Gran Canaria – Holiday // Personal // Family

Gran Canaria – Holiday // Personal // Family.

What an incredible year it’s been, but boy has it been exhausting!  From not only welcoming Ada in to this world in February, but actually delivering her on the bathroom floor (I know right?! You can read about that HERE), to shooting 31 weddings in the next 8 months, plus a host of other shoots, and trying to fit time in to spend with my wife and little ones… let’s just say I was feeling a little fatigued and a bit guilty about working too many days and hours.  So only one thing for it, look at where is still sunny and hot in November and jump on a plane for some much needed R&R, and more importantly to spend some real quality time with Gaia, Leon and Ada.

We took a 5 hour flight (with an almost 4 year old, and a teething 8 month old  – brave or stupid haha?!) to Gran Canaria and headed to a very pretty little fishing town called Puerto Mogan.  Truth be told I’d never fancied the Canary Islands, it has a reputation for high rise hotels and not being all that picturesque, but Puerto Mogan really set me straight on that with its beautiful colonial buildings, gentle sea and beautiful harbour (although a boat trip to Puerto Rico kind of reaffirmed it – we didn’t spend long there!).

One thing I’ve always aimed to do is go somewhere new every year and take photos of the people and the place, experiment with light, composition and story telling… well I have definitely learnt that having two children makes that pretty much impossible, you’ve either got a pushchair in your hands, or you’re trying to stop your 3 year old jumping off VERY HIGH things or running in to the harbour’s water… however Gaia was a trouper and took the kids during golden hour one day so I could wander the area and grab a few photos.  I’d love to go back some time and do a little more exploring, but this trip wasn’t about me taking loads of photos, it was all about family and coming back with memories that will last a life time.  We achieved this goal and then some, and for me being away with my family, spending real quality time with them was simply amazing.  Ada smiles at me more, cuddles me more, looks at me with real doting eyes, and Leon has enjoyed having my undivided attention to play games and have hilarious chats (honestly he’s so funny!).

So here’s a few photos from our trip, all shot on my little Fuji XE-3 which I spent the first half of the holiday hating, and the second half loving… It’s not my professional camera and this was the first time I’ve used it for more than just a couple of snaps on family days out.  I’m now a little in love with it though, so if you’re looking for a decent personal camera for under £1k inc lens you can’t go wrong with it!

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