My, what a year 2013 was. An update is long overdue. In 2013 I made my annual pilgrimage to New Orleans to don not one, not two, but four costumes and photograph one of the greatest festivals on earth, Mardi Gras. My San Francisco feature story photos hit the press and came out in the April issue of National Geographic Traveler. I worked with Dan Westergren and Mark Thiessen teaching weekend photo workshops in DC and explored the city through the eyes of curious photography students. I was inspired and rejuvenated at the annual National Geographic Magazine Photo Seminar in January and at the Look3 festival in June. In August I bid adieu to my office and colleagues at National Geographic Traveler after seven wonderful years of photo editing. I packed up my DC apartment and hopped a plane to Africa to explore eight different countries. I survived a hippo-riddled canoe ride on the Zambezi River, marvels at the wonder of Victoria Falls, and fell in love with leopards. I spent an entire month in the gorgeous city of Cape Town before heading back to my home state of Oregon. Thousands of photos later, it is 2014 and I’ve repacked my bags for the next big thing. Today I’m boarding a ship which I’ll call home for 114 days while working as photographer for the Institute for Shipboard Education’s program, Semester at Sea. Follow along at my travel blog or through the Spring 2014 voyage blog where I’ll be contributing. Then in June and October I’ll be on a ship again, cruising through the Galapagos Islands with National Geographic Expeditions as a photography Expert and instructor. With almost a third of 2014 being spent on a ship, I best find my sea legs. I’ll leave you with a few of my favorite photos from Africa in 2013.