enter, first “Like” my Facebook page here and second, leave a blog comment below.  The winner will be randomly picked then announced on the blog next Wednesday.  Thank you for stopping by and reliving our days in sunny Key West, Happy Valentine’s Day!

xoxo ~Ali