An Azores photography tour with Bruno Azera. The photographer who showed us his islands, planned the picnic, and became a friend.
It started, as many of my travel adventures seem to, with an email to a complete stranger.
I was planning a girls trip to the Azores and wanted a local photographer who could take us to the right places at the right time of day. I came across Bruno’s photographs, sent him an email and asked whether he might be willing to build a photography trip around six women who also wanted to kayak, find hot springs, eat well and generally make the most of being in the Azores.
Bruno understood immediately.
What started as a few days of photography became one of those trips where the person showing you a place becomes inseparable from the way you remember it. We chased light, changed plans with the weather, stopped for photographs because something looked interesting and went to places we simply would never have found on our own. Somewhere in the planning I apparently also asked, “Could we have a picnic one day?” Bruno, naturally, figured that out too. He also introduced us to the many, many variations of peri-peri, which became its own ongoing education.
The Azores he showed us felt less like a list of sights and much more like his home.
By the time we left, Bruno wasn’t really our tour guide anymore. He was a friend.
We stayed in touch. When I returned to the Azores, this time with my family, there was never really a question of who I would call. Over the years our conversations have wandered well beyond photography and travel and into the things that make up ordinary life.
That may be my favorite thing about travel.
Every once in a while, you set out looking for a guide, a photographer or someone who knows a place better than you do.
And you come home with a friend.
Find Bruno and his photography tours at brunoazera.com
Instagram: @brunoazera
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