"Without a Direction," a Photo Diary by Andreia Lemos

By Andreia Lemos

Living in London quickly became a lonely experience when the first rush of excitement fizzled out. I was young and indecisive and found it hard to build upon my creativity in a city where I knew no one or what the first steps to get to where I wanted to be were. Being a person who never had an answer to the "Where do you see yourself in five years?" spiel, it wasn’t necessarily surprising, albeit a bit despairing nonetheless.

Within my first couple months in London I realized that one of the most effortless ways of surrounding myself with like-minded people was by attending gigs. I used to see people holding cameras at the front and was intrigued by the possibility of making more out of the experience, to have it be something that I could bring back home with me and keep me occupied. In some ways, it was a way of feeling less alone. One thing led to another and after many embarrassingly clueless moments, photography became my thing. To this day, if I’m out of the house at night, I’m probably flashing away somewhere.

It’s a scene, that although does it guardedly at first, learns to accept you into their community wholesomely. It's been a privilege to extend my family to those that accommodate my work and to be able to document and give back to the people that inspired me when I felt my most directionless.