Dear Diary - A post from a Traveling Ultra


Platypod sent an Ultra out into the world to stay with different photographers. Along the way Ultra will see some cool things and tell us about it in its diary. This is the Traveling Ultra’s the first entry.


Dear Diary,

The last three weeks have been amazing. After my creator, Larry T sent me off to Platypod Ambassador Gilmar Smith, I have been all over the place!

I took off on a plane all the way to London, Uk. I got to visit Machester, Birmingham where I attended Gilmar’s two presentations at The Photography Show, sat next to Gilmar while she taught a workshop at Amersham studios, and then Gilmar even invited me on a last minute trip to Porto, Portugal! Gilmar has been wanted to see her family for a long time, and she found a really cheap ticket to Porto on Ryanair. The only issue was, that she was only allowed to bring a small backpack with her. I didn't worry at all about being left behind, because I am so small, so I waved goodbye to the rest of her gear while her Nikon Z7, her Miops Trigger and I made it to Portugal!

I truly fell in love with the beauty of Porto, its ancient architecture, the Ribeira, and its narrow cobbled streets where you can find the most adorable wineries, eateries, and bars.

While we were there, Gilmar stopped by a little street to take a picture. She put me on the floor and took a few shots. I could hear her brother and cousin laughing; I couldn't understand why. Even a lady stopped by and asked her if she was ok. Gilmar kindly, and somehow confused replied in Spanish, "I'm ok. I'm just taking a picture; thank you." Then Gilmar's brother showed us a snapshot of her taking the picture. We all laughed at how ridiculous she looked on the floor. It's funny how photographers are not self-conscious at all when they are taking pictures!

Here is what Gilmar's eyes saw, the camera saw, and then what Gilberto (Gilmar's brother) saw.



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And this is what Gilmar's creative brain saw when she was taking the picture:



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I find it very interesting how each photographer sees the world from a different perspective. Gilmar mentioned to me, that as much as she loves taking pictures on her travels, she sees those images as a backplate for her creative projects with her kids and clients. She said they are meaningful to her as a memory of where she has been, but with every image she takes, she thinks of a story she can build around them.

After Porto we drove to Spain, making plenty of stops of the way. There's so much to see; we stopped in Valença, Tui, and Vigo and after a couple of days, we flew back to the UK. We had a trip to Paris planned, but sadly it got canceled at the last minute, so we went on a super fun Photography road trip to Wales with Peter Treadway and Cathy Baitson, where I got to see a couple of amazing Lighthouses, a big waterfall and so many beautiful landscapes.

It was sad to say goodbye to Gilmar, but I am so excited about my upcoming adventures with Platypod Ambassador Dave Williams!

If you want me to join you in your next Photography adventure make sure to sign up to host Ultra!