Patagonian Shops – El Calafate

New Journal 22 – From place to place

Like passengers on a train, we’ve watched the scenery of our lives in the last 3 years flash by, ever changing. Sounds, smells, sights, languages – little feels familiar. The idea of a ‘normal’ life seems so alien to me now. Sometimes I feel like I yearn for stability, then, when an opportunity arises to grasp at that normality, I take off in the other direction.

In over 6 weeks we’ll land in London. A couple of days later we’ll be home in Newcastle. I’ll continue writing my HDR reference guide until it’s finally finished, a year after I started it. In March we may move to Korea so that Rachel can teach and I can continue my photography work in Asia.

That would mean we could spend 8 months in the UK. At first I enjoyed the idea of sleeping in the same bed each night, joining a gym, seeing friends and family, all the things I used to do.

A week later I was looking for flights to China.

Life on the road can be challenging. In certain countries you are pulled from pillar to post by street hawkers vying for every last penny. Wherever you are, you’ll inevitably get lost. The heat drains you. Long bus journeys leave you physically and mentally exhausted. You will be a target for thieves. Sometimes those thieves will be successful. You understand almost nothing of the languages you’ll encounter, relying on gestures to attain information that may be important. Sometimes you’ll find yourself sitting by the side of a dusty road in the middle of nowhere wondering how the hell you’re going to get to your destination.

And yet….

In each of those challenges there’s an excitement, an adventure waiting to happen. We learn to adapt. We learn to show street hawkers that we really aren’t interested and certainly won’t be pushed around.

We know that through getting lost, we become more familiar with a new place and develop our ways of coping with unfamiliarity. And, in the darkest, least trodden paths we’ve found spots that were beyond beautiful.

Being robbed is a warning sign. You realise that you are not immune, no matter how long you’ve been travelling for. You refine your awareness of where is safe and where is not. You also learn the true depth of your own patience.

As your knowledge of certain languages develops, travelling in foreign countries has an added bonus – it’s  a chance to further refine your ability in those languages. I’m reasonably efficient in 3 languages now. I love the idea of increasing that number.

Above all, with each trip, country, continent, you learn more about your limits and how easily expanded those limits are.

Seeing loved ones will be great. Sleeping in my bed will provide a nice night’s sleep. Going to the gym will help me combat the slight podge I’ve slowly gained. However, where will I witness such beauty, man-made or natural, that I almost forget to take photos? What will make my heart pound with excitement? What will force me to become a better version of myself?

Adventure – for better or worse, I’m not sure I can live without it now. At the same time, I don’t know if I’ll ever stop yearning for an element of normalcy or stability.

On a separate note, thank you to those of you in the US who very generously emailed us offering a place to stay, advice and companionship on the road. Apologies if I haven’t replied yet. I will do so today. See you soon!

Today’s Photo – The Market in El Calafate

In this image my aim was to create a European Christmas-market atmosphere. The rich browns and yellows, contrasted nicely against the blue sky. As you can see in the before image, the sky was more grey than blue. I convert it to a more appropriate blue hour colour, I used the Magic Wand and chose Color Selection (right mouse click to see options), then I isolated the sky and used a curves layer to deepen the blue.

Before the Joys of Post-Processing