It All Started With A Photograph

I am a blogger, online marketer and photographer who has spent the most part of the last 14 years as an Australian Tour Guide. Capturing the world around me began when I was 17 years old and was gifted a video camera. By the time I was 21 we together had traveled over 15 countries. It wasn’t until I was on a whirlwind tour through Europe where I discovered my passion for still photography.

One of the friends I made on the tour, Christiana Roic took a photograph that left me mesmirised. Christiana photographed me walking, video camera in hand, through the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Not only did she capture me,  she had lined the bottom frame with the silhouettes of other people we were traveling with. The picture told so many stories and from then on I was hooked.

For many years I  worked as a Canoe Guide, Whale Watching Guide, Outback Safari Guide, Bush Tucker Guide and Bush Walking Guide. I lived on beautiful Islands and ventured into some of the Australia’s most remote locations.

Sometimes it was really hard and all I wanted was clean clothes, a shower and some much need sleep. Although along with the lows came highs that I could never have imaged for myself. Breathtaking moments in nature, encountering some of the worlds most inspiring and interesting people, and discovering that people found me kind of awesome and interesting……for just being me.

My experience as a Tour Guide instilled in me the belief that living the life you want is possible. Many people used to ask me when I was going to get a ‘Real Job’. I did what my employer required (usually more) and I got paid, to me that was the definition of a ‘Job’.

As a result I couldn’t understand why everyone was so preoccupied with how I chose to live my life. One day it hit me, they thought they were protecting me, that I might fail and my hopes and dreams of a happy future would be crushed. Some people believe it is better to sit and wonder than to fail, for me the only failure in life is not trying.

Tour Guiding brought me into contact with people who not only accepted me for who I was, but they encouraged me to be true to myself. Over the years I realised that making everyone around you happy is impossible. From then on I stopped trying to contort myself into pleasing everyone and focused on what made me happy.

What makes me really happy these days is taking photos and sharing them with people. So I ask you all to join me on my photographic journey, the highs, the lows and everything in between.

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Rach