📸 Life Through Your Lens | Badge of the Month | August 2025

 

This isn’t the best picture in my gallery, but it has a story. One day, I decided to go on a solo trip and one of the places I visited was Udaipur. While exploring, I came across something truly beautiful, it was made using more than 17,000 tiny glass pieces. Looking at it, I realized how small things, when put together, can create something truly amazing.

Beautiful!

This is gorgeous-I can’t believe how intricate it is!

I took this photo when I lived in Singapore 📸🇸🇬

Not only did I think the composition of the scene looked interesting, but I was especially taken with the wooden scaffolding! I had never seen scaffolding like this before, made of baku wood, and tied together by twine, rope and similar at the joints. 

My feeling at the time was that this is a great representation of old technology that works perfectly well even today. Lesson: Sometimes not every single thing needs to be constantly enhanced, optimized, refined, etc. Sometimes, the classic approach is what is best! 

Sharing my Monday morning happiness, quiet office, coffee and a great view. 

A picture I took on the flight when our family moved from Canada to France. Always thought it was a faithful image of my feelings at the moment. Things that end and things that begin, adventure, unknown, peace.

Sharing my Monday morning happiness, quiet office, coffee and a great view. 

What a relaxing way to start the week 😃

I went paragliding for the first time in Switzerland earlier this summer, and I think my face says it all. It was an incredible experience and something I NEED to do again! I have always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but jumping off a cliff in the Swiss alps definitely made me nervous. I think this photo serves as a reminder to me to do the scary stuff : )

I went paragliding for the first time in Switzerland earlier this summer, and I think my face says it all. It was an incredible experience and something I NEED to do again! I have always been a bit of an adrenaline junkie, but jumping off a cliff in the Swiss alps definitely made me nervous. I think this photo serves as a reminder to me to do the scary stuff : )

This is on my bucket list! So cool that you got the chance to do it!

Loving all your photos and stories behind them so far!

I took this photo a while back while volunteering at a nature preserve in Mexico. Up until this moment, I had no idea full circle rainbows existed and it’s probably one of the coolest photos I’ve ever taken!

Loving all your photos and stories behind them so far!

I took this photo a while back while volunteering at a nature preserve in Mexico. Up until this moment, I had no idea full circle rainbows existed and it’s probably one of the coolest photos I’ve ever taken!

I love this - what a beautiful thing to see

It was one of those business trips where every day felt like a marathon: back-to-back meetings, solving problems, and putting out fires left and right. By the time the weekend rolled around, I was more than ready for a break. I pretty much stabbed my finger at random on the map, picked a spot, and just drove.

After a bit of hiking in the hills, I ended up here. The view was unreal; waves rolling in, endless coastline, and a quiet that made all the stress fade away. I couldn’t have picked a better place to chill out and reset.

Even now, three years later, whenever I need to imagine somewhere calm, this is the spot and the memory that comes to mind.

Kind of a cheat, this is a picture of my university's’ namesake, but the students/fac/staff call him “Surfin’ Steve”.

 

What a gorgeous photo--where was it taken?

Last September, Hurricane Helene swept through our part of western North Carolina.  My aunt texted me from two houses down to say a tree had fallen on her house.  I thought she meant a small tree...but I was wrong.  My grandfather was watching from the kitchen window, just a few feet away, when this happened; my aunt was sitting in the next room.  They were both shaken, but safe.  For the next 8 months they lived in another house while most of their home (where they had lived for 55 years) was dismantled down to the studs and rebuilt.  They finally moved back in this May 💗

I have spent this year testing my physical limitations. It has been great discovering what all I am capable of. I have taken up trail running, completed multiple Spartan races and double-medaled in a Jiu Jitsu competition this year. It is a big deal for me because these were all “mountaintop” goals I set during physical therapy. The goals are intended to give me a focus to continue to progress with my recovery after therapy has ended. The second photo is me with Thor’s hammer. i found it trail running in Round Rock and couldn’t resist the opportunity to try and lift it. 

At our Qualtrics office in Reston, VA, we're encouraged to step away from our desks for moments of creativity. During a recent summit keynote, we were invited to paint musical instruments—what a unique way to engage with the content!

