In the fall of 2017, I went on exchange to Cardiff, Wales. It has taken me a while to go through all the photos and video I took while I was there, but as I find the good stuff, I will share them here.
For a little while, my friend Phoebe lived on a farm north of Inverness, Scotland - just outside of Nairn. I really enjoyed photographing her while she puttered about the garden. My friends in Cardiff were surprised that I travelled to north Scotland just for a weekend, but it was worth it.
My Last Week in Cardiff/Caerdidd
When I lived in Cardiff, it was the first time I had ever lived on my own, and the first time I had left my own continent. It was hard to leave the life I had known for the past 20 years and adapt to something completely new. As tough as it was, I learned a lot about myself and the U.K. While I was there I tried to document my experience as much as possible, especially when I went on day trips to places around the United Kingdom.
What I did not take as many pictures of was Cardiff itself. When you live in a place for so long and get comfortable with your surroundings, you tend to take things for granted. My life in Cardiff became so normal that I usually forgot to take photos of the beautiful things I passed by every day. During my last week there, in an ongoing attempt to document things as accurately as possible, I borrowed a Bronica camera from the University of South Wales and took photos of the places I passed by frequently but had not yet captured adequately.
These photos are a perfect representation of what I remember of the city. It is beautiful, historic, and full of character. But these images seem fairly anonymous. They feature my point of view, but lack the mark I left on the city. I made several close friends in Cardiff, I joined a church choir and a dance class, and taught many people about Canada – but I often wonder if my influence will affect the place and the people I left behind.
