What to say about Santorini?! Other than that it’s heaven-on-earth? granted, crowded heaven-on-earth (from June to August)…but still, there is simply no place quite like it. It’s the sheer cliffs (caused by a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago) on one side of the island, the impossibly blue ocean, the iconic Greek isles architecture with white walls and blue domed churches, and of course, the sunsets, where people erupt into cheers and clap at the end (I am serious).
Usually I find myself going on and on about a place, but strangely this time, I have very few words. So I will just let the photos do the talking.
Warning, I’m generally more of a dog person, but you might see quite a few cats in this post.
Sunrise from up in the air.
It was worth the overnight at Athens airport haha.
Atlantis Books. Officially my favourite bookstore in the world.
If you are a book lover, how amazing would it be to get married here?!
I can’t believe it’s been more than a month already! In the beginning of March, I had the opportunity to travel alone for the first time. I had a workshop planned with two photographers whose work I had quietly admired from afar for a few years: Nordica Photography. I was incredibly excited to meet them and go on an adventure on my own since Mike couldn’t take the time off. Then as the trip neared, I felt anxious and apprenhensive. How would it be to travel by myself? I especially hate eating by myself. Would I get lost? Run into any trouble? Would it be lonely? And, not to mention, meeting two of my favourite photographers. It was a little nerve-wracking.
I asked my good friend Jess for advice about solo travel. She confirmed that while traveling alone can be so fun, it can also be quite lonely. She said there were times when she just didn’t want to go outside and explore. But she said to push through those feelings and go out and explore anyway. As for safety for a solo female traveler, she suggested that I should always look confident even if I don’t know where I’m going; be organized about my plans and know where I’m going ahead of time. That last part didn’t work out too well for me. After I got off the airport shuttle at Stockholm central station, I decided to walk to my hostel in Gamla Stan (Old Town). I could have taken the metro but I had checked Google maps before my trip and it was only about a 20-minute walk. I was tired so I thought the fresh air would help. With nothing but a free map I got from the airport and a relatively good sense of directions (thanks Mom!), I walked out into the city. And I almost got lost. Luckily I managed to navigate by landmark and arrived at my hostel after about half an hour.
In addition to the workshop, I had planned couples sessions for this trip so in a way, they helped to motivate me to get out and explore. It was really lovely to meet new people and get to know them a little. It was an opportunity to connect with locals in a way that I hadn’t had the chance to before.
And eating by myself? It wasn’t that bad I guess. A lot of places have bar seats so you don’t have to look at your neighbours uncomfortably or anything haha. While I still felt a bit self-conscious, I’m sure it was mostly in my head.
And the loneliness? It was tough the first couple of days but then I got used to it. It was nice to spend some quality time alone. And yea the freedom to do whatever you want, when you want can be fun. For example, I could just pick up my camera and run out the door and wander around Gamla Stan by myself at night. I did have my heavy tripod, which was probably more of a weapon than a piece of photography equipment anyway. So, solo traveling? Definitely an experience to be had at least once. But, I feel like the world is a lovelier place when you can share it with those you love.
Below are some personal photos from Stockholm, as well as a few from the amazing two-on-one workshop I did with the Nordica dudes.
Stockholm reminded me of a mixture of Paris and Amsterdam. Beautiful architecture and lots of history, canals and islands.
The people are friendly.
But the things that struck me the most were their clean drinking water (straight from the tap! also, you can fish from the water surrounding the city, that’s how clean they are);
and how nice the drivers are! A lot of pedestrian crossings don’t have lights, just zebra stripes and a sign to remind the drivers.
Yet, no one tries to rush you or run you over.
I’ve been trying to work out all that I’ve learned from Cole and Jakob ever since the workshop. There was a lot of information, and even now I’m frequently going back to my notebook and going through my notes. I loved learning the business side of things, because they are clearly really good at it. I’ve always admired the way they see light, so it was awesome to learn about what they look for or keep in mind when taking a photo. There were also a lot of practical tips and suggestions which were super helpful since they answered my specific questions. They shared the Nordica story with me, including some tidbits that I hadn’t known before which really surprised and humbled me, such as how they did 300 sessions in their first year. Talk about hustling. The best part was how real they were; real down to earth and approachable guys who are also hilarious.
