Today, we’re featuring a wonderful photo essay from Rachel Bejo. Scroll below to view the images and read about Rachel’s time in France…
Analog cameras and films used: Olympus XA (Find at KEH Camera or on eBay) | Kodak Gold 200 (Find on Amazon)
Stumbled Upon Shots: A Summer of Food for the Soul in France
By Rachel Bejo
Before taking my first solo trip to study and live abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France for two months last summer, I bought a second hand film camera to document my travels and experiences.
It took a couple rolls for me to get used to my camera and learn how to take a good shot, but once I got the hang of it, I fell in love with the process of capturing the world around me as I wandered through France, exploring Aix, Marseille, Cassis, Paris, and many more towns in the Provence region, stumbling upon new sights, and thus shots.
This amateur photo series is an homage to my summer spent wandering and learning that, for me, getting lost in exploring new places abroad is food for the soul.
I can feel all of these images quite profoundly, even months after having shot them. Stopping in my tracks at the excitement of having something to capture and digging through my bag to get a hold of my trusty Olympus XA, framing what was before me through my viewfinder, watching the outlines of the focal object collapse into one as I focused my lens, and, of course, the joy of a satiated wanderlust and at the ability to capture that beautiful moment in time.
Inspired by Anthony Bourdain, I find that the best way to travel is to let go of your preconceived notions and the restraints of daily life and just wander aimlessly through new cities, no map in hand. Allowing new experiences, art, food, cafés, scenes, streets, people, and above all, shots to come to you.
By trusting that you will find what you are meant to on your uninhibited journey, you are able to get absorbed into a new part of the world, almost disappearing into it, and thus freely explore this new part of the world, discovering its nuances and roads less traveled, but also, yourself.
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