A photo from camping in Cajon del Maipo outside of Santiago, Chile
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nature. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Monday, December 3, 2012
Yosemite Mirrored Lake Series
A few years ago I had a couple days to camp in Yosemite National Park and spend my time shooting as many photos as possible. I was struck with the challenge of trying to photograph Yosemite in a way that was original. The park is insanely beautiful but shooting it from a new perspective can be a bit of a challenge as thousands of photographers flock there every year.
I was wandering around and stumbled upon a small lake at the base of near vertical cliffs. I immediately was drawn to the reflections created by the lake and decided to use them as the basis for some images.
A couple minor adjustments in photoshop (all basic editing techniques) turned some moderately interesting images into something a bit stronger and more engaging (in my eyes, at least).
I was wandering around and stumbled upon a small lake at the base of near vertical cliffs. I immediately was drawn to the reflections created by the lake and decided to use them as the basis for some images.
A couple minor adjustments in photoshop (all basic editing techniques) turned some moderately interesting images into something a bit stronger and more engaging (in my eyes, at least).
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Peruvian Man
A random photo taken in 2010 in Peru. We were somewhere between Lima and Cusco. The bus had stopped on the side of the road beside a cluster of small homes around a farm. It wasn't exactly a town or a village as it was far too small. We were given a brief glimpse of simple life in the Peruvian countryside and when the moment arose I snapped a few photos of this local looking off into the hills.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
At La Parva
On the mountain at La Parva, just an 1.5 hours outside of Santiago. My friend Felipe and I were stopped by the side of the lift waiting for Clemente, a local Chilean skier, to come up on the chair lift to do some crazy flips. There was surreal atmosphere from the deep blue skies and a constant wind that blew snow around just about the ground.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Stop and Remember Where You Are
When you are in a specific place for a while, it is only a matter of time before the initial excitement wears off and you start to become jaded. I constantly remind myself of the fact I'm living in Chile. That this is all so different and that so much of Chile is simply gorgeous.
I am grateful to be here and I never forget it. But with over six months here, on top of three previously, I rarely experience the same awe I felt when I first came here. I look around and know it's beautiful and appreciate every second of it. But it's never the same as seeing it for the first time.
Before traveling somewhere, you think, dream and imagine about what it will look like. You see photos and you try to visualize yourself there. Then when you are there it is almost always better. Beyond better. The smell in the air fills your nostrils and attaches themselves to your memories. The mood and feeling of the place takes you over. You experience the weather, the feeling of the sun on your face. Or the rain, depending on how you catch it. Seeing it in person allows it all to come together. To make sense and become a memory and experience, and not just a thought or day dream.
On my trip to Mendoza last weekend I was surprised at how much more colorful the landscape was compared to my trip three months earlier during summer. There were red fields with golden yellow trees reaching up to rich blue skies all amongst seas of vibrant green. The colors made everything seem so alive even though the fast approaching winter temperatures were slowly killing everything (quite beautifully, I might add).
It took returning home and viewing all the photos a couple days later that it hit me how beautiful it was and how Chile continues to surprise and impress me (very often really). My photos weren't anything that special. Shot through a dirty window (I've made a habit of trying to clean off the inside and outside of the window before leaving, but it only helps so much), out of a van going 70mph the focus may be a little off, the framing not ideal and there is absolutely no time to think while it all zooms by. But nonetheless the landscape itself is just so striking you can't help but mentally stop and enjoy it for a moment.
Having done four cross country US road trips in the previous two years, I was well accustomed to photographing out of a moving vehicle. This time was just easier because I wasn't also driving. But the sharpness of the images and time to make thought out compositions wasn't really there. You can just get a couple ideas in your head that you try to execute if, and when, they pass by.
Below are some images during the bus ride from Santiago to Mendoza. If you don't know anything about this bus ride, you should definitely do it if you ever stumble upon the opportunity in your life. It is six hours of stunning, constantly changing landscapes. From Santiago the road winds past rolling hills laced with vineyards and vistas of far off mountain peaks. The far off peaks become closer and closer and gradually you are surrounded by the jagged Andes at their most impressive (even passing the highest peak outside of The Himalayas, Aconcagau (22,841 ft)) Then you head back down in elevation to a more arid, high desert type environment, still surrounded by towering mountains.
Anyway, my photographic editing style constantly changes and goes through phases. On trips like this I don't get to think about what I'm shooting. I just shoot it as it goes by. So I never know what I'm going to do with an image until I'm looking at it on the computer and an idea comes from somewhere. Sometimes I see things in panoramas, sometimes 4:5 format, and today, squares. So a majority of these are in squares, because that's how I'm seeing things these days.
I am grateful to be here and I never forget it. But with over six months here, on top of three previously, I rarely experience the same awe I felt when I first came here. I look around and know it's beautiful and appreciate every second of it. But it's never the same as seeing it for the first time.
Before traveling somewhere, you think, dream and imagine about what it will look like. You see photos and you try to visualize yourself there. Then when you are there it is almost always better. Beyond better. The smell in the air fills your nostrils and attaches themselves to your memories. The mood and feeling of the place takes you over. You experience the weather, the feeling of the sun on your face. Or the rain, depending on how you catch it. Seeing it in person allows it all to come together. To make sense and become a memory and experience, and not just a thought or day dream.
On my trip to Mendoza last weekend I was surprised at how much more colorful the landscape was compared to my trip three months earlier during summer. There were red fields with golden yellow trees reaching up to rich blue skies all amongst seas of vibrant green. The colors made everything seem so alive even though the fast approaching winter temperatures were slowly killing everything (quite beautifully, I might add).