I left feeling really inspired, and motivated. As the weeks passed though, I’ll be honest, I felt a little depressed. I started wondering about how I can become as successful as they are. I realized that there is no set formula to do this, I can’t replicate their experiences, and boom. I knew this lesson already, but it’s one of those things that you have to work at everyday.
This was both sad and kind of liberating. My experiences will never be the same as theirs (or anyone else’s) because we are not the same people. My path will only ever be mine. It doesn’t seem like there’s much point in chasing after another person’s version of success, at least, not without really sitting down and evaluating what it is that I want to do.
So thank you Cole and Jakob, for a great day of laughs and inspiration. But most of all, for inspiring me to continue to follow my dreams, and find my own way.
Somehow Cole always ends up holding purses at workshops :)
The Vasa! The only (almost) fully intact 17th century ship ever salvaged.
The sheer size of this ship was very impressive. Note tiny people near the bottom for scale.
If you’ve been to my site before, you probably know about my love for Iceland, and its desolate, wild but beautiful landscape. I think it all started with a visit to the Isle of Skye in 2011. The similarities are there, but Skye is probably greener, with more trees. But they have that same kind of wild, untamed beauty. I’m not sure what that says about me, except maybe these lands speak to the loner in me.
Skye, the Misty Isle. I remember before that trip, a friend of mine thought it was such a random place for me to want to go visit so badly. I couldn’t really explain it at the time either. But I was going through some books the other day and picked up my copy of No Great Mischief, and then it dawned on me that this book was the reason I wanted to see landscape similar to Cape Breton island on which the book was set in.
So after an early morning train ride from Edinburgh to Fort William (which has the reputation of being the wettest place in the UK, it did not disappoint), a short ride on the awesome Jacobite steam train from Fort William to the tiny fishing village of Mallaig, and a ferry ride over the sea, we had arrived. I must geek out about The Jacobite a little here, if you are a train enthusiast, this is a must-experience journey. The scenery along the way is stunning. And if you are a Harry Potter fan like me, then this is also a very special experience (certain compartments and the locomotive were used to film the Hogwarts Express scenes and the scene of the train crossing a beautiful loch was also filmed on this route).
Favourite memories:
– The bus ride from Armadale to Portree after the ferry. Just watching the landscape transform through the different weather systems.
– Various short hikes on the island
– Waking up in our B&B on our 3rd and last day feeling like I was at home because I was so comfortable
– Having fish & chips at 9 o’clock at night, and the fish the size of our heads
The island has a weather system of its own (just like Iceland), passing between rain, clouds and sun at a moment’s notice.
Because of the high winds, you can watch the clouds move across the landscape, leaving pockets of light and dark in their trail.
Cattle on the road! These guys stood smack in the middle of the road for a good 5 minutes.
And because a lot of the roads are single lanes only, you might have to wait it out if this happens.
Also, it’s custom to raise your hand to say hello as you pass another car.
How sweet is that? No one does that in the cities.
The beautiful Eilean Donan castle.
The Talisker Distillery is great for Scotch lovers.
I had my first “dram of Scotch” here…it was alright :P
First time I’ve ever seen a double rainbow!
Sea air, rolling fields, dramatic dips and curves in the landscape, the ever changing sky and ocean. All of which have enchanted me.
I don’t have any more words for this island that holds a special place in my heart,
other than this passage from the book Wild that I think describes what it feels like to be there:
“It only had to do with how it felt to be in the wild.
With what it was like to walk for miles for no reason other than to witness the accumulation of trees and meadows,
mountains and deserts, streams and rocks, rivers and grasses, sunrises and sunsets.
The experience was powerful and fundamental.
It seemed to me that it had always felt like this to be a human in the wild, and as long as the wild existed it would always feel this way.”
The day I met Armina & Davið for our session, Iceland was at its wintry, stormy best. Think gale force winds and snow whipping you in the face. Winter was definitely coming that day (excuse my lame Game of Thrones reference, been watching the show lately). Even though it was only cloudy in the morning, but as Armina later said, you cannot trust the weather when in Iceland. :)
We had plans to go to lake Kleifarvatn in the Reykjanes peninsula. By the time we got there, there was so much snow we could hardly see in front of the car and everywhere you looked there was nothing but the whiteness of the snow covered landscape. Then we got to a part on the secondary road where the snow drift was so high that cars could not drive through. At which point we drove back to the city and Davið officially apologized for the weather haha. That’s the thing, sometimes plans just don’t work out. How you work with what’s been given to you is what makes the difference.