As a new dad, I couldn't resist the opportunity to create something meaningful for my little one. I painted a set of maracas that honor both sides of his heritage. My wife grew up in the Andes region of Colombia, and I'm from the foothills of West Virginia. While our backgrounds are different, we both share cultures rich in music. We're excited to introduce our son to various instruments so he can experience the joy of making music with us.

Here's my attempt at painting these special maracas! 🎨🎶

I love hiking and getting out in nature, and in particular, going to national parks and big open areas of wilderness to camp and be far away from the civilized world. It’s such a refreshing feeling to completely detach from work, my phone, email, and all those mundane chores of societal existence like thinking about getting my roof replaced and being woken up by the neighbor’s early-morning lawnmowing. I try to do a big hiking and camping vacation to a different national park each year, in summer or early fall. This year I went to Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada. This photo was taken on a hike into the mountains in Banff, high above Lake Louise (which you can see in the valley in the distance) to a small ledge along the side of a mountain overlooking a field of glaciers. I love this feeling of being somewhere with very few other people, surrounded by nature that has been here for millions of years (the Rocky Mountains formed 50+ million years ago) and puts into perspective just how small I am against the vast scope of the world.

When your first one sets out on their own very big adventure. Captured a few of the last steps we get to take side by side before the adventure begins!

At our Qualtrics office in Reston, VA, we're encouraged to step away from our desks for moments of creativity. During a recent summit keynote, we were invited to paint musical instruments—what a unique way to engage with the content!

As a new dad, I couldn't resist the opportunity to create something meaningful for my little one. I painted a set of maracas that honor both sides of his heritage. My wife grew up in the Andes region of Colombia, and I'm from the foothills of West Virginia. While our backgrounds are different, we both share cultures rich in music. We're excited to introduce our son to various instruments so he can experience the joy of making music with us.

Here's my attempt at painting these special maracas! 🎨🎶

 

​@cmartine_qualtrics I’m a fan! I love the idea of making art out of everyday objects, especially if they involve music, baseball cards, etc.

This is an old record that I’m painting a portrait of folk singer Woody Guthrie for a show called “Remixed” at the Ponshop gallery in Fredericksburg, VA. Fifty local artists will be making paintings on recycled LP records. It’s the tenth year that they’ve put the how on and you can learn more here: 2025 — Blog Posts — Ponshop Studio and Gallery. (And yes, that is my Qualtrics speaker that I I’m listening to Bob Dylan songs and “Mermaid Avenue” by Billy Bragg and Wilco on while I paint.)

Last September, Hurricane Helene swept through our part of western North Carolina.  My aunt texted me from two houses down to say a tree had fallen on her house.  I thought she meant a small tree...but I was wrong.  My grandfather was watching from the kitchen window, just a few feet away, when this happened; my aunt was sitting in the next room.  They were both shaken, but safe.  For the next 8 months they lived in another house while most of their home (where they had lived for 55 years) was dismantled down to the studs and rebuilt.  They finally moved back in this May 💗

Glad to hear they’re okay and were able to move back home!

Race start - recently completed a triathlon WITH my husband. Our lives have consisted of early morning trainings and long rides/runs on the weekends in order to maintain work/training/life balance for our family. 

I have to admit to being a tad jealous. I used to do triathlons (not the Ironman! just the half Olympic Sprints) until my lower back started hurting too much. Keep it up ​@kgillis and keep going 💪 

Back to School, Back to Freedom
As we reach the end of August, September is almost here, bringing with it the familiar rhythm of back to school. And let’s be honest: it also brings a little breath of freedom during the day. A chance to refocus, recharge, and maybe even enjoy a coffee while it’s still hot. 

This sunrise photo was taken from my home, and it holds a lot of meaning for me.

It's a daily reminder to pause and appreciate the present moment, and to recognize how lucky I am to live in such a peaceful and beautiful place. In the hustle of our day-to-day work life, it’s easy to get caught up in our thoughts and feel overwhelmed. This image helps me step back, breathe, and remember that work is just one part of life, not the whole story.

Nature has a way of grounding us, and I try to carry that mindset with me throughout the day 🌿✨

This is Pepper. She joined our family a few years ago and life has never been the same. 😍