I am a wedding photographer from Vancouver, Canada. I now live in Gent, Belgium with my now husband, who I met at a couch surfing meet up in 2015. We're both very outdoorsy and love hiking, rock climbing, and camping.

If I am staying with you or you are staying with me, it’s good to know I am vegan just in case we cook together. You are free to eat what you want and I won’t be one of those people to start a judgmental conversation about why I don't eat meat :)

Just for the record, as much as I think the concept of nudism is great and free and an awesome way to live, I am NOT a nudist myself. Maybe one day I will be comfortable enough to explore this, but at this time unfortunately that's not the case!

If you feel so inclined to check out my photos, you can do so here on Instagram:
My professional account: @shawnaraephotos (feel free to hire me for your wedding ;) )
My travel account: @lifeofsunrae

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Knowledge sharing and meeting new, awesome people. Local experiences. The usual!

Interests

I like living a holistic life. Eating clean, breathing exercises, different kinds of exercise/movement regularly, work/life balance, being in nature, working on my creativity through my photography and my side business of selling homemade lotions/deodorant/face wash/etc.

• animals
• yoga
• motorcycles
• traveling
• hiking
• camping
• surfing
• snowboarding
• rock climbing
• mountains
• stargazing
• vegan cooking

Music, Movies, and Books

Music: mostly rock genres, generally not rap, hip hop, R&B, heavy metal...although there are exceptions to the rule. The Lumineers, Xavier Rudd, the Foo Fighters, David Bowie, Zerbin, Ziggy Alberts, SYML, Fleetwood Mac, Of Monsters and Men are a few examples.

Movies: Anything but romcom or ridiculous horror movies.

Books: The Eight Mountains, Into the Wild, The Alchemist, Little Princes, Breath, Why We Sleep, The China Study, A House in the Sky, An Astronaut's Guide to the Galaxy, In Order to Live

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

I volunteered at an orphanage in Nepal for six months.

I've hiked with my husband to the Magic Bus from Into the Wild and slept in it for a night in March. Got to see northern lights from the bus window.

Teach, Learn, Share

I can teach you how to use your camera properly and if I have my gear even take a professional portrait of you :) other than that, I'm honestly not very talented haha, sorry.

What I Can Share with Hosts

Food, wine, and my knowledge of places I've been.

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, England, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Northern Ireland, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vatican City State, Venezuela, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Australia, Belgium, Canada, Nepal, New Zealand