About Me

 

Me:

So who exactly am I??  Good question!  I’m a traveling pixel junkie, so to speak. To be more specific, I’m a photographer and graphic designer. I live on the road full-time, which means I have no property or physical address.  I am, what you would call, a “technomad,” meaning someone who uses technology to make their “nomad-ness” possible.

Why such a crazy lifestyle? Well, I was never into convention, for one. Plus, I thrive on a dynamic and constantly-changing life. After trying to quench my thirst for adventure with a large amount of traveling, plane rides and hotels, this life seemed to just make sense. While researching Airstreams, things kind of fell into place and I met Ben, who had been living on the road for over four years. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other, and I eventually moved onto his 40′ tour bus in January of 2010. In January of 2013, Ben and I were married and we couldn’t be happier! Ben and I hit anywhere between 15 and 30 states per year, working on the road and shooting as much as possible. My goal with this blog is to share not only travel experiences and amazing destinations, but also my love of photography.

In addition to this site, The Pixel Diaries, I also have a more complete portfolio site, which shows off my images and design work. You can purchase prints there as well

The site is: www.KarenNace.com

Ben (my other half):

Ben’s passion for photography developed before he could grow a beard or drive a car. Almost three decades passed while Ben established himself as a skilled graphic designer and world renowned Photoshop guru. During this time, he taught over 80,000 Photoshop users, authored numerous award winning books and was inducted into the Photoshop Hall of Fame.

In early 2006, he radically transformed his life so that he could finally focus on what he had wanted to do almost his entire life. A beautiful house in the mountains of Colorado was traded for a 40 ft. touring bus, a household of possessions were swapped for camera gear, and with the open road before him, Ben aimed all of his intentions of building a new life behind the camera.

The resulting work is a compelling fusion of Ben’s multiple disciplines: photographer, graphic designer and Photoshop expert. His highly creative photo compositions are noticeably informed by his designer’s eye and his unparalleled mastery of Photoshop enables him to transform raw captures into breathtaking images.

His multiple lives now co-exist synergistically side-by-side. When he isn’t out in the wilds toting his gear and looking for the perfect light, he travels the globe sharing his Photoshop knowledge.

To visit Ben’s blog and learn more about him, visit HIS BLOG.

 

Current and Future Busses

I say “current and future” because while we are currently living in the bus that Ben has owned since 2006, he is currently restoring a vintage bus, that we’ll move into in the next year or so.

The Current

This is the bus that I was introduced to when I was introduced to Ben. It’s a 1997 Prevost motorcoach that’s 40 feet long. And yes, it’s very pretty. There’s really nothing we’re missing that would be in a normal house, with the exception of washer/dryer.

In this bus, when we’re staying in an RV park, we need to be in a place that offers “big rig” spaces, and can support 50 amp electricity. If we’re not in an RV park, and not plugged in to anything, we can probably go for about a day before needing to be plugged in again.

 

The Future

About the time I met Ben, he had just gotten his vintage bus, an 1963 Flxible Starliner. Talk about character! The bus had a “livable” interior… which has since been gutted and will be reworked from scratch. The engine and transmission are the first to get replaced, then the paint, then the interior.

And when it’s all done, that’s what we’ll be living in… full time. So a big question we get a lot is “why?” Why switch to something smaller? Well there’s a few reasons, and I wont dive into detail, but remember above how the current bus can go about 1.5 days without power? Well the vintage bus will go anywhere from a week to infinity without power, depending on sunlight (flexible solar panels will line the top).

With the Flxy, we’ll aslo be able to handle more roads that are “off the beaten path” and hence we’ll be able to explore more of the US of A. And another reason? … Dude, he’s got CHARACTER! (I say “he” because, like my MINI, the bus has a face, and he’s just adorable!)

Now this was a brief description of the project, but we have a much more detailed website dedicated to the vintage bus, which has been dubbed “The Creative Cruiser. ”  For much more info, and periodic updates of the progression, visit The Creative Cruiser’s web site  or follow the Facebook page.