After being away for a while shooting weddings, Christenings, and various other photo sessions around the verdant haven that is my home island, I’ve returned with one of the things I love most about my job: A love story. I learned this story, the tale of Leysan and Michael, during a recent Cyprus honeymoon photo session, and I simply couldn’t let it go untold here on my blog
Many of us have heard sayings about the way love can transport us to another world—not merely to a paradise, but through an undiscovered wilderness that challenges us to grow, to learn more about ourselves, and to triumph over adversity hand-in-hand with someone we trust wholeheartedly. Leysan and Michael decided to make these metaphors into something literal: After meeting humbly in their native country of Russia and getting married traditionally—surrounded by family and friends—they embarked on the adventure of a lifetime, leaving behind all that was familiar. Boarding a plane, hearts aflutter with excitement and nervousness, they flew over the vast chilly expanses of Russia, crossing mountains, seas, and untamed steppes, to land here in Cyprus.
Stepping out into the radiant sunlight and gentle breeze of the Mediterranean, they began their honeymoon with faces as warm as their hearts, lost in a fairytale kingdom that seemed made especially for them… And here is where I was fortunate enough to enter the picture: I was contacted to help Leysan & Michael keep their memories alive.
Though I hadn’t done a honeymoon photo session before, any professional photographer in Cyprus who loves working with happy couples as much as I do would leap at the chance to try one—and so it was that I found myself on the stunning beach pictured below, snapping away as the wind and sun danced all around us. We were even joined by a very friendly Labrador dog, who seemed to be having just as much fun with the shoot as we were!
We chose this wild, remote beach in honour of Leysan and Michael’s love of kite surfing, and we all ended up very pleased with the resulting images. Not only do they capture the feeling of love as an emotion that transports young lovers to a secluded paradise known only to their two hearts, the symbolism of the lovers holding hands as they walk along the shoreline also holds a deeper meaning: When we fall in love, it is akin to joining hands across two different worlds, one as firm and well-known as the ground beneath our feet, and the other as deep, mysterious, and unpredictably mesmerising as the sea…
