Get to know me
Hello! You’ve found me, and I’m so glad you’re here…
So I’m Tory Grimaldi and welcome to my blog, a space which I like to call “Words”, stepping away from the cliche “Blog” title. Here you will find a very loose space filled with fun stories, photographic adventures, tutorials; basically anything and everything related to my photographic journey.
Like many of you, I am also “That Guy” who has the BIGGEST dreams of world travel, documenting with photographs beautiful landscapes, diverse cultures, interesting people and fleeting moments of life as I move from place too place. Unfortunately my life as a “Chippy” (carpenter) does not often grant me enough time nor money to do so on a regular basis.
However, in the mean time, when travel is not an option, I am stuck starring at gigantic snow covered mountains, icy glaciers and cows fluttering their eyelashes in the Bernese Oberland, Switzerland, where I now reside. Not a bad change from a semi-rural up-bringing and life I lived back in Sydney, Australia.
I was 23, young, fit, energetic, full of testosterone and craving adventure when I embarked on my first solo adventure across the seas, to a place where many men had gone before, Europe. Little did I know when I stood at the departure gates at Sydney Airport waving goodbye to my family with a brave, proud face that this would be that ONE adventure that would change my life.
Travel changes a person, ones mind expands with knowledge, compassion, creativity, ones eyes open wider as we see and experience first hand about others and their ways of living. To those of you who say I am wrong or disagree, I call bullshit!
During my first whirlwind trip around Europe I very naturally started to learn so much about the different cultures, people, traditions and most importantly myself, it is difficult not too. Up until this point everything I worked so hard towards as a young fella seemed some what irrelevant and not as important anymore, my priorities in life were starting to shift right before me.
I was in total awe from all the wonderful, new and unique places I was lucky enough to experience, my beaut metallic orange Panasonic Lumix camera worked overtime capturing tens of thousands of photographs, memories that I could eventually show my family and friends back home.
It was only after coming home and presenting my multi hour photo slide show to my family and friends that I was often told that I had a good eye for capturing a moment, or an art to draw ones eyes into a photograph, humbling feedback. It was hearing these comments and the fulfilment that I felt inside of me that signalled that photography would some day become something very special to me.
Let’s fast forward to 2020…
10 years have since passed, I have now travelled quite extensively to over more than 40 countries, many multiple times over, I have experienced far more in my travelling years than most will experience in a lifetime. 2020 is a special year, it marks the year I celebrated the 10 year anniversary of meeting my life partner (in a seedy Swiss bar, but that’s a story for another time), 8 years since I quit my carpentry job, packed up my life in Australia and moved to Switzerland on course for the next big adventure.
I had continued to dabble in travel photography as I ventured further around the world, how ever it wasn’t until the new adventure here in Switzerland that the passion for photography really came into fruition. Living in a new, exciting and absolute remarkable location, surrounded by insane landscapes and not having too many friends that the idea of taking up photography as a serious hobby became somewhat appealing.
With that thought in mind, I soon found myself hitting the online shopping pages searching for a new camera system that would suit my needs a little more than my orange Panasonic.
Voilà, the Sony Alpha love story begins…
With my shinny new Sony camera system unboxed and ready for use it was only fitting that I took that camera somewhere new and exotic to put into practise all my new knowledge I gained after countless hours invested in watching YouTube.
Iceland, here I come…
Today the adventure has slowed a little, my priorities have shifted once again as they often do during the course of ones life. I find myself travelling less around the world and more often home to Australia to spend quality time with my family. I am still on the tools working as a Chippy, the only real difference being the views, mountains in exchange for the ocean.
Photography is still my passion, my escape, my connection with the world. My vision of educating, leading workshops and sharing with you all my knowledge is still my ultimate goal.
I have many years of experience, knowledge and I can not wait to share it with you all, so please stick around, subscribe to my email / newsletter and be sure never to miss out.
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