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Leaving is hard

November 05, 2019 in journal

Hello from Innsbruck, Austria.

I was thinking about the crazy last few weeks we've had: it was only two months ago when we were arriving in New York City. It feels like it happened a long time ago, it's been a lot of traveling since then. Even though things get easier over time, I still find it difficult to leave.

We spent two months in Indiana this summer. A month in Spain this last October. Sounds like very short periods of time -they were- and still, I got used to it. I had a routine.

Leaving for this trip was, as usual, hard at first. Don't get me wrong, I love to travel and see new places, but if I lose the momentum it's not easy to get it back. It's a resistance I encounter very often -it's not hard to beat, but it does require some effort.

I'm sure many other photographers feel the same way before a backpacking trip or boarding a plane on their way to a new place: that mix of excitement for the new images you are about to make and the uncertainty, the fear of the unknown, being out of your comfort zone. Maybe that's why so many keep returning to photograph the same places over and over.

This resistance we might face is short-lived, though. The way to beat it is by taking action, by doing. In my case I'd forgotten about the routine and comfort as soon as I reached Zumaia. There's nothing like some beautiful nature to put you in the present.

Tags: road trip, on the road, spain, indiana, traveling, photography, motivation, inspiration
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