Hey Yvette! Tell us a bit about yourself. I am a photographer and producer originally from New Zealand and now based in Melbourne.

What made you start taking photos? I took a photography class in high school and have never looked back. Once I got my first camera, I carried it around with me all the time. I would take photos of my town and force my family and friends to model for me; I was obsessed.What do you love about travel photography in particular? Growing up in a small town in New Zealand, the rest of the world might as well have been the moon for how far away it felt to me. My family had a collection of National Geographic magazines; I would spend hours flipping through them, dreaming of all the places I wanted to go when I grew up. Through those photos, I learnt about cultures and places vastly different from my own. What I love about travel photography is that it can capture your imagination and take you on a journey in your mind.How much or little do you plan your travel photography? I am also a producer, so I do love a good plan. Ahead of a trip, I will do a lot of research to ensure I have a solid plan for where to go and when and have a good idea on what to expect once I'm there. On the flip side, once I am on the ground, I don’t plan my photographs at all; other than giving myself enough time to walk around and explore and find moments organically.What’s the shooting and editing process like? For me taking photos forces me to be in the moment, it makes me look at things differently and find beauty in unexpected places. Editing on the other hand can feel a bit more tedious, a bit like panning for gold. I shoot a lot so it can be time-consuming to go through them all to find the winners. I don’t do a lot of retouching to my travel images, as I want them to be as authentic as possible. I will clean them up and adjust the exposure where needed and I love a good preset to help enhance the colours and give the image a little extra oompf.
Tell us about the best thing that’s come out of taking pictures while travelling. The best thing would be the people I have got to meet along the way. I will often try (depending on language barriers) to spark up a conversation with people to make sure they are comfortable with me taking their photo. In many cases, this has led to conversations where I have gotten to learn more about them and their lives and vice versa. I’ve had people invite me into their homes to eat and meet their families. Those experiences are indelible and have meant the world to me.

What additional tools do you use when you take your photos? For my travel photography, I like to keep it simple so that I can be light on my feet and explore easily. I will always have a bunch of backup batteries and memory cards on me as well as my laptop. Depending on the trip I may also bring a tripod and a small reflector.Do you have a favourite travel photo you’ve taken? My favourite photo is usually the last photo I took as it still has the magic of the experience tied to it. If I had to narrow it down to one it would be one of the photos I took of a carnival in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Those images bring me a lot of joy as the whole experience was spontaneous. I had gone on a walk to a market around the corner from where I was staying on a Sunday afternoon, when I walked there the streets were deserted but as I was leaving I noticed a bunch of buses had pulled up and people started jumping off dressed in the most amazing carnival outfits. Music started playing, there were drum lines and people started filling up the streets. It was so unexpected and I was so thankful I had my camera on me as I had nearly left it behind. I think about that moment sometimes when I'm about to leave and don’t want to have to lug my camera with me, because you never know what could happen.If you could travel anywhere in the world to take photos, where would you go? Earlier this year I was lucky enough to be able to go to Morocco to work on a shoot with SSW & Intrepid Travel. Morocco had been at the top of my list for a long time and it exceeded my expectations. Later in the year, I am set to go to Nepal to shoot for Intrepid Travel. Nepal has also been at the top of my list of places to visit for a very long time so I am beyond excited to be going there finally.

How do you keep creatively inspired? It can be hard to stay connected to your creativity, life sneaks up on you and gets in the way. When I’m taking photos it makes me feel like the best version of myself, it's a rush. If I haven’t shot in a while I can start to lose momentum and I start to feel flat and that’s when I know I need to start planning a trip or I just take a drive to somewhere I’ve never been before. Even if I’m not feeling inspired in the moment, I know if I have my camera on me and I start exploring, the chances are I will find it along the way.
How did you find working on the MSI Stealth 14 Studio laptop? It’s so quick! I was able to process images so quickly without any lag – it was amazing. It was also very lightweight which is very important when you are traveling and need to keep your bag weight low. I also like the light up keyboard, it's very playful and fun.

Any tips for budding travel photographers out there? Just go shoot. Get familiar with your camera, try things out and make a bunch of mistakes and try to have your camera on you as much as possible.

This sunny chat was presented by MSI and their new Stealth 14 Studio laptop in white. It’s super powerful so you can work super efficiently no matter how big your project. Plus, it’s so light and thin you can take it on your travels with ease! For more, head to au.msi.com