A couple sunset photos from La Serena, Chile.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
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.
Monday, September 24, 2012
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.
Monday, August 27, 2012
View from La Parva
This last weekend was super productive and a lot of fun. I had the opportunity to shoot some talented skiers up at La Parva. It was a beautiful day with awesome conditions. Below is a photo of the view of the town and looking down the Andes towards Santiago. I got some shots I'm really excited about, but I'll only be able to post some of the outtakes as the best ones will hopefully be ending up in a Chilean ski/snowboard magazine. But we'll see!
Monday, August 20, 2012
First day at Valle Nevado
Finally, after two years of a snowless existence I have made it back to the mountains. It feels amazing to be back. I love the community centered around skiing and snowboarding because no matter where you go there is a very similar energy.
I'm in Chile now and it is certainly different from Lake Tahoe or Colorado, but when you are up at the ski resorts, other than the scenery being different, the atmosphere is quite similar. And the atmosphere is always upbeat and lively. Ski resorts are a place where people with the same passions and interests are brought together to enjoy themselves. What can be bad about that? The answer is obviously nothing.
I haven't gotten to go up to the mountains as much as I'd like to due to the fact I've got a bunch of other work going on. That, and it's kind of expensive. Without a ride from a friend or the energy to try and hitchhike, it is about $28 to get up to the mountain each day. Then if you don't have another friend to get you a half of student ticket you may be forced to pay the full price of $80 for a lift ticket. In Chile, skiing is definitely more of a sport for the rich and the tourists. Limited housing up at the mountains makes this even more of an issue.
Perhaps the biggest downside of going to the mountains from Santiago, especially for me living in Santiago Centro, is the commute. When I'm forced to take the tourist bus up I have to leave the apartment at 7am, dressed in all my gear and walk through crowded streets with my snowboard, boots and camera bag. I then have to squeeze onto a packed, rush hour metro. This usually involves waiting for 2-5 trains to pass to find an opening I can even consider fitting into.
I then have to walk another 8 blocks to the bus and wait on line with a bunch of tourists to get a seat on the next bus to the mountains. Pay $26 and then sit there sweating for another two hours up to the mountains. So a day snowboarding can cost over well over $100 and require six hours of commuting. The first time was ok, for the experience, but I can see this commute getting very old, very fast.
Once you get to the mountains it is all worth it though. July was a weak month and produced almost no snow, but fortunately they have been getting some snow the last couple weeks. It's still a little dry but better than nothing. Below are a few photos of my first day up with my friend Diego.
The road to Valle Nevado from Farellones
View of the hotel and lodge at Valle Nevado
Diego popping a little shifty into the sun
A bigger shifty
The shuttle van at dusk
Sunset over Santiago in the distance
Friday, August 3, 2012
Layover in Bogotá
Colombia is one of those countries that as an American growing up in the 80's and 90's, I was force fed a mostly negative image of. It is unfortunate that the media, popular culture and society tainted my image of a country before I really knew anything of what it was about. As I found out the other day, Colombia is way more than a country filled with cocaine dens where Americans are kidnapped the second they step from the airport. Yet, because of information forced in front of me at an earlier age I didn't know what to expect when finally getting to visit Colombia.
Traveling around South America I met a lot of people who have spent significant amounts of time in Colombia or planned to in the future. The image you get now, from people who actually know it personally, and not just from stories you hear on the news, is extremely positive. The saying I keep hearing is that the people of Colombia really want to shed the image of being a hostile country and go out of there way to do so.
This is exactly what I found. Unfortunately, I only had one day in Bogota, so I don't have the experience of somebody with a well developed personal opinion of the country. I got the smallest taste of what life in Bogota is like and it left me wanting a whole lot more. I had more random encounters with genuinely nice people in my 16 hours in Bogota, than I did in weeks of time in other countries. The positive image I have of this city is based upon the helpful and caring people that stepped right into my life for a moment while I wandered the streets.
Nestled amongst the Andes, with thick forests all around, the city itself is beautiful and oozing with colorful character that kept me enthralled for every minute I had there. The buildings were bright and well aged, with all the cracks, holes and peeling paint adding to the aesthetic appeal. Cobblestoned streets with vibrant grass popping out between the cracks, lead through tiny alleys and up steep hills. There is ever-present street art which really brings a unique energy to the city.
