A change in direction

The general trend of this blog has been photography, and especially film photography in the last few years. It’s a niche subject at the best of times. I want to write more but I’m often lacking inspiration. 

Maybe the focus of the blog has been too restrictive. I decided to rename it, not because the last ‘brand’ was restricting it but because I feel like a name change is a psychological ‘fresh start’ for me to broaden the subject matter.

This has always been very much a hobby for me. When I do write on here it’s just a way for me to reflect on my experience. I don’t claim to be good at writing, but I do find it quite enjoyable. Many posts I’ve published have been swirling around in thoughts for long before they get published. 

As an experiment, I’d like to try being a bit more spontaneous with my posts. Recently I’ve become more interested in travel, specifically, travel to new countries I’ve never been to before. More on the reasons for this later, but I feel like it’s an opportunity to share my experiences of new places. 

Self reflection is an important skill in life, we’re pushed to do it at school, at university and at work. I can’t speak for other people, but I find it challenging. Perhaps if I write more about my experiences, it will encourage me to think more: “maybe I should have done x” or “why didn’t I do y?” It may help for future experiences. 

When I’ve prepared draft posts for this site before, I’ve used an SEO optimisation tool that analyses what I’ve written and I think I pay too much attention to it. It puts me off publishing because it tells me my writing is bad and “not good enough” in its current form to post. I’ve decided to worry less about that; I prefer my own writing style (who doesn’t). With less focus on that, I might get on and post things more often. 

In my twenties when I started going away on my own, I was totally captivated by France. I went at least a couple of times a year, usually on my own with my car and just a tiny two-person tent and nothing else, not even a plan. At the time it was quite the adventure. 

When I look back on these trips now, maybe I should have been more adventurous. They weren’t cheap trips, the petrol always cost a lot. With what I know now, I could have seen so much more of the world. 

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I don’t live by regretting what I’ve done (or not done) in the past. Those trips were all good experiences and I enjoyed them at the time. 

Since relocating and now feeling quite settled close to Gatwick Airport (the busiest single-runway airport in the entire world), I set an aim to visit as many new countries as possible. I’m well placed (it’s £3 GBP and a twenty minute bus journey to the airport) and it’s easy to find deals with cheap flights and hotels for short breaks, so it doesn’t even need to cost very much. 

Anyway, back to the thread and whole the reason for delving into all this. I think these experiences should be shared. It’s not just for my self reflection but I hope also that other people can learn and be encouraged. 

Take advantage of opportunities to travel, to see new places and experience new cultures. Share your experience and encourage more people to do the same thing.

Keep an eye out for some posts about recent (and maybe not so recent) visits, and maybe even the introduction of a regular newsletter.