Jaime Lauren Photography | Fine Art Film Wedding Photographer | Okanagan, Sonoma, Carmel, Big Sur

Three years ago this summer, my dear friend Alison and I traveled across the Trans-Siberian Railroad.  We flew from Vancouver to London, hopped a flight to Estonia where we spent the night locked up in an abandoned airport, and then arrived at our first destination.  Moscow.  It was not my first time, and I was bursting with excitement–I was going to set foot in the country that changed my life and in the city where it all started.

Wait, REWIND!  Here’s some background info in point form:

• 12 years old–discovered the concept of short-term missions trips while reading a Teen Missions pamphlet at my friend Cheryl’s house.  Fell head over heels for the country of Kenya.  No clue why, but to this day I have not been and still ache to go.  Glanced at a trip option highlighting Russia and thought, ‘No WAY!  Who’d want to go there?’ (I think I felt it wasn’t exotic enough for a missions trip…lol).
• Pestered my parents every summer after that to let me go to Kenya.  Not a chance.
• 16 years old–heard a few people speak at church about spending time in orphanages and summer camps in Russia.  Felt the Spirit of God prompting me to inquire after their next trip.  New in my soul that God was calling me to Russia.
• One week later–My parents gave their blessing and told me they didn’t want to hold back on God’s plan for my life.
• Six months later–I land in Russia with two other Canadians and meet the rest of my team who are from Mississippi.  I’ve never met anyone from Mississippi in my life.
• The next day–Become instant friends with Liz who shares my love for music and my frustration with curly hair.  We bond over these things in Red Square and take photos in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral.  I have no clue what St. Basil’s is or why it’s there but purchase plenty of local art from street vendors depicting its beauty.
• The next 3 weeks–Fall in love with the Russian countryside, the people, and my newfound Mississippi friends.  For the first time, feel a burden on my heart to one day adopt orphaned children (nothing’s changed).  Travel to Volgograd and St. Pete’s.  Visit the grounds of the Battle of Stalingrad and the Hermitage.  Love what I’m getting to see but have no idea that I’m about to pursue art school and study the works I’m snapping photos of.  Oh yes, one evening while questioning God’s plan for my life, I sense His calling into photography for the purpose of building relationships and blessing others around the world.  Um, heck yeah.
• Return to Canada.  Graduate high school, do some traveling, pursue a degree in photography, do some more traveling, start a wedding photography business.  In between all this, visit Liz in Mississippi, meet her husband and then her husband’s best friend Will.  Marry Will (!!!!!!!!!!).  Also amidst all this meet my friend Alison (who: loves her Russian heritage-ditto; loves music-ditto; wants to travel across the Trans-Siberian Railroad from Moscow to Beijing-DITTO) and spend three years discussing and finally planning a trip to Russia and beyond.

And that’s it.  That is the context surrounding the photos I’ve posted here, the reason why Red Square and St. Basil’s meant so much to me upon seeing them again for the first time in 9 years.  And now they mean even more to me because it was the true start of our Trans-Siberian adventure.  From Moscow we traveled across the country by train where we entered Mongolia before ending our trip in China.  At the end of five weeks, Alison flew backwards to London to teach for two years and I flew on to Vancouver.  Since then, I got married and moved to California, and Alison moved back to Canada and got engaged.  It has been 11 years this July since I saw St. Basil’s for the first time.  My own personal anniversary coincides with the 450th anniversary of St. Basil’s completion and was celebrated this past week in Moscow.  If you ever get the chance to check it out, St. Basil’s and Red Square will not disappoint.  Alison and I were so enamored by it all that we wound up at Red Square 4 times in 4 days!  Our local hostess was baffled that we would spend so much time in one spot but we just couldn’t stay away.  You should have seen the look on this Russian lady’s face when she saw Alison’s photos of us jumping up and down in front of the cathedral, posing like crazy women.  Too much fun for words, too crazy to post on this blog!

I’d love to know what places have inexplicably drawn you back time after time.  Not the ones that you can easily rationalize, but the places that just tug on you and won’t let you go.  Vernon is my home and draws be back for that reason, but there are two other places where I could easily spend a lifetime and never get bored.  The medieval quarters of Old Fez, in Morocco, and the countryside of Devon, England for example.  Total opposites, but both so stimulating and magical that I could never tire of them.

Ahhh…and now I want to go somewhere!!!

Jaime

PS  The body of V.I. Lenin still lies in state within a mausoleum on Red Square.  A large portion of the Russian population recently voted to have him buried, but still, nothing has been done.  If that kind of thing floats your boat, or if you’re just too curious for your own good (like I was) go now before he’s placed in the ground next to his mum like he wanted.  Who knew Lenin was a mama’s boy.