Wanderlust
“Wanderlust is a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world.”
The travel bug bit me in 2011. Rather later in life than most. Not because I did not want to travel before then, but because I was determined to do it when I could do so free and clear. I also did not want to do it in too short a trip and have to slum it the whole way. I wanted to be able to take my time, soak it all in and do so on my own terms. And that is exactly what I did!
I found such complete and utter joy from solo traveling – just my camera and I. A total break and distance from everyday life and everyday worries. To fill my heart and mind with wonder and experiences that touched my soul. To find myself again and return more inspired than before.
I have been eternally grateful to have been able to travel in 2011, 2012 and 2014 – in each instance spending just over a month traveling in Europe. It is my mission to be able to travel every year. At the moment I am feeling nostalgic for travel as I am having to delay this year’s trip to make space for other dreams to come true.
Conceptual photography found me in 2013 and so for my trip of 2014 I was determined to try create images along the way. Not really sure if this was going to be possible, but I packed a prop dress just in case. Of course I knew I would have to improvise along the way in terms of props.
- Some of the images I created on my 2014 trip…
For this trip, I not only wanted to travel to a different place, but also to a different time. I specifically researched and chose places to visit that had a distinct medieval feeling and history. This image was created in the small medieval town of Óbidos, Portugal.
- Creating the flag stock...
I was staying at the Hotel Estalagem do Convento, which was a wonderful hotel located in the building of an old 19th century Convent. At breakfast I was inspired to create this image by the crests they had displayed in the hotel restaurant. I figured I could find a branch or stick to hold and later convert that into a flag. I did just that by creating some stock when back at home and used some of the design of the crest to decorate my flag. You can see in the before and after processing video how I did this.
- Before & after processing video...
This images does not seem heavily conceptual for me, but the mood of the location and the feeling of traveling back in time gave me a wonderful sense of making a stand and touching a different time.
- Some photographs from around Obidos...
