Durham, North Carolina | Travel Photography

I have a special nostalgic flutter in my heart reserved for North Carolina. I spent four years of my college career at Duke University in Durham, and while I had my ups and downs in college, I still love Duke in the end, and I still get incredibly excited to be back for a visit. Last month, I had the opportunity to shoot Susan and Peter’s beautiful farm wedding in rural Chapel Hill, and I got to stay a couple extra days to hang out around my alma mater too. Enjoy a dose of southern nostalgia below!

Of course one of the first stops I made was to Locopops. They make the best popsicles I’ve ever had in my life, and you can only find them in North Carolina!

Yifan and I paid a quick visit to Duke’s East Campus:

And then we met up with another friend at Guglhupf, an amazing bakery/cafe that I somehow never visited as a student.

And then, time to roam around West Campus, the main campus with all our beautiful castle-looking architecture.

We decided to take a nap on the chapel quad…

And then later that evening, Yifan and I met up with Emily and Stephanie again for dinner in Durham’s new happening downtown area. All of this has been newly developed in recent years, as Durham has been transformed from empty tobacco warehouses into a foodie destination.

Stephanie and me– I hadn’t seen her since college, but she ended up in a relationship with one of my childhood friends, which is just crazy and awesome.

Yifan and Emily. This was the second of three cities in which I saw Emily, within the span of two weeks (San Francisco, Durham, and Boston). And I had seen her in Taipei in February too.

Pizza from Pizzeria Toro. Nomnomnom.

Parker & Otis, one of my new favorite spots which also was not there six years ago.

I met up with a friend from TAF, Alison, who somehow found herself working in Durham in the summer– she’s a student in New York, but I think she ended up liking Durham.

One last glimpse at the campus before heading off to RDU.

Til next time, Durham! Thank you to Susan & Peter for this lovely trip and also the generous southern hospitality while we were there– it truly lived up to its reputation.

 

Anna Wu is a wedding and portrait photographer based in San Francisco but often jetsetting around the world. Follow her on facebook for more photography and travel adventures.