Push your limits further away

July 27, 2020 in journal

A couple of years ago, the furthest I was able to run was around a hundred feet. On a good day, I might have been able to do a couple of push ups. A 5-mile hike felt like a huge achievement, deserving of a few beers and a week of rest.

Back then, those were my limits - I had never pushed my body to go beyond them. I thought running, push ups and long hikes were for somebody else, athletes, people who had had better luck than me in the DNA lottery. Nothing I could about it.

Thankfully, at some point I realized there was a lot I could do. I was never going to make it to the Olympics, but I wanted to see how far I'd be able to go.

Today, I know I can run 10 miles without much problem (I expect to run my first half-marathon this week). I know I can do 100 push ups every day... because I do them. After the Camino, I also know I can hike for 25 miles a day for a whole week.

Nothing impressive, but I'm very proud of my progression in the last couple of years. I'm in a much better shape now at 38 than when I was 20 - and I can't wait to see how much further I can go from here.

They say we are stronger than we think - we are. But we can get even stronger. Limits aren't fixed, they can be pushed further away, wherever you might be right now.

This can be applied to almost everything in our lives. There are so many limits we haven't tested yet - they can be pushed as well. This is how we grow.

Photography as meditation

February 18, 2020 in journal

I walk a lot. Perhaps I got tired of driving after my last road trip through Europe; perhaps the Camino got me hooked. Whatever the reason, I am obsessed with walking.

Of course, I always carry a camera with me. Sometimes, I'll listen to music or to a podcast. Most of the time, though, I'll just take in whatever is around -be it birds chirping or a loud highway.

Almost all the photography I've done during these past 2 months has been done on these walks, I barely used the car. This is a big shift from the way I used to do photography, not too long ago. I've found joy in just walking around with a compact camera and capturing whatever I see, wherever I happen to be.

In fact, photography while walking has become a meditation of sorts for me. During those walks, I don't think about anything, I don't reach for my phone, I don't worry about the images I'm making. I feel present and in the moment, seeing what's around me, and capturing whatever feels right. Only time will tell if the images are any good, but I've been enjoying these walks so much that it doesn't really matter.

Don't worry, though, in just a few weeks I'll be hitting the road again, on a trip that will take me to 3 islands. Stay tuned!

For now, some images I made this morning:

Keep the streak going

February 10, 2020 in journal

I try to move as much as I can. Sometimes, I need a little push, so I've developed a system that does that: I measure how active I am on a daily basis, and try to reach a fixed goal every single day. Keeping the streak going for as long as I can is a powerful motivation game for me. This is how it works.

How to do El Camino de Santiago in winter

February 01, 2020 in journal

A few weeks ago, I decided to go on an adventure that will be hard to forget: I walked the last 130 miles (200km) of the Camino de Santiago. I followed the most famous route, the French Way. It was in late December and I got hit by 3 storms and got plenty of rain, wind and even snow and ice. Doing the Camino in winter comes with many more challenges than bad weather, though: you'll need more gear, many places will be closed, limited hours of daylight, fewer fellow pilgrims... but I believe it's the best time to do it. I wanted to share a few tips that might help those of you thinking about doing El Camino to decide whether you should do it in winter or wait for warmer months.

On walking

January 31, 2020 in journal

As you might know, a few weeks ago I did El Camino and walked over 130 miles in 6 days. Little did I know that after that experience I'd become -even more- addicted to walking. I went from averaging around 4 miles a day last year to 9 miles during these last two months. These are some of my thoughts on walking.

How to shoot everyday

November 10, 2019 in journal

I need to photograph everyday.

A day without taking pictures is a sad day for me. No matter where I am or what I am doing, I always bring my camera with me and shoot, a lot. Most of these photographs never become an image.

Don't forget: motivation comes after action. When we do something, we get motivated and the wheel starts moving. Even on days when I can’t get out as much as I want, I still try to photograph: taking photos of myself, documenting what I do and what I have around me.

There doesn’t have to be a grandiose purpose or a life changing project, these are images for our inner artist, because we need to create.

These are some tips and ideas to help you stay motivated to shoot everyday:

Start your day by accomplishing something, no matter how small that can be.
Wake up and get out early, as often as you can. As Pablo Picasso put it, “inspiration exists, but it has to find you working”
Daily walk and / or run with no destination in mind, do it for the sake of it. No matter where you live, you should be able to do this.
Always, always, always bring a camera with you. It can be your phone, it can be a GoPro. Whatever.
Just take that first photo. It'll get your creativity flowing and it'll build momentum.
There's always an image to be made, keep your mind open and pay close attention. If you see anything interesting, capture it.
Travel. Josef Koudelka said that he needs to move to a different place every few months because he gets used to places and stops seeing. That's why I travel and also how I got started in photography: when I moved to the US, everything was new to me, I started to see.