All I did, all day, was walk around, sit in plazas, eat and take pictures. I headed out of the airport at 9am and ignoring the advice of the information guy at the airport, I took a bus instead of the easier, faster taxi ride ($.75 vs $10). I really had minimal idea of where I was going. I looked at a half-loaded Google map for a few minutes and figured if I just found a bus going straight on the road out of the airport I would be able to figure it out. And it all worked out quite easily. Within 30 minutes I got to La Candeleria in the Centro which is a small neighborhood in the hills of Bogota.
My first encounter was with a nice Colombian man who happened to be homeless. I was eating a massive chocolate croissant-like pastry {photo} in a park and this thin, 20-something-year-old, absolutely filthy but completely unthreatening man approached me and asked me for a piece of my bread. I had just been thinking about how it's literally too big to eat alone, especially after a breakfast of coffee, some strange, mild white cheese, eggs with ham and bread. And he popped up to alleviate the situation. There was something about this man that I immediately saw he wished he didn't have to be asking for food, but was just so desperate he had no other choice. He cupped his hands, stood about 5 feet away and asked in the least threatening way possible for a piece of bread. I couldn't say no, so I ripped a tiny bite off for myself and handed him a piece the size of my hand. He said "que bueno, gracias," about four times before devouring it. He couldn't hide his sincere gratitude if he tried.
Being from New York you get trained to ignore most, if not all, beggars. There are simply too many of them and more often than not they are ungrateful or overly annoying. But this guy was alright.
Twenty blocks later I had worked my way through a number of tiny side streets and I was crouched on the sidewalk shooting some biker making his way around a bend. An old man in his 70's with a thick white moustache stopped walking beside me to avoid getting in my way. He then proceeded to ask me how I was liking Bogota and told me about streets nearby I should check out. I got the feeling he was just walking home and saw some young foreigner half lying on the ground in his neighborhood. So why the hell not stop and talk to him? It was genuinely friendly moment between two strangers.
A few hours later I had made my way higher up into the hills. I had heard it's best not to go high up because it can get more dangerous. But everything about the day so far had been so enjoyable and I didn't feel the least bit threatened or anything less than pleasantly surprised by the people here. As I was taking photos of a window cleaner rappelling between two windows, a cop came up to me out of nowhere.
Generally when this happens I have no interest in talking to them and I assume he wants to complain about something I'm doing wrong. But this young cop came up to me just to recommend that I don't walk farther up the hill, and even around here it is better to keep the camera out of sight, just in case. We then talked about why I was in Colombia for the day and what I do in Chile. He also let me know that he would keep any eye out while I was shooting around there. He was just really damn nice. What is it with these people?
While sitting down in a restaurant for lunch I asked the waiter what he recommended because I didn't know anything about Colombian food. He recommended trout with some sort of mushroom sauce. He came back to ask how my food was, and when I told him it was very good, he immediately flashed a smile. He was no doubt feeling proud that he made a good selection. Again, genuinely nice.
Getting a bus back to the airport proved to be a little bit of a hassle. Traffic here in the Centro at rush hour was chaotic. There was an endless stream of buses coughing out black exhaust, sitting in gridlock traffic across massive roads with no real lanes. The buses don't really have designated stops and just hit the brakes for whoever waves at them, where ever they are. That, or it passes them by for no apparent reason.
After 25 minutes of confusion and realizing this location wasn't going to work. I headed to another mass of people on the side of a busy street and finally crammed my way onto a bus that was well over capacity. What I found fascinating is that people would hop on through the backdoor and to my surprise, every single person would pass money through a packed bus of strangers to the driver up front. The driver would then send their change back and it would pass through a dozen hands before returning. Somehow it would all make it back, every time.
I had several other encounters with nice Colombians throughout the day and it just left me feeling really good inside. It was refreshing to have so many strangers treating an outsider like family and experiencing an environment unlike a majority of cities I've been to. I don't know if all of Colombia is like this or if I just happened to stumble upon an uncharacteristically nice chain of events. But either way my first impressions are overwhelmingly positive and I can't wait to go back.
Traveling around South America I met a lot of people who have spent significant amounts of time in Colombia or planned to in the future. The image you get now, from people who actually know it personally, and not just from stories you hear on the news, is extremely positive. The saying I keep hearing is that the people of Colombia really want to shed the image of being a hostile country and go out of there way to do so.