We made the best of the rest of our time together and made a brief stop at the Saga Museum, where we stepped out onto the terrace briefly to capture the only outdoor photo from the day. Then we headed to Kex Hostel, where they have this incredible lounge, and is where Armina and Davið like to hang out after work sometimes.
Here are some of my favourite, moody indoor portraits on a stormy Icelandic winter day.
This is part 2 in my travelogue series on Italy. The first part on the Amalfi coast is here. :)
Mike and I went to Florence on our 2010 trip but didn’t really get to explore the Tuscany country side. Florence was beautiful, not to mention the world class Uffizi gallery and the Academia Gallery where Michelangelo’s David is. Better go early for both of these otherwise the lineups are unbelievably long. You can also buy tickets ahead of time at a smaller tourist attraction for both of them and skip the ticket line. Oh there are two lines: the ticket line, and the security line. Yea, have fun with that :) If I sound a little bitter, it’s only because we got yelled at by one of the gallery workers at the Uffizi, for both sitting on a bench (which mind you was perfectly capable of seating 2, if not 3 people). And no, there wasn’t a sign saying you can’t sit on it. I think she was just having a bad day. And yes, 4 years later I still remember that incident. What can I say, I’m a Scorpio, I hold grudges. ;)
To be honest, I thought the Academia wasn’t that exciting besides David, if you want to see other amazing works by Michelangelo and Bernini, don’t miss the Borghese Gallery in Rome. That was my favourite museum in Italy.
I think two of my favourite things in Italy besides the beautiful scenery and culture were gelato and focaccia (both food related of course haha). Gelato is pretty self explanatory. Focaccia is too I think. But they make it a bit differently in different parts of Italy. The Tuscan variety tends to be thinner and simpler, usually just seasoned with a bit of olive oil, salt and a bit of herbs. It’s so delicious. When we were in Tuscany in 2012, I think I ate the bread for breakfast, lunch and dinner. :D Gelato was pretty much a twice-a-day exercise; not eaten right after focaccia, that’s just weird.
Our 2012 visit brought us to Siena, then onto the Tuscany countryside from there. We rented a little Smart Car for 3 days. We had to get an automatic since neither of us could drive manual at the time. But the car wasn’t a true automatic and man it was fun getting up those little hills. Two tips for driving in the Italian countryside:
1. Unless you drive like an Italian, better get used to the impatient gesturing of the driver behind you, the honking and eventual passing. I don’t know what it is, but these friendly people turn into a completely different species when they get behind the wheel.
2. Get a detailed road map before you drive off! Ask me how many times we drove around Siena while trying to figure out how to get out of the city without a map. I think it might have been 3.
This is Siena’s Duomo. They started building it after Florence built theirs. The competition was fierce!
It’s not as grand as the one in Florence because they never finished theirs in Siena when the Black Death hit in 1348.
I have a really funny memory of this place. I was in line for tickets and after getting two tickets, I walked towards Mike,
looked back at the ticket booth, and burst out laughing. Mike asked me what was funny.
I said I just realized why I felt so strange getting the tickets:
the ticket booth was ridiculously low, I had to bend down and crane my neck to
speak to the ticket seller. Everyone else was doing the same thing.
I should have taken a photo of this ticket booth, but I was too caught up in that moment.
here it is: Il Campo. Europe’s most beautiful square. Well, minus the construction crane.
Wooden shutters are the best, no?
The next 3 photos were taken from the old city walls, which is a must visit at dusk.
The rolling hills of Tuscany. It really is as pretty as the postcards.
a vintage Fiat! They are so cute.
Wheat fields always remind me of that scene in The Gladiator where Maximus is walking through one, his hand sailing through them.
Me reading our Toscana map: it was bigger than me when completely unfolded :D
It’s so fun going through old photos and finding ones you’d forgotten about.
Next up in the Italian travelogues: the charming Cinque Terre.
Lilja and Jón are getting married in July in East Iceland (unfortunately I’m already booked that day, cry!) I met them on my trip to Iceland a few weeks ago and took some engagement photos for them in Reykjavik, where they live.
The theme for their wedding is nautical so the harbour was the place we went. They also brought along their sweet Labrador for part of the session.
We didn’t have a lot of time together because Jón had a bit of a work emergency that he had to deal with. However, we made the best of the time we did have together, and here are some of my favourites from their session. Enjoy!
