Did you know (why would you!) that it has been almost 18 years to the day that I decided to set up my business in France as a photographer?
It has been almost 20 years since I have lived here. When I say it out loud, I find it hard to believe. It has been almost 18 years since I have known Mike, my husband. I became a stepmother to a 9 and an 11-year-old before I became a mother to my own daughter, who is nearly 14, and my stepchildren are now 26 and 28.
It has been about 22 years since I came back from a workshop in India with David Bathgate and decided that I wanted to become a photographer. I quit everything to follow my dream. I then decided to move to another country where I didn’t speak the language and follow that dream.
When I turned 50 last year, I celebrated. Not only because it’s a great age, but because I look back at all that I have achieved and all that I would like to achieve with pride. What’s more, I have achieved this on my own with a good network of support beside me.
I am going to say something that may shock people. I had no real desire to live in Provence. It wasn’t on my radar. I had been working with a photographer who happened to work for the World of Interiors, hence why I ended up working in Interiors.
My mother was living in Provence at the time, and this photographer said you should go and live with your mum for a while because: “You can always sell an article from Provence.”
So off I went. I had no desire to live in the UK. I didn’t know where I wanted to be. I still have no desire to live in the UK, 20 years later. I arrived as a barely 30-something in the South of France to try and make it as a photographer.
I went up to Paris and saw all the French magazines, barely understanding if they liked my work or not. I went up again 9 months later and sold 4 articles in a day. It started from there.
One of my dreams was to get into the World of Interiors magazine. I was determined to get into it. I’ll talk about magazines at a later time but you need to persevere and not only that you need to understand that in this industry you will get a NO 90% of the time but when you do sell, especially to a magazine like this, it’s honestly the best feeling ever. Not only did I get a 12 page article I got the front cover. It was ‘ a story from Provence’!
I look back at it now and think I must have been mad, but the one thing I have never been afraid of is just going for it. Would I have changed anything? No, probably not. Did I know what I was doing? Absolutely not!
So if I can offer any advice, it is to just go for it. You can’t wait for things to happen; sometimes you just have to grab the bull by its horns. It might not work out, but it might - nothing is ever a failure, it’s a learning experience.
Joanna x
Introducing Contributor, Joanna Maclennan:
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I remember when I first moved here, at about the same age as you, being amazed when I met expats who told me they had lived here for twenty years. I somehow couldn't get my head around it. It's great that you're so happy with your choice.
Lovely story, Joanna! And thank you for sharing your "making France my home" experience with us all.
Warm regards
Judy