Hi. Always a challenge to write something about yourself but I'll give it my best shot.

In a nutshell, born and raised in New York, decided to join the military once I was done with school so I could serve my country, see the world and get an education. Spent 12 wonderful years seeing most of Asia, the Middle East and parts of Europe during my tours. The fun part was meeting people from all walks of life, learning new languages and cultures and capturing images of the beauty of this world. The not so fun part is spending time in war zones and seeing all of the tragedy that it leaves behind.

Left the military and decided to settle down in Singapore where I have been for the past 15 years. Hard to believe how fast it has flown by. After trying out a few different career fields, from the management of an art gallery to running events for a restaurant group, I knew that my passion and calling was in photography. First picked up a camera when I was 12, slowing growing my hobby into a full-time career that started 10 years ago. You can check out some of what I do here:

www.toddbeltz.com

Food, interiors and lifestyle photography is what pays the bills and what I love to shoot professionally but people and travel photography are what I do in my free time. My experiences around the world, 27 countries and counting, has fueled my passion, growing my love for details and subtleties that define a subject and make it exceptional.

Leaving Singapore soon though as it's time to explore other parts of this world with the hope of settling down in Europe by the end of the year.

Pretty easy going and laid back, love exploring new places, making friends and learning about different cultures and languages. I'm quiet, respectful and friendly and very neat and clean. Can thank my years of military service for that. I love cooking, not so great at it yet, but learning as I go along. It's therapeutic and a complete joy when I'm able to create something.

Would love to learn how to cook a local dish or two in the countries that I'm visiting.

Feel free to ask me anything. Looking forward to connecting!

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

Looking to make new friends, connect with others over a shared love and interests of good food, wine, laughter and experiences. I'm new to this, just signed up actually, and while I can't host anyone as of yet since I'm moving countries, would love to spend time with others on this platform during my travels. One day I would love the opportunity to host others too.

Interests

• animals
• culture
• photography
• wine
• traveling
• hiking
• surfing
• art
• beach
• trekking
• learning languages
• learning new things
• ocean
• conversation
• foodie
• whisky
• exploring nature
• scubadiving
• snow skiing
• digital nomad
• food and drinks
• food lover
• ocean conservation
• explore new places

Music, Movies, and Books

Too many to list but music wise, it varies widely, sometimes depending on my mood. Ambient chill, lounge, jazz, piano, rock (more from the 80's-90's), some rap, pop. Movies I love mostly action with some of my favourite stars being The Rock, Jason Statham, Matt Damon. Indie and arthouse films have always intrigued me, whatever new TV series is showing on Netflix that piques my interest, drama and yes even rom-coms on those rare occasions. I'm a huge book fan, reading books as often as I can. These days though, a lot of reading takes place online with ebooks being so convenient.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Hard to place just one amazing thing as I believe life is one amazing adventure. I have yet to try skydiving, rock climbing or hiking across a country, all things I hope to do before I get too old to actually be able to enjoy it.

Teach, Learn, Share

What can I teach or share? Well for starters, what I'm good at. Photography. If you love taking images and are hoping to brush up on your skills, learn new ones, get critiqued etc, I'm your guy. Shooting professionally for 10 years and as a hobby for more than 25 so you won't go wrong in this area.

I can teach English as well. Sharing my experiences in life with my travels, military, what life is like in Singapore or even Japan where I spent the most amazing 5 years of my life.

Hoping to learn more about various cultures, languages, cooking and any outdoor activities.

Countries I’ve Visited

Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, China, Egypt, Germany, Guam, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Netherlands, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Viet Nam

Countries I’ve Lived In

Bahrain, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United States