We had the good fortune of connecting with Calvin Hearns and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Calvin, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
I was born in Texas. My mother is a retired teacher and my father was an Air Force veteran. From my mother I learned to enjoy learning and to appreciate history. From my father I learned to appreciate and learn more about the world around me. An exciting way to pursue these interests is through travel. I was fortunate to be able to start this at an early age due to my father’s career, living in a number of places including getting my first passport stamp at age 5. This allowed me to cross paths with different people and different cultures. This was important to who I am today because one thing I believe strongly is that our opinions are largely based on our experiences, and broad experiences contribute to more open opinions. Travel is a big part of this, which is why I share so much about my travel experiences and what I learn along the way

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
My work is photography and content creation, but it is hard to call it work because I enjoy what I do. I am proud that I am not just creating photos or videos but educating myself and others along the way. For example, if I take and share a photo of Ronald McDonald in Thailand, it is not about fast food, it is is about local culture, as the character is posed in a traditional Thai greeting, which I explain in my captions or videos. Any travel photo I share has a lesson behind it. I want everyone to know that the world is a fun classroom and I want to inspire more people to learn with me!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’m not often in the area now due to my travels, but if I were hosting friends in town, I would certainly show them some of the history of the DFW area. In Dallas, history buffs will think of the JFK assassination, but there is much more history in the area: we may explore the location of the first 7-Eleven store, or see locations related Bonnie and Clyde’s infamous crime spree. The Deep Ellum district, a destination for freedmen after Emancipation, has lots of music history and still offers live music as well as a variety of food and drink options. In Fort Worth, we could see a live cattle drive through the stockyards. The suburbs have plenty to offer as well. Wine lovers can explore Grapevine’s Main Street, Train enthusiasts can also explore Grapevine, Frisco or Plano for their train museums. Farmers Branch has a historical park that represents the area from 1840-1940. A short drive north, you can visit the birthplace of President Dwight Eisenhower.
Depending on the time of year, we may get out to Dinosaur Valley State Park where you can hunt for dinosaur footprints. I’ve enjoyed visiting all of these places and creating photographs and learning more about my own backyard!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’ve mentioned my parents, who inspired my love of history and travel but I would also like to acknowledge late author Michael Karnes who first inspired me to being more intentional in sharing my travels with others and photographer Erick Prince who has been an example in how to responsibly share my content and being a responsible global citizen.

Website: https://calvinchronicles.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/calvinchronicles

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/calvinhearns

Facebook: https://facebook.com/calvinchroniclesblog

Youtube: https://youtube.com/thecalvinchronicles

Other: I educate people about travel at https://instagram.com/cubiclestopassports and I do headshot and business photography at https://instagram.com/calvinhearnsphotography.com

Image Credits
Antarctica photo of me taken by Scott Mills
Valley of Fire State Park photo of me taken by Nathan Phillips
All other photos taken by me

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