It took returning home and viewing all the photos a couple days later that it hit me how beautiful it was and how Chile continues to surprise and impress me (very often really). My photos weren't anything that special. Shot through a dirty window (I've made a habit of trying to clean off the inside and outside of the window before leaving, but it only helps so much), out of a van going 70mph the focus may be a little off, the framing not ideal and there is absolutely no time to think while it all zooms by. But nonetheless the landscape itself is just so striking you can't help but mentally stop and enjoy it for a moment.
Having done four cross country US road trips in the previous two years, I was well accustomed to photographing out of a moving vehicle. This time was just easier because I wasn't also driving. But the sharpness of the images and time to make thought out compositions wasn't really there. You can just get a couple ideas in your head that you try to execute if, and when, they pass by.
Below are some images during the bus ride from Santiago to Mendoza. If you don't know anything about this bus ride, you should definitely do it if you ever stumble upon the opportunity in your life. It is six hours of stunning, constantly changing landscapes. From Santiago the road winds past rolling hills laced with vineyards and vistas of far off mountain peaks. The far off peaks become closer and closer and gradually you are surrounded by the jagged Andes at their most impressive (even passing the highest peak outside of The Himalayas, Aconcagau (22,841 ft)) Then you head back down in elevation to a more arid, high desert type environment, still surrounded by towering mountains.
Anyway, my photographic editing style constantly changes and goes through phases. On trips like this I don't get to think about what I'm shooting. I just shoot it as it goes by. So I never know what I'm going to do with an image until I'm looking at it on the computer and an idea comes from somewhere. Sometimes I see things in panoramas, sometimes 4:5 format, and today, squares. So a majority of these are in squares, because that's how I'm seeing things these days.
Friday, June 1, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
From Santiago to Mendoza by Bus
I'm officially back in Santiago and the search for work and an apartment is on. I will continue working for www.airbnb.com while here but it is certainly not the same market as New York City and I will need (and obviously want) more work. As far as the apartment goes it is a great feeling to be able to afford an apartment in the neighborhood I want to be in. Not to have to pick a neighborhood in NYC based on the affordability, which is still too damn expensive. Here I can live in Bella Artes or Barrio Brasil with great parks, restaurants, bars and museums right outside the door.
Just outside of Santiago
Getting into the mountains and away from the city
Chilean Vineyards
Local on the side of the road
Driving through The Andes
View from Chilean Border Control of Portillo Ski Resort
Switchbacks on the Chilean side
Heading into Argentina
Close to Mendoza
Beautiful lake just outside of Mendoza
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
San Pedro de Atacama VS. the Rain
The weather at high altitudes never ceases to amaze me. Don't get me wrong, weather anywhere can be unpredictable, unforgiving and stop you in your tracks. But once you get up to 7,000-16,000+ feet it seems to change instantly, be way more dramatic and it can even be snowing, raining and sunny all from one vantage point.
This was the case on my last trip to one of the most remote places I've ever been. Where the Atacama desert in Chile meets Bolivia, Argentina and Peru. The Andes reach up to 20,000+ feet which can create rapid shifts in the weather. Here, there are no radio stations, minimal electricity and only one gas station for hundreds of miles.
This was the case on my last trip to one of the most remote places I've ever been. Where the Atacama desert in Chile meets Bolivia, Argentina and Peru. The Andes reach up to 20,000+ feet which can create rapid shifts in the weather. Here, there are no radio stations, minimal electricity and only one gas station for hundreds of miles.
The Atacama Desert is the driest place on earth where certain areas have a history of 0 inches of rainfall. As in none, at all. It is so dry that the soil in certain areas that have no sign of life have been compared to that of Mars. NASA even does instrument testing for future Mars missions here. The town of San Pedro de Atacama and the surrounding area is certainly not one of those areas though. January and February are the rainiest seasons in Peru and Bolivia and some of the storms make their way down into the Atacama and deposit large amounts of precipitation in (usually) a small amount of time. Being a town that only receives rain several times a year they are never prepared and even the smallest amount can shut most things down.
Camila and I arrived on February 9th with intentions to stay for a month to work on a project documenting the hotels and restaurants in the area. The rain started around 6pm on the first day and didn't end until around midnight (which is very rare for this area). The rain was very heavy, especially for the driest desert in the world. It was heavy enough to shut down roads to all popular sites, all international border crossings, take out the power in the town, knock down some walls and flood at least half of the restaurants, stores and local homes. And this was just the first day. The rain would arrive in the early evening and do even more damage each day for the next 5 days. At night the rain would take over the town and then by the following afternoon the sun was so strong and the air so dry that a good part of the water would evaporate. We left after the third day due to the fact that most things I wanted to photograph were closed or damaged. The town is also very expensive and being the high season we had limited options for long-term stays (and even more limited now that half of the places were damaged).
Even though I didn't get to work on the project I had originally planned, it was wild (and sad) to see what nature could do so quickly to an area that isn't built to withstand what it throws at it.
Sun-baked footprints made the following night in the rain softened dirt
Storm clouds over the road to Laguna Miscanti
Small town farm
Llamas
Washed away road
Protecting the front door from rain
Dirt from the roof running down the walls
San Pedro de Atacama
Flooded street
Last year this was a road...
Ponds formed on the side of the roads
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Random Photo
Winter is almost here and I am craving some snowboarding. This is one shot with my friend Nick Ellis on the south shore of Lake Tahoe from 2009.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Thursday, September 8, 2011
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