This is exactly what I found. Unfortunately, I only had one day in Bogota, so I don't have the experience of somebody with a well developed personal opinion of the country. I got the smallest taste of what life in Bogota is like and it left me wanting a whole lot more. I had more random encounters with genuinely nice people in my 16 hours in Bogota, than I did in weeks of time in other countries. The positive image I have of this city is based upon the helpful and caring people that stepped right into my life for a moment while I wandered the streets.
Nestled amongst the Andes, with thick forests all around, the city itself is beautiful and oozing with colorful character that kept me enthralled for every minute I had there. The buildings were bright and well aged, with all the cracks, holes and peeling paint adding to the aesthetic appeal. Cobblestoned streets with vibrant grass popping out between the cracks, lead through tiny alleys and up steep hills. There is ever-present street art which really brings a unique energy to the city.
All I did, all day, was walk around, sit in plazas, eat and take pictures. I headed out of the airport at 9am and ignoring the advice of the information guy at the airport, I took a bus instead of the easier, faster taxi ride ($.75 vs $10). I really had minimal idea of where I was going. I looked at a half-loaded Google map for a few minutes and figured if I just found a bus going straight on the road out of the airport I would be able to figure it out. And it all worked out quite easily. Within 30 minutes I got to La Candeleria in the Centro which is a small neighborhood in the hills of Bogota.
My first encounter was with a nice Colombian man who happened to be homeless. I was eating a massive chocolate croissant-like pastry {photo} in a park and this thin, 20-something-year-old, absolutely filthy but completely unthreatening man approached me and asked me for a piece of my bread. I had just been thinking about how it's literally too big to eat alone, especially after a breakfast of coffee, some strange, mild white cheese, eggs with ham and bread. And he popped up to alleviate the situation. There was something about this man that I immediately saw he wished he didn't have to be asking for food, but was just so desperate he had no other choice. He cupped his hands, stood about 5 feet away and asked in the least threatening way possible for a piece of bread. I couldn't say no, so I ripped a tiny bite off for myself and handed him a piece the size of my hand. He said "que bueno, gracias," about four times before devouring it. He couldn't hide his sincere gratitude if he tried.
This looked even more appetizing before it was stuffed into a plastic bag, smearing all the chocolate drizzle on top.
Being from New York you get trained to ignore most, if not all, beggars. There are simply too many of them and more often than not they are ungrateful or overly annoying. But this guy was alright.
Twenty blocks later I had worked my way through a number of tiny side streets and I was crouched on the sidewalk shooting some biker making his way around a bend. An old man in his 70's with a thick white moustache stopped walking beside me to avoid getting in my way. He then proceeded to ask me how I was liking Bogota and told me about streets nearby I should check out. I got the feeling he was just walking home and saw some young foreigner half lying on the ground in his neighborhood. So why the hell not stop and talk to him? It was genuinely friendly moment between two strangers.
A few hours later I had made my way higher up into the hills. I had heard it's best not to go high up because it can get more dangerous. But everything about the day so far had been so enjoyable and I didn't feel the least bit threatened or anything less than pleasantly surprised by the people here. As I was taking photos of a window cleaner rappelling between two windows, a cop came up to me out of nowhere.
Generally when this happens I have no interest in talking to them and I assume he wants to complain about something I'm doing wrong. But this young cop came up to me just to recommend that I don't walk farther up the hill, and even around here it is better to keep the camera out of sight, just in case. We then talked about why I was in Colombia for the day and what I do in Chile. He also let me know that he would keep any eye out while I was shooting around there. He was just really damn nice. What is it with these people?
While sitting down in a restaurant for lunch I asked the waiter what he recommended because I didn't know anything about Colombian food. He recommended trout with some sort of mushroom sauce. He came back to ask how my food was, and when I told him it was very good, he immediately flashed a smile. He was no doubt feeling proud that he made a good selection. Again, genuinely nice.
Getting a bus back to the airport proved to be a little bit of a hassle. Traffic here in the Centro at rush hour was chaotic. There was an endless stream of buses coughing out black exhaust, sitting in gridlock traffic across massive roads with no real lanes. The buses don't really have designated stops and just hit the brakes for whoever waves at them, where ever they are. That, or it passes them by for no apparent reason.
After 25 minutes of confusion and realizing this location wasn't going to work. I headed to another mass of people on the side of a busy street and finally crammed my way onto a bus that was well over capacity. What I found fascinating is that people would hop on through the backdoor and to my surprise, every single person would pass money through a packed bus of strangers to the driver up front. The driver would then send their change back and it would pass through a dozen hands before returning. Somehow it would all make it back, every time.
