interview travel

Having A Chat With SophieSaid

9/19/2016Jake Ryan

On one of my many hours spent on Instagram I found the account of Sophie Lee, I was quickly attracted to the simple yet stunning travel photos shared by Sophie on her account. 

As you scroll further through Sophie’s account, it quickly becomes apparent that not only does she take great photos on her travels, but she leads a pretty interesting life. 

Get to know more about Sophie by checking out my interview with her below.



Hey Sophie, tell us a little about yourself. 
I was born and raised in London. I’ve worked in a range of industries starting with television, followed by fashion, PR, photography, design and branding. I now work as an account manager / project manager / brand consultant for design agency’s & start ups. My role involves keeping an eye on both the business and creative side of projects, which I love. My hobbies (addictions) include traveling and photography. I try and do both as much as I can - I’ve never been great at staying still.


Looking through your Instagram account, it seems you lead a pretty exciting life. Are you currently on the road or do you have a home base?
I’m in-between jobs right now, so at the beginning August I went to Greece with some friends for two weeks. I go to an island called Skopelos - the most well kept secret in the Aegean, where I practically grew up. Two days after coming home my best friend, who’s currently riding around Europe on a motorbike, called me and told me to come meet him in Ibiza where he was resting for a while – so I jumped on another plane. Ibiza is a very special place to me. We stay up in the North of the island, which is less clubbing and boozing and more kayaking and yoga. We live in an old hippy town full of wonderful people and fresh food. I came home feeling super positive and ready to get back to work, but only after a day in London some lovely friends whisked me away on a spontaneous trip to Normandy. France turned out to be the biggest adventure of all and was the perfect end to a busy month. So right now I’m back home at my flat in Ladbroke Grove, day dreaming about the past month on the road… 


You’ve spent time in some great places, what’s your favourite place you’ve travelled to?
Tricky question. I’m a massive Canada fan. I spent a lot of time in Vancouver (I’ll explain why later…) and totally fell in love with it. Being there taught me the importance of living a healthy and positive lifestyle. Appreciating the outdoors. The fresh air, sailing, hiking, healthy eating, positive energy, it’s hard to find the words to explain my experience but, in the end, embracing the Canadian culture ended up giving me a refreshing new outlook on life that I’ll be forever grateful for. 

Canada is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. You only have to drive 40 minutes out of Vancouver to be surrounded by the most stunning mountains. I’ve been in Summer where you can hike, climb, sail, swim and in winter it’s just as breathtaking being up in the mountains. I highly recommend going to everyone – book a flight, pick a trail.


Is there any place you haven’t travelled too that you’d love to visit? 
Iceland. Northern lights – next mission. 

Whats the most adventurous thing you’ve ever done?
One Summer when I was 19, I met a boy in Greece who was from Canada (this slightly explains my earlier statement…). To speed up the story: we fell in love (excuse the massive cliché!). We stayed in Greece together for as long as we could until real life forced us home. After two weeks in London I booked a one-way flight to Vancouver. I had never been, but knew I needed to go. Then began a couple of years back and fourth between London, Canada and many, many places in-between (the beauty of long distance relationships is after a while, it doesn’t matter where you meet in the world, as long as you’re together). For a 19 year old it was pretty rogue. I had only recently finished school. I only told my friends the day before I was leaving to avoid questions. My mum hated it. I’m not with the guy anymore, but Canada will remain one of my greatest adventures. 


What has been your greatest personal accomplishment? 
I’d like to think it’s my work ethic. I began working grown up jobs while I was very young and was thrown into the deep end. People aren’t always friendly in the media industry and you need to learn to swim pretty quickly or you’ll sink before you know it. I pushed though and proved myself, which led to traveling the world working on some wicked projects and making great friends and connections. In most jobs, I’ve been the youngest person in the room, but not always the most junior, which I guess I’ve always been quite proud of. I have never and will never let my age interfere with the ability to get a job done.

Your photos show a very creative side, did you study photography or teach yourself? 
I always loved taking pictures when I was younger. My dad has a photography hobby and encouraged me to pursue it as a career when he saw how I much I enjoyed it.  At school I became the official school photographer, which meant shooting all the plays, concerts, sports games, yearbook headshots etc - just teaching myself. I studied Photography for A Level, even though I spent most of my time at school messing around and winding up my teacher with ideas for projects that were far too unrealistic for a school kid. I picked up film photography after school and ended up not using digital for a couple of years, which was a nice change. If you know you have a good eye and you’re passionate enough, you just teach yourself. 

I went to Camberwell for a Foundation in Art & Design, hoping to specialise in photography, but ended up leaving pretty quickly as I realised it wasn’t the place for me. I was then offered a place at LCC for a BA in Photojournalism, but I never made it to that either…truth is I just wanted to work. Obviously I don’t recommend dropping out of uni to everyone, but for me it made the most sense as I had already been offered a job with a production company. I feel like everything happens for a reason, and I don’t regret not going to uni in the slightest. 


What or who inspires you?
I’m lucky to have a small group of best friends who all have incredible talents, which mostly revolve around the creative industries. They inspire me to be brave and work on personal projects in-between jobs. Great conversation, adventuring with friends, reading and writing. Having mates who always offer you nothing but positivity and support is so important. Always carry a camera and a note pad – life moves so fast, don’t let yourself forget anything. 


What would be at the very top of your Bucket List?
Tokyo and Kilimanjaro. 

And finally, what do you have planned for the future?
Hmmm. I’m thinking about trying to work abroad for a year or two. It’s tough to get a visa in most places but I’m up for giving it a try. I love working in Branding and partnering with star ups, but I continue to search for anything that gets me excited and involves a great team. 


Be sure to follow Sophie on Instagram HERE 



Thanks to Sophie for taking the time to speak to TravelFoodFilm. 



All photos in this post belong to Sophie. 

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