Hola!
My name is Belen and welcome to my blog! I must admit this is nerve-racking and exciting at the same time, but I guess that’s a good sign? I’ve never done this before, or at least not about myself and it’s not as easy as I thought it would be. I thought how hard could it be to introduce yourself to the world? And 3 hours later I still had an empty page… So in case you were wondering, it is very hard! So bare with me, I’ll try to get better.
My roots
I am originally from Guayaquil – Ecuador, a tiny but spectacular country in South America. If you haven’t yet, go visit when you can! You can find anything and everything there: mountains, beaches, rainforests, volcanos and so much more! And the food... OH MY GOD, THE FOOD! I promise you won’t regret it. If you are planning on going, flick me an email and I’ll be more than happy to recommend a couple of places (or 10) that you can’t miss.
My journey
I am a civil and coastal engineer and I’ve lived in many many places (Venezuela, Mexico, US, Norway, Netherlands, UK) and somehow, I ended up in New Zealand where I currently work in my field and I’m loving it!
You may be asking yourself, why I am reading about some girl that has moved a lot and where is she going to start talking about photography?
I'm getting there just give me a second. Before I came to New Zealand, I studied a little bit of photography and it was just magic! I have to admit that my mom takes fantastic pictures. And even though I think she is the greatest and obviously I feel the most comfortable around her, I’ve never loved being in front of a camera. It might be because I am very shy but being behind it was just perfection! Luckily, I have 2 beautiful nieces (my family has grown a lot since then and now I have 3 nieces and 1 nephew) that I used to photograph all the time without any complaints.
My beautiful nieces at Punta Carnero Beach, Ecuador
When I came to New Zealand, I decided I wanted to keep going with my hobby and I enrolled in the New Zealand Photography Institute and it was a life-changing experience. It wasn’t easy, it took me a lot of time, but I did it! I graduated and then I sort of stopped. Why? I don’t know! I remember constantly repeating to myself “I wish I’d take more pictures” but then I would never do it. It wasn’t until I met my now partner who was starting his own business and needed pictures that I got behind my camera and started actually using everything that I learned (thank you, honey!). And then I wanted more!!!! I absolutely loved (still do) my job so I don’t want a career change, I just wanted to incorporate photography into my life.
So here we are. My attempt at a photography career… Might not be perfect, and most definitely won’t be easy but it’s my journey and it’s perfect in its own way. You are more than welcome to come along for the ride. I’ll try to be as honest as I can for all of you struggling out there just as much as I am. Just know that you are not alone, that you are not the only one and we can all do this! The world is so big that there is room for all of us. We just need to keep going. If you ever need some encouraging words from someone, I am here for you.
Anyway, I hope I didn’t bore you too much. I promise the next posts will be more interesting and more photography related. So subscribe so you don't miss out on some exciting content to come.
Lots of love,
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