Change in Chile.

Recently I got the opportunity to travel to Chile and Brazil for a photoshoot. It was the first time I’ve been able to fly out of the country for the sake of a photoshoot. Because I love photography so much, it felt more like vacation than work lol. It was definitely a great experience and something I couldn’t really imagine myself doing even a year ago. 


During the trip, we rented a van and drove nearly 3 hours to access a location in the desert we wanted to shoot in. There was a section of road that seemed to be closed off and we needed to get past that road to get where we were going. So in typical foreigner fashion, we decided ignore the rules and drive on the unpaved dirt to get around the blockade. And of course, karma saw to it that the wheels of the van got stuck in that dirt. The more we hit the gas, the further the car sunk into the ground. After a few more pumps of the gas, it dawned on us that we weren’t going anywhere anytime soon and with our collective lack of phone reception in a foreign country, we were officially stranded.


During that moment and often during moments like these where a person would tend to feel frustrated or anxious, I always feel calm. I actually laughed to myself at the situation we were in. Now that I’m back in England and I’m reflecting on the trip, I’ve been thinking about why I was so happy in that kind of moment. Why wasn’t I frustrated or worried like others seemed to be? 


Along with Chile and Brazil, I’ve now also travelled to Germany, Sweden, Holland, the United Kingdom and obviously different parts of the United States. I’ve noticed that because of the experiences I have had in the many countries and the many times I’ve travelled somewhere new, I don’t panic when things go wrong. Even as I began to think about different ways to get the van out of the dirt while we were stranded in Chile, I simultaneously felt that this experience would be a fun story to tell people about when I got back to my hotel room later that evening.


I think the nature of traveling somewhere and knowing that in a few days or in a week, you’ll be in a whole new setting with different difficulties and conveniences, with a different culture around you, and even with different weather conditions, cause you to become comfortable with change. Because ultimately things in life are continually changing, and the more you become comfortable with change, the easier and less stressful your life becomes.


PS. We managed somehow to push the car out of the dirt with a little assistance of a local construction worker who spotted us.


Also here’s a few images from the location we worked so tirelessly to get to. 



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