From the Classroom to the Camera: My First Trip Abroad Shooting in California

After leaving my role as a photography lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire, I knew it was time to do what I’d been helping students prepare for all along—get out there and start shooting again myself.

Photoshoot in California

California was my first stop. Big skies, brutal light, strange silences between the palm trees—it was the perfect place to reconnect with the camera outside of the classroom. This trip wasn’t just about landscapes or aesthetics—it was about finding my voice again through the lens. Being back behind the camera, on my own terms, felt like stepping into a space I’d been circling for years.

There’s something raw and energising about shooting abroad. You're untethered. You see differently. And for the first time in a long while, I wasn’t explaining photography—I was living it.