Undergraduate / 'Photography Club' - Common App- Short Answer [3]

Prefer the first one! Much more personal, the second one seems a bit like you held back.

I learned to create stories with my photographs, and to step outside my comfort zone with portrait photography in a village, many miles away from home.

-I really like the ideas in this sentence, but it does seem a bit long. The part in red seems excessive
Could use:
- In a village far away/faraway
- In a foreign village, far from home.

The ideas itself are great in your first essay!