I have had a little “Sommerpause” from blogging for a week or two. 

It felt good. 

Around here some restaurants, cafés, shops and takeaway/kebab/pizza places shut up shop for a week or two for their summer holidays.  I love that they do this.  Just close the doors and take some time off for themselves.  Completely safe in the knowledge that everything will be as it was when they come back. I have to admit that when you've been looking forward to a particular treat from a favourite place and you forget to check if they are open, it can be a smidge annoying!  But in reality it’s not such a big deal is it? We can all live with such a minor disappointment!

I love the idea of just shutting up shop.  Forgetting about everything for a week or two.  The idea that no matter what you do for a living, no matter how important your business or job is.  It is just as (or more) important to take some time off and enjoy your life.  To take a break, visit family and friends or take a holiday.   Your business and life will be there when you get back.  No-one will mind you having a holiday and enjoying yourself.  Often, this is forgotten in our hectic busy busy lifestyles.

So, Sommerpause it has been.  With the inevitability of wedding postponements this year, extra space has opened up in my diray. It feels as if I have been gifted some unexpected time for more personal photography and projects. This is something that the summer doesn’t normally allow for.  I’m thankful for the room to breathe and to explore other aspects of my job. It has been a little unpredicted treat in these bonkers times. Hopefully this weekend I’ll be photographing the grape harvest at a local vineyard, which is a bit of a work dream coming true.

Other than that my Sommerpause has been full of swimming in the Rhine, of drying limbs in the sun, contented chatter and soaking up the warmth that beats back up at you from the concrete. Although it has cooled off a bit now; I’m not finished with the swimming yet. There is room for a few more swims and beers by the river before it gets too cold to breathe.  

Also I tested my stamina and strength on a bike tour in the Vosges mountains which was so much fun. (Apart from one particular day, I was so exhausted I had to push my bike up the hill the last 5kms, felt like 25kms. Finally got to the mountain refuge at the top and the relief was so strong that I burst into tears and couldn’t speak for about half an hour!   After possibly the best shower and some dinner the world was right again).  John hardly broke a sweat the whole trip though, which was annoying!  I realise that I’ve just made the adventure sound terrible haven't I?  It wasn’t, I loved it and we’re planning another.

I can feel the chill of Autumn creeping in over the last couple of weeks and I enjoy noticing the seasons change Chilly mornings and the feeling of expectant new beginnings are taking over from Summers heady heat.  An exciting time of year but as always it’s a bit tinged with sadness.  Not ready to let the shimmer and vibrancy of summer go just yet.  The swifts have long gone which always feels like a betrayal and too early a departure.  Those birds screeching across the sky represent summer to me and I always feel sad they don’t say goodbye somehow - they are just not there one day.  

Apart from a summer of wedding postponements, work has picked up again which is wonderful. I've got some great weddings planned for next year and am happily getting booked up, so get in touch and tell me about your plans.

I’ve had some lovely small weddings, portraits sessions and family shoots whilst enjoying a Sommerpause which I always love and will at some point share more of here (probably!)  This means that my editing pile is pleasingly big.  I never thought I'd say that though!  Normally at this time of year, I have such an editing backlog that I can’t think about anything else.

Sommerpause // Basel Wedding Photographer