Cancuning with YouTubers

Somehow I ended up with a job that comes with perks like hanging out in Mexico with the likes of Dawn from The Minimal Mom, Cas from Clutterbug, Christine from Frugal Fit Mom, Kathryn from Do It on a Dime and Marybeth from At What Cost.

I was so excited that the night before my flight I didn’t sleep a wink, and I ended up being awake for 37 hours straight. Do not recommend!

But it was worth it!

Given that these cool cats have combined subscribers of over 4 million, I was pretty sure we’d run into people who recognized them. Sure enough, our very first dinner this guy comes over and says, “My wife thinks she recognizes you from YouTube.”

Nobody recognizes me, and I’m happy to keep it that way!

Isla Mujeres

My goal was to get one epic shot on this trip — something that would be worth printing on canvas to hang on the wall.

I’ve never been into sailing, but I think this is it. I don’t even know for sure what it is, but there’s something about this photo that just makes me really happy.🏆😍

Our tour guide on the catamaran joked that we had a celebrity on board because Cas looked like a movie star — “Fancy Jen” she called her (after JLo).

Well joke’s on her: a celebrity she is and the dear lady had no clue… not to mention the other four. I didn’t want to be like a paparazzi so I didn’t even get good photos of them all😂

Six middle-aged-ish women + golf cart + tropical island with vendors = hilarious adventure🤣

Nobody died, thanks to Christine’s superior driving skills and 8-point turning abilities (missing from photo due to stop for gelato).

Wildlife on the resort

I debated long and hard whether or not it would be worth it to bring my 100-400mm lens. It would mean lugging it around with me everywhere because it’s my most prized possession and I’m not willing to take the chance that it could get snatched.

Missing out on opportunities for epic bird shots would be harder than the inconvenience of having this extra appendage all week, so it came along for the ride.

I still feel like an imposter when I call myself a photographer and probably look like a nerd when I’m the only one running around the resort chasing birds while everyone else spends the day sitting around on the beach and swimming… but I don’t care, it’s worth it.

And these photos give me a bigger dopamine hit than any amount of lounging around ever could😁

I tried really hard to just relax in a hammock and do nothing… and that lasted for all of 12 seconds until this guy showed up crossing the lawn.

You can imagine my delight when I discovered that Mexican kitties like resorts too😍

Cartwheeling in Cancun

First time doing cartwheels in Mexico… totally worth the trip just to add these to the collection😁

At first I thought these concrete things scattered along the beach were such an eyesore that there wasn’t any point of even taking any beach photos… but turns out they make a super cool backdrop! But the sand was so deep I just couldn’t get the momentum to do a proper cartwheel.

How did I get here?

Turns out YouTubers are just as human as the rest of us — though I have to say their wit and humour is something to behold… I learned all kinds of interesting things throughout the week that I’d maybe prefer not to know🤣

El Dorado by night

I haven’t done much with nighttime photography yet, and it would have turned out better with a tripod, but I would say this is a decent first attempt.

This cruise ship was probably a mile out from the beach (actually I have no idea — it was really far away) so of course I had to see if the bird-stalking lens could stalk ships too… I think I’ll stick with birds, but it was worth a try!