Chasen West Captures Guatemala — Kandrac & Kole Interior Design

If you follow us on social media, you may have noticed some pretty spectacular photographs from our trip with Modenus Blogtour to Milan and Venice Italy this past May. Many of those photographs were courtesy of a young man with a very bright future as a professional photographer - Chasen West. We were so enamored by his talent, that we sponsored him to join us in Guatemala!

This was a bucket list kind of trip for Chasen so it was our pleasure to give him the opportunity to expand his portfolio while helping us at the same time.

I love that Chasen has what I call an "artistic grunge" perspective when he looks thru the lens. He captured the beauty and the grit of Guatemala very well.

Here are some of my favorites:

Our crazy team with our fearless leader, Fontaine Greene from CRI.

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We had (3) mother daughter pairs on the trip which was a wonderful bonding experience!

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When we got to the village work site, this is what welcomed us - the beginnings of a very special home.

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My college roomie Jen and design buddy Pamela Copeman cut all that wood! They were rockstars:)

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I love the traditional Mayan garb the women and girls wear in the village.

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This is Jaime. She has been my friend for three years. She rarely says much but she's happy to see me!

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It's rare to see a retriever in Guatemala but of course our family had a small white golden retriever named Bobby. He was quite sick but he loved his family and followed the mom around everywhere.

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Shoes are a treasured item and my favorite thing to bring to Guatemala.

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This is Esteban. I met him three years ago while building a house for his family of eight and we have stayed in touch. I brought him new work boots this year.

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Beautiful colors contrasting with the barbed wire.... signature Chasen.....

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My friend Pamela is a talented artist. She brought watercolors for the kids. They always paint happy, beautiful images despite the surroundings that they live in.