Turning My Travels into Multimedia: "Go Somewhere New"

 Over the past two years, I've traveled a good portion of Peru and Ecuador with my camera in hand and my eyes and ears open to everything new unfolding around me.  I've finally begun editing these adventures into a new multimedia video series I'm calling "Go Somewhere New." My first edition is based on one of my favorite quick getaways from Lima -- Huacachina in Ica, Peru (PLEASE TURN YOUR VOLUME UP) : 

To see more photos from this trip, check out this earlier blog post HERE.
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And now, here's a little bit of background on what brought me to Peru:

I moved to Lima, Peru about two years ago in order to pursue my dream of becoming a documentary photographer and videographer, see as much of South America as possible and get in touch with my native roots.

After volunteering with a few worthy causes providing them with photos and video, I landed a full-time job working with MEDLIFE as their head photographer and communications assistant director.  They set up Mobile Medical Clinics to provide free health care and cancer treatment to residents of urban slums in Lima and rural communities in Ecuador. It was an eye-opening experience to say the least.

© Brenda Bravo 2012

Pamplona Alta in Lima, Peru © Brenda Bravo 2012

Chimborazo, Ecuador © Bravo Image 2012

And now that I've finished my year-long stint with MEDLIFE, I've been volunteering with a new organization in Chilca, Peru called Ana's Hope and hopefully bringing the art of photography and photojournalism to the young families they house -- it's all in the works. Wish me luck!

I've also been spending most of my time working as a freelance wedding and portraits photographer, and it's been going pretty well.  I enjoy being able to use my photojournalistic style to tell the story of one of the most important moments in someone's life from a more natural perspective, with an artful eye and meticulous attention to detail.

   Another perk of coming to Peru has been meeting Álvaro.

Alvaro's first trip to Santa Monica, Dec 2012. Photo taken by Cesar Cabrera.

Turns out, Peru not only opened my eyes and ears (and taste buds) to new things, but it also opened my heart to a new love... and soon, we'll be getting married! Which is something that I definitely didn't think was in the cards for me so soon.

But that's the thing about the best things in life -- they're seldom planned.

So, I invite you to take a spontaneous trip and throw away the map (or turn off the GPS).  Try something new and see what happens.

Adventure is out there. You just have to be open to it.