The first Chapter of my Story
Welcome to my blog!
I am very excited about writing this blog post since it's my FIRST blog article ever!
Sharing my passion and experience with other is something that I really enjoy. So I am looking forward to sharing this and all upcoming articles! With this first article I want to tell you a little bit more about myself, my affinity to the Nordics and how I found my passion in photography.
How I started with photography (and failed):
I was born and raised in Wuppertal, a mid-sized town located in the middle-western part of Germany. After finishing school I moved to Stuttgart for studying business (and later business engineering). Eventually, I ended up living in the south of Germany for almost 10 years. I always enjoyed going on adventures, exploring the world, hiking in nature. I wanted to be able to capture those travel memories in photographs, so I got my first DSLR camera in 2010 and was curious about learning more. However, besides studying and working full-time I had very little time for photographing, hence I never learned the basics of how to shoot photos with manual settings. Most of the photos that I took didn’t turn out as expected so I got frustrated and lost the interest. It was a time when I was far away from calling photography my passion. The lack of interest resulted in using my camera only during vacation for taking holiday photos!
My affinity to the Nordics:
I was always fascinated by the untouched and wild landscapes of the distant North! During an internship in Sweden in 2014 I completely fell in love with this country and Scandinavia in general! I especially enjoyed spending time outdoors - the countless lakes, the little islands, the vast forests. Nature was never far! This was totally new to me, coming from the western part of Germany where the cities line up one after another. Beside the beautiful Swedish nature, I was impressed how open-minded and relaxed everyone was that I met. From the first moment I felt very welcome in Sweden!
This affinity to the Nordics intensified over time and eventually led me to the decision to move to Stockholm in 2020. And I have not yet regretted this decision for a single moment (status January 2023).
The starting point of my photography journey:
My move to Sweden at the beginning of 2020 has marked the starting point of my transformational journey in photography! Because of the global pandemic I suddenly had more time than I ever had before. And I used it to improve my photography skills and to explore my new home country by hiking in the nature - far away from any people. I spent most of the time either outdoors with my camera or indoors learning more about photography through videos and webinars. I appreciated that I finally got the time to grow myself as photographer, learn the basics and improve my skills day by day.
What I aim to convey:
It was a time when I realized my true passions in life - Photography and Hiking in Nature. For me this is the perfect combination of exploring the beauty of this world and at the same capturing this beauty in outstanding photos.
I truly believe that every place, every object and every creature has its own spirit, its own story to tell. And that is what I aim to convey with my photography - to write stories through images that speak for themselves, without any words needed. To create Stories of Silence.
It is such a pleasure for me to share my passion for photography and nature with others and reflect about my own story. In the coming blog articles I want to share my experience with you - about my progress as photographer, the products I use, the places I visit. You will be able to get insights into my personal story as photographer, storyteller and educator.
Thank you for reading this article and supporting my photography journey!
Cheers, Julien
