I’m drenched in sweat, uncomfortable, overburdened with cumbersome photography gear, struggling to get good content for my company while walking through dusty streets, uneven forest terrain and mosquito infested jungles in the Amazônas State of Brazil.

Yet my heart is light. My full attention to work is now divided with a decades-old dream of being lost in dense canopies, lulled by wild melodies, and gazing into painted faces filled with curiosity and kindness.

Strapped around my neck is a family heirloom, an esteemed Nikon F3 that belonged to my father and is now one of my most cherished possessions. Every moment my work camera lowers from my eye down to my waist, is also when I pick up the F3 and enter a parallel world, finally slowing down to sneak in a shot or two.

The truth is, before coming to Brazil, I was on the verge of a breakdown, stressed and anxious, worried about worrying and pressured by responsibilities that seemed too taxing for me in the corporate world. I wanted to escape and at the same time not let work be the sole reason I remembered this trip for.

I allowed myself to be playful with photography once again and in these respites connect with the place I was in frame by frame, shooting purely out of pleasure in the middle of an Amazon forest that beckoned to be fully savored, unaffected by the pressure of perfect results, tack sharp focus and leaving with something unpretentious and that I’d be happy to look years back glued to a thick photo album filled with palpable moments.