Between Volcanic Soil and Morning Light
When Marie and I landed on La Palma in August with our cameras, our tripods and far more excitement than luggage space, we carried one small worry along with us, namely whether a finca we only knew from photos and phone calls would feel the way we had pictured it.
When we arrived at Miraflores, Julie – the host here – welcomed us in her warm and natural way, taking us to a little alter at the end of the huge garden guiding a meditation to help us let go of the travel stress. We could hear the wind moving the palmtree leaves as her gentle voice guiding our breaths. We sat still for a minute or so just listening. And while we listened a warm feeling floated my heart. I love it when someone welcomes you like that, it just makes all the difference in the experience of the whole place.
With a clear mind and a warm heart, we slowly landed on this beautiful island and I knew the pictures will be resonating exactly that: A feeling of being warmly welcomed.
Why we brought so much time with us
When you stay somewhere, that carries so much consideration and details, it needs the same amount care to capture the feeling of a place. This cannot be done in just one afternoon – it takes time. Light changes, leave, rooms need to be captured in the short periods before someone new moves in. Everythings looks different when the sky is clouded or the sun comes out.
That is why Marie stayed for one week – capturing videos with me helping her as a second shooter. And me taking mostly pictures. Julie asked for an Imagefilm and clips that captures the atmosphere of the house, the rooms, garden and the activities from the first coffe in the moring till the sun sets in the evening.
A day on Miraflores
Our days mostly began in deceleration, adapting to the calm spirit of this place. Sipping coffe, breathing in the atlantic air on the terrace dipped in soft light. Each day we’d capture different different things such as community-activties like taking care for the banana plants or hand pollinating the cactus flowers over the pond. We would capture the garden, kitchen, the bathroom, toilet, oracle cave, the big community room, the terrace and of course the house itself. I coudn’t even descide on my favorite place of the eco-finca, because every corner felt unique in its own way.
But what I loved as a introverted person, is that eventhough Miraflores is a co-living space, where you can connect with many different people – from digital normads over business owners taking a break for selfcare, to longtime travelers – there is always a space to withdraw and It’s totally fine to do so. The huge garden with all the paths in between includes a hideout for everyone.
It’s a common thing at Miraflores that other guest invite you in for food a shared activity such as a yoga or pilates classes or rituals like tea-, or cacaoceremonies or soundjourneys. Miraflores is a place to co-create, explore and try new things. Is there something better the smell of freshly cooked food and you get invited to the table on a oceanview terrace?
When the plan had other ideas
Marie fell ill right after we arrived and once she was back on her feet it was my turn, which shifted our plans more than either of us had hoped, because you cannot promise the best possible quality when you are filming and photographing with a fever and no strength. I loved what those days showed us about working as a team, since one of us could always step in for the other, and so we still delivered everything we came for, in a way that made me grateful to have Marie by my side :)
What a host takes home from time like this
Pictures that show how the place looks at different time of day, instead of one tidy view
Film that takes guests into the atmosphere long before they arrive
A visual language that fits the spirit of the place, because we lived alongside it
Material that carries a website, a newsletter and social media for many months
That’s what we love about this work:
In the end you hold pictures in which people already feel welcome. :)
Stay with us
Miraflores was at least as beautiful and as exciting as we had hoped. I’ve shared more pictures and details in a storyhighlight on instagram or my pinterest.
If you run a place where people are meant to arrive and feel at home, which feeling do your pictures already carry, and which one is still missing? Write to me, I would love to help out or check out our offer via the link below :)
