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Julie Stamenic
@juliestamenic
Belgian photographer
When I was a kid, I used to spend most of my time outside, observing nature, playing with mud, being amazed by the colors in the sky, looking for pretty things… As I was growing, I started horseback riding, which helped me keep spending time outside, close to nature.
Then during my studies, I moved to Norway. There, the fascination for nature turned into a passion for photography. It basically opened my eyes for catching beautiful images, for walking a step further and discovering something extraordinary. I enjoyed the beauty of the untouched landscapes and the natural phenomena I was coming across. I had never seen such beautiful places, such incredible landscapes. I started to explore the north of Norway, headed to Iceland, then went to Hawaii – and it never really stopped.
"I always wanted to see more of our planet."
When I went to Kauai, one of Hawaii’s islands (The Garden Island, where Jurassic Park was filmed), it was the first time I was going so far by myself. The time difference was basically 12 hours, I felt very far from everything and everyone. At the beginning of the trip, I kept calculating the time it was back home, to see if I could speak to friends and family. But while the days passed by, I learned to be happy and fulfilled being with myself. I learned to take the time, to be patient, to be careful. I realized the luck I had to be where I was and that I had to make the most out of it, to dedicate this trip to finding my inner peace, my happiness. To make memories for myself.
With the days going by, I had found a rhythm, met a few locals, and discovered incredible places. I also understood that danger does exist, when seeing a shark far away in the ocean, or seeing the weather changing so fast while being halfway on a hike in the middle of nature.
"I was sad to leave the island, but I knew I had connected with its nature deeply. This place taught me the lessons I did not know I wanted to learn, but that were needed to move forward."
Seeing more of the world can be a challenge. When I moved to Barcelona, I basically broke a super stable lifestyle (stable job, decent place to live,…) to move to an unknown country with a language I didn’t speak. I moved because I had found another job, but the main trigger of the move was to radically discover something new. Which is what happened… new language, new culture, new lifestyle and new people.
It was also an eye-opener experience. At that time I was still working in a corporate environment. It was very hard for me to not be able to spend time outside taking photos, and having to be in an office. This triggered the need for taking photos even more and eventually, this led me to start thinking about dedicating my life to this creative career. Two years after moving, I decided to quit corporate life and follow my passion – I never looked back.
"I realized that when a decision scares you, it is the right one - because you are going out of your comfort zone, which is where the magic happens."
For me photography is almost like a drug, I mean, the positive sides of a drug. It is really hard for me to stop myself from taking photos when I go somewhere. I enjoy it so much. That is how my book/journal Peace of Mind came to life. I always wanted to get something truly meaningful out of my photos. To create something useful with them. Once I understood photography is where I connect to my inner-self, I felt I had found a true purpose in my life. I felt like I had found the direction of my existence and I knew I wanted to help others to get on that self-discovery path too. I had a desire to help others find their passion, find what thrills them.
Then, it was all about daring to take the step to follow this calling and dedicate more time to it. Hearing others saying they really liked my work, that I should do something with it, maybe publish a book, made me realize it could be a great way to make a product out of my photos. So I tried to mix my photos with some self-reflection quotes in Peace of Mind, to guide others to initiate this process. It is a 24-week journey, and includes 24 quotes.
“Nature is our greatest refuge. There, we can hide an infinite number of secrets."
This one belongs to week 11, and would be the quote I feel most connected to myself. I think it is sometimes really hard to take distance from what others think. It is important to find a safe place where all our dreams are allowed, where we aren’t being judged. And to be able to go back to this place as often as needed, to keep going towards our own goals and dreams instead of those of others.
Peace of Mind was born in less than 2 months. I selected the photos that I felt had a strong message to deliver, and tried to describe that message with words. To make the message and the lesson that could be learned from it explicit. Actually, my love for writing was born while trying to bring my photography to life in a different manner. I started writing quotes, stories… And the more I was writing, the more I was feeling inspired. When I take photographs now, I feel like I am writing a story, and that the picture cannot go without the words that are connected to it.
For me, there are two deeper purposes of photography other than sharing the beauty of the world, or visual information. First, it is a way to tell stories, to share emotions, to grab a moment and make it live forever. Sometimes it is very hard to capture such an exact moment including the inextricable feelings, especially with the type of photos I take where usually, there are no people involved.
Secondly, I would say photography is for me a way of making other people live experiences. Not everyone likes to travel, to take risks, to go out in crazy weather conditions or to climb mountains.
While aiming for the above with my shootings and travels, I encounter new things all the time myself. On a very recent trip, when going to Iceland a few weeks ago, I witnessed a volcano eruption for the first time. I had never seen or felt something like this before. I love thinking and wondering about how things are made, how things evolve… So, when I first saw the lava that had come down from the crater and took shape as it cooled down, I was speechless. Thinking that this place was unknown before, that it makes the most precious and fundamental material from the Earth visible and created new land, and that is how Iceland, in all its grandeur, was made.
The most astonishing moment was when the sun slowly disappeared from the eruption site and left its place to the night, making the lava to glow even more intensely. It was a beautiful phenomenon, to see all this happening, just in front of my eyes. I remember being on top of the mountain, frozen, but mesmerized.
"It was on this trip that I took a photo that is for now my favorite one so far."
The sky is moody, the rain and the wind insane.. I can hardly stand still, gusts of wind pushing me left, right. I am walking on the top of Dyrhólaey, a cliff offering a stunning view over the ocean, and about to head back to the car as my entire body feels frozen. I am walking slowly against the wind and as I turn my head to the left, I see this magnificent black sand beach. The waves are so powerful, contrasting with the softness of the sand. I have seen this view many times on photographs, but it never looked so beautiful, with the contrast of the winter vegetation.
I try to be as quick as possible to set the camera and press the shutter. Done. I couldn’t believe I captured such a wild and rough moment, in the midst of the force of nature I could hardly bear anymore.
Back home, as I was looking at that photo, I felt frozen again, but with a big smile on my face. This photo is more than a picture, it is a representation of what I like chasing – challenge, surprise and reward. A few days later, when showing this shot to my parents, they asked me to print it in a huge size to have it in their house. For the first time in my photography journey, I felt talented.
"You got the talent in you."
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