Last month, I made the long-overdue upgrade from my old Nikon D40 (now discontinued) to a Nikon D700. My bank account felt anorexic after the purchase; I, on the other hand, felt invincible. It was a much-needed change and I hope the new gear will accompany me through some exciting developments in the future, but I don’t want to put away my old camera without a proper goodbye.

I bought the D40 more than five years ago. I was in 16; it took me 6 months to save enough money for my first DSLR. Unfortunately, I outgrew this camera within the first 8 months but I didn’t have enough money for a new camera; for the next few years, I invested in lenses and other equipment instead. So whenever I told other photographers the model of my little camera, they were shocked that I was still using the D40, which is not considered professional grade camera. While I sometimes felt the limitations of the D40, most of the time, and especially with the right lens, it served me just fine.

In the last 5 years, the old D40 has travelled with me to 3 continents, 25 countries, and survived all sorts of poor weather conditions. It got me my first paid photography gig, my first shoot with agency-signed models, and produced my first published works. Although it’s a little scratched up and it’s shutter count has long been overshot, I can’t help but feel a little nostalgic about putting it away - some of my favorite photos were taken with the D40.

But, there is a catch here.

I'm not writing this to blog about my old camera or my new camera, because it's really not about the gear at all. A camera does not a photographer make. Nor does the lens or the lighting. The right equipment can definitely help, but there are some brilliant photographers out there who use what some people would overlook as “professional” equipment. Rosie Hardy uses Gimp instead of Photoshop to process her photos. Anna Theodora shoots with a Canon Rebel. In fact, some of you probably use more expensive equipment than these two talented ladies do, but both of them are able to work with the resources they have to produce stunning images.

My time in Europe was a breathtaking 8 months of history, art, and architecture. I was swept away by sights like the imposing Colosseum, the landmark Eiffel tower, and the grand Acropolis. In fact, every country I visited left me with unique memories of both people and places. But as soon as I touched down at the Vancouver airport, and as the German tourist in front of me gasped at the sight of the snow-covered mountain peaks, I realized that I didn’t have to go far to be swept away.

You can take the girl out of Vancouver but you can’t take Vancouver out of the girl. I am an advocate for this beautiful city through and through. There are few places where you can go skiing in the mountains in the morning and sailing on the waters in the afternoon. The people are laidback and the living truly is easy. With scenic views, mild weather, and fresh mountain air, it’s no wonder that Vancouver is consistently ranked the most livable city in the world.

When I was traveling abroad, I realized that people would venture hundreds of miles to be visitors in a foreign land, but often miss the beauty right outside of their front doors. So I promised myself that, once home, I would to break from the mundane routine of being back in the familiar, and to see and appreciate this city through some refreshed eyes.

Although I miss living in Paris and London, and experiencing the different European cities the way I did, there’s definitely no place like home, especially when that home is Vancouver. I've shown you hundreds of photos of Europe on this blog, but it's time that I showed you my home.

Welcome to my city.

 P.S. Go Canucks!!

I’m not much of a writer. I always have a hard time writing about the places I visit. Although I’ve tried to describe every city with equal passion and uniqueness, I never feel like I do any of the wonderful places I’ve been to justice.

When I’m traveling, I rarely have time to go on the Internet, but I’ve learned to always set aside time to blog about my travels. I found that writing about a place while I was still there made it easier to capture the essence of the city and synthesize my emotions towards it. So it is quite fitting that I write this entry,  the last post in my 2010/2011 European travel diaries, where it all began – on a plane, over the ocean, in the air.

Traveling in the last 8 months has opened my eyes and senses to culture, history, and news. Not to mention it’s also made me a better blogger and photographer. When I found myself among portrait and especially fashion photographers, I started to spend more time with editing and lighting, and less time really thinking about the camera. In these last 8 months, I have had no other photography equipment and sometimes no other companion besides my camera. It’s been wonderful to become reacquainted with the old friend again.

When I said goodbye to Paris last December, I realized that living in Paris and traveling in Western Europe had posed a lot of questions about my personal and professional goals, questions whose answers eluded me at the time. If Paris asked questions, then I suppose you can say, London answered. I finally have some clarity with work, school, photography and otherwise. Now it's up to me to act on those answers, but one thing is for certain, greatness awaits!

As for my immediate future, I'm going back to Canada. Through the blog, I hope you enjoyed seeing Europe with me. So I’ll sign off now with a few highlights of the last 8 months in Europe and the best piece of travel advice I've ever received: see the world as a traveler, not a tourist.

What do you think about when you think of Liverpool? Soccer? Beatles? Maybe even the Titantic? Yes, Liverpool is definitely famous for all those things. But when you peal all those layers away, underneath is a city of noteworthy architecture, relaxing waterfront, excellent museums, and delicious Chinese food.

This city is my last stop on the Europe trip and although I only had 24 hours there, I busied myself with sightseeing, shopping, eating, and finished the day cruising at sunset. It was the perfect way to end my journey.