Persian mystic, poet, and scholar Jalaluddin Rumi says in one of his translated poems, “Dance when you’re broken open.”

We’re broken open when we travel. We’re broken open when we go through difficult times. Ultimately, we’re broken open when we love.

The “Broken Open” collection was shot over a one-year period, in 2016. That year, I decided to become a travel photographer and writer. I traveled to six countries in six months as I was finding my footing in this space. I had a lot of doubts, but I also felt like I needed to answer a burning feeling inside my chest to do something different with my life. “Broken Open” is the journey of breaking out of the norms that bind us, breaking through the fears we feel when we step on a new path, and opening ourselves to the joy and ecstasy of life.

This collection consists of six self-portraits, shot on location in Thailand, Vietnam, the United States, and Turkey.

Broken Open # 2 was created in Ayutthaya, Thailand.