Ok, it’s been a while, isn’t it? The end of the year is fast approaching, and just like every other year I begin to question whether I still like what I’m doing with my free time or not. This year it was particularly harsh, for two main reasons: first, my day job drains me much more energy than the one before. In a sense it’s a good thing, and it’s something I asked for when I decided to change back in late 2023. Not complaining about it, just explaining.
Second: I’ve had quite a busy schedule. I began playing the drum for real again (I mean, with real people), I’ve enrolled in a course for theoretical driving-related behavior teacher*. And I became an aunt, which doesn’t take that much time away but still is taking a lot of time to wrap my head around.
All these words to say that if I hadn’t the hosting already set up for the next 3 years, you probably wouldn’t be reading these words here. But since I still have this space to put my ramblings into words, it’s worth to squeeze my brain to find something to tell.
And I think I actually have something to tell: this year I went to Iceland with a few friends, and since I had great expectations about it it took a lot of time and mental energy to be ready for it. Assuming I actually ever was ready. I wanted to go there to take pictures, beautiful pictures of wild places and atmosphere that are impossible to find here in Southern Europe. Something worked great, something didn’t, but the experience as a whole and my thoughts on how it went inspired me to finally write this post.
These pieces of advice are related to photography trips to Iceland, but I think they can be extended and made more “applicable” to more general areas.
First and foremost: set your expectations in a realistic way. There is no such a thing as a perfect plan in a place so unpredictable. Especially if you go on the Ring Road you won’t be able to get in every single place with the best light. You’ll need to improvise, but I can assure you that it’s part of the fun. Remember: creativity thrives on constraints.
If you decided to go on such a trip, you surely know which are the most famous spots and you’ve set your eyes on them. Well, once you’re there you’ll find that there’s so much more. If you have the patience to look around you’ll notice that there are so many things worth shooting, and you’ll have to choose. It’s almost sure that you’ll encounter too many people or won’t have the best light on one of those famous landmarks. But the chances of finding some other hidden gems at a walking distance are high.
I know I’ve just said that you’ll surely have seen photos of professionals and other people who went there shooting. But please don’t, and let me write it on caps, DON’T take them as a benchmark or worse, as a goal. As good and as polished as they might look over there (I know, right), they’re not yours. What’s going to make your photos special is the experience you had as you shot them, the situation you found yourself in that caused you to take a particular photo. There’s beauty in imperfection, especially if you know the unique story behind that imperfection.
You can’t see it all on your own. Some places such as glaciers and ice caves where you wouldn’t be safe going alone. It’s ok to rely on some organised tours, even though it’s going to cost. If you ask me, it’s worth the price. And in my opinion is much better to prepare your own sandwiches in your car and eat them there if you really need to save money: it’s cheaper, it feeds you after all, and it’s an overlook exercise of team bonding for you and your group of friends.
Last, but not least: take it easy. It’s a vacation after all, not a challenge. Don’t overlook the stuff around you because you’re too focused on taking that picture, or because you’re worrying about something else. Count to ten before you press that button, take a deep breath and take in how far you’ve come.
That’s it for my attempt at wisdom. As you’ve probably guessed, these are pieces of advice I struggled to understand as I was up there, but I can’t stop thinking about it since. I wrote them down as soon as I came home, and the more I read them, the more I think these can be applied to so much more than holiday photography and I decided to share them hoping they can be helpful to someone else.
*driving school here in Italy is quite structured, as you have to pass a theoretical exam before you learn to drive and teachers need a specific qualification
Be First to Comment