I’ve decided to start a new series on my website and blog.  Sometimes it feels like there’s so much more to my love of photography than just the photography itself, and frankly, I kinda miss writing.  So, welcome to “1000 Words” (’cause that’s what a picture’s worth…get it?) where I’ll pick one topic each week and wax philosophic, or poetic, or….something.

It was almost a year ago that I embarked upon a frighteningly independent little journey that would ultimately end up altering the direction of my life.  I went to France – Bordeaux to be more specific – for a whole month. By myself.  A whole month of cheesy soul-searching, self-help-book-reading, life-expounding, please-god-help-me-find-some-direction goodness.  It was terrifying, exhilarating, refreshing and comforting, all rolled into 4 short weeks.

But when I was there, I ended up finding exactly what I needed.  I rediscovered my love of photography.  You see, about five years ago, I quit my job, with the steadfast intention to figure out what I wanted to do with my life.  And about 4 years ago, I was so excited to buy a fancy camera and take a digital photography course.  And then I hated every second of it. I won’t get into the details of the how and why I hated the course, except to say that it didn’t grab me creatively, and it made me feel like I would never grasp the ever-important, technical aspects of photography.  I felt stupid and uninspiring, and I ended up tucking that expensive camera away on a shelf, only to be used on rare and special occasions (and barely then).

Then I got to Bordeaux.  I spent my first two weeks devouring “figure out what you want to do” books, making pages and pages of notes, writing dozens of blog posts, creating spreadsheets and graphic charts – basically allowing all that pent-up creative energy to flood out of me.  And when all was said and done, I really, really, really wanted my camera.

(thankfully, my husband joined me for my last two weeks in France and was able to bring that dusty Nikon with him)

There was just something about France, and the city of Bordeaux, that inspired me and begged my creativity to come out.  Sure, I had finally allowed myself the time to really give in and focus on myself, but I also believe that my surroundings gave me that extra nudge to really go for it.  There’s such a nonchalance to France, like it knows how beautiful and inspiring it is, but it’s kinda like, “yeah, whatever, just go with it.” It’s so unassuming and enveloping in its permissiveness.  I really felt like I was able to capture Bordeaux in photos, without ever feeling like it was being overbearing, or yelling, “hey! look at me!”.  There was a true freshness in my exploration of the city and I have never felt more permitted to create anywhere else.

So, with that said, I’ll leave you with a few of my favourite shots of Bordeaux, as well as a couple from my first portrait session (in Bordeaux as well) with hubby.