Laure Denis
@laure.dns
Landscape photographer based in France
Traveler by soul, I am Laure, 25 years old. I was born in Tours, France, and since three years I live in Nantes. I have been lucky enough to travel from my early years on together with my family, mainly in USA, Europe or Canada, and in high school I had the chance to participate in a study exchange program in Brisbane, Australia. This one-month trip made me realize “the road trip mode” is really what I like the most.
"I promised myself back then to - in the future - “design” my life in a way that travel could be a major part of it."
And so did I. Over the last years I have organized myself so that I could travel more frequently. I got more autonome both financially and in time and I try to save as much as I can in order to travel. Normally accompanied, often by my twin sister, I have also been to Norway and Iceland; two trips that completely blew me away. These two travels helped me understand that I have a preference for wide open spaces and remote locations with an absence of people. I find myself best within these kind of calm environments consisting of brute and wild nature, venturing off the beaten paths and discovering the little places where very few people have been before. Travel, for me, is liberty.
"When I am on the road I feel completely free. Free to go where my desires guide me. Free to explore places, landscapes, cultures and different ways of life. And free from limitations imposed by society."
Whether that is facing the sea, listening to the waves and the wind, at the bottom of a mountain surrounded by a silence that enables me to hear the rustling of the leaves or even drenched in the middle of the muffled hum of a waterfall, I feel strong, almost invulnerable. I love these moments. I stop, put my backpack on the ground, close my eyes and listen to the birds singing and the wind through the trees. I breathe. I inhale, I exhale, and try to experience all sounds and sensations that nature brings me.
"It’s all the strength and beauty of nature that penetrates me at such a moment, touching my heart and soul."
I want to go after these feelings, so whenever I have some days I take advantage and escape from the daily routine. In February this year I decided to flee for a few days to a little corner of extreme nature: Finnish Lapland. In the beginning, speaking about Lapland, people around me were kind of dubious, but I am happy I dared to do it. This trip was short but intense and rich in discoveries. 1000 km over snowy roads, meeting the mushers, fishing the traditional way on a frozen lake, the magic of the Aurora Borealis and encountering a wild deer are very new and incredible experiences, totally different from my daily life.
"The essential lesson of this trip was just to dare. Dare to take certain decisions and to advance and develop according to desires. Don't let yourself be stopped and follow your dreams."
When I was very young I already had a camera, but I truly started and got a feeling for photography about three years ago. Progressively I am moving from taking ‘souvenir photos’ to decent and more ‘professional’ photos. Today, photography is a real passion, it has a essential place within my daily life even though I am not a professional photographer. I learn and improve during my free time, either by advices from friends, websites, forums or by more traditional sources like books and magazines, but always self-taught and experimental. Because of my love for the outdoors, I specialize in landscape photography. With my photos I want to document my adventures and share them, so others can hopefully travel through these captured moments. I would love them to escape, like me, dream a little and go out, breaking their routine. Travel after travel, I gain experience.
"Introverted by nature, photography forces me to pass my limits and positively influences my self-confidence. This art allows me to assert myself and gain certainty."
It also opens up many new horizons. On Instagram I discovered aerial photography and I was immediately impressed and amazed by the result. That’s why, one and a half year ago, I bought a drone (DJI Mavic Pro) besides my Canon EOS-70D. Wherever I go, they both go with me. I feel like I can now access places I couldn’t reach before and I can take shots from a very different angle. This contributes to my perspective of the world; from up there, everything looks different. More beautiful.
"Our look widens and the shapes, colors, and reliefs give an input that provide new, inspiring and creative opportunities."
Photography revealed a creative side of me I didn’t know before. I love taking the time to edit my photos in Lightroom to bring out the principal subject and to create an ambiance in harmony with my way of viewing things and my feeling. The photo should show something, evoke something. A story, an emotion, inspiration, energy. I am perfectionist, so if the edit doesn’t satisfy me or does not correspond the expected or desired result, I start from zero or I don’t publish it.
Within the near future I want to get the drone pilot certificate, start selling my travel photos and present my services as a professional droner. Also, I want to delve into creating videos. And of course keeping traveling. I have already visited more than 20 countries, but there are so many that are yet to discover! My dream is to go around the world within a few years, discovering for me new continents such as Asia and Africa, but also rediscovering Australia and of course the country that attracts me for its wild nature, New Zealand.
“Make your life a dream, and your dream reality!”
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