TAKING IT SLOW.

TAKING IT SLOW.

Taking a much needed time out on Gili Air.

I know it may seem from my instagram feed and photos on here that I’m always on holiday and at events and getting sent stuff… which is true. But it’s all work. I’m not trying to look a gift horse in the mouth, but having created this digital life and career for myself I’m forever stressing out about how to best document it and capturing beautiful images of the places I’m in all the time. First world problems, I know. However it makes me feel like I always need to be ‘on’ and thinking about content creation so a much needed time out was needed.

My trip to Bali in January was a holiday I decided to go on with my friend Kate, both of us wanted a little time out from the never ending demands of London life and work. We’re both photographers (Kate also looks after the marketing side of Missoma, the jewellery brand you always see me in) so this was a great opportunity to get our creative sides a refresh and play around shooting on our trip.

I visited Bali four years ago but never made it to the Gili Islands and have regretted it ever since. This time, I made sure we had a little excursion from mainland Bali planned to visit the islands, of which we chose Gili Air – the smallest of the three and what I heard to be the most chilled out. All the Gili islands are a car free haven, with horse and carriages the preferred mode of transport. Although, they’re so small you can easily just walk or bike everywhere.

I’d heard a lot about Slow Villas so made sure we booked in to stay in one of their private pool villas. Their concept – unsurprisingly – is all about taking things slow (aka the total opposite to fast life in London). The slow spirit is about getting back to the essential values of life. And we did just that. A tropical storm on the first night kept us indoors reading and sleeping for our first 12 hours here. By morning, the sun returned after a quick shoot session we made for the beach, just a 2 minute walk down the road.

Our stay at Slow felt like the sort out chill time we were both after from the trip. Eating nutella crepes and fresh fruit for breakfast, chatting about our hopes for the future and of course shooting by the pool. It’s always the way that when you stop thinking about work it comes naturally to create – I hope you enjoy my photo diary below.

 

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