I had several other encounters with nice Colombians throughout the day and it just left me feeling really good inside. It was refreshing to have so many strangers treating an outsider like family and experiencing an environment unlike a majority of cities I've been to. I don't know if all of Colombia is like this or if I just happened to stumble upon an uncharacteristically nice chain of events. But either way my first impressions are overwhelmingly positive and I can't wait to go back.
Monday, July 30, 2012
A Moment of Reflection While Stuck Somewhere Between New York and Santiago
*Note: I began this blog a few years ago as a way to showcase more of my photography that didn't have a home in my portfolios. Also, to write about any thoughts or subjects that I felt like without having any constraints or ulterior motives. I started writing to nobody in particular and had minimal readers. In the past several months a lot more people from all over the world who have no idea who the hell I actually am, have begun reading this blog. So in an attempt to offer some insight into who I am as a person I will be making an effort to touch on more personal thoughts, issues and details from my life. And for those who don't give a shit who I am, I will still have some sexy photos you can skip to. I will also begin to allow comments and would love to hear from people if they feel any reason at all to make their voice heard.
It is about 48 hours before I begin my journey back to Santiago. I call it a journey because there will be over 24 hours of travel between multiple countries. My flight leaves at 3:30am on Wednesday morning (I didn't even know they had flights that early), so obviously I won't be sleeping and will probably begin my trip to the airport with detours at a few bars. I then land in Bogota, Colombia at 6:30am and have a 17 hour layover. Fortunately, I can leave the airport and will get a free day to explore Bogota. My flight to Santiago then leaves at 11:30pm and lands at 5:05am the next day. So it sounds kinda shitty on paper, but getting to check out Bogota makes it all worth while.
The past 24 days have been creatively inspiring for me. There have been ups, downs, a lot of running around and a whole mess of thoughts, feelings and moments of reflection.
Returning to NY for three weeks felt like stepping back in time. I began a new chapter in my life by moving to Chile. I took a step in a completely different direction, but then, quite suddenly, I was back in NY working the same types of jobs, seeing the same people and living the same life of running in out of the city between work, friends and family. It was mostly enjoyable, but equally perplexing. I was doing work I enjoyed for companies I legitimately support and wanted to be a part of. I was seeing friends and family during all of my spare time and in reality I should have nothing to complain about. Yet, there was something inside of me telling me I shouldn't be here. My place in life is no longer in NY. Who knows where my place will be in a year or even four months. But at this exact moment I belong in Chile.
I have been battling these conflicting emotions since I first set foot in NY. These feelings, induced by my environment, offered a unique position for personal reflection. My time here has given me reassurance that living in Chile does make sense right now. My inner desire to return as soon as possible let me know that yes, I do enjoy it there and truly want to be there.
It also enforced a thought that I already knew. That there are more important things in life than money. I'm 26 years old and money has never been a goal for me. I have turned down more work opportunities than I prefer to think about, but everything has turned out in ways I am genuinely happy about. I am realistic and understand the importance of money in life, but only use it as a tool to make other things happen. I don't want it just to have it and certainly don't care about excess. I prefer enriching life experience over a secure job. I find far more fulfillment and happiness in achieving personal goals and discovering as much as I can about people, the world around me and most importantly myself.
Photography has been a way for me to release a lot of creative energy I never before knew what to do with. It also gave me a way to legitimize my wanderlust desires and more productively process my thoughts and experiences. Photography has become an obsession, and something I do for personal interest and nothing more. I do strive to work for certain companies, doing certain types of projects and using these opportunities to challenge myself creatively and ideally support myself financially while doing something I love. But making other people happy and working a shit job where I'm miserable just doesn't fit in my path through life. I have way too many things that I want to accomplish, and way too many things I need to experience, to waste years working a job that doesn't offer an enriching or fulfilling atmosphere.
Being here for a short while, with no concept of how long it will be until I return, forced a lot of importance onto how I spend my free time. It made me aware of the friends that mean more to me. The type of work I do and the lifestyle I live means that I meet a lot of new people. A lot of them are cool people worth knowing, but it sometimes makes it overwhelming to keep in touch and take certain friendships beyond the surface. So moving to Chile and then returning has made it clearer who I truly care about on a deeper level. The sad thing is that I didn't get to see half of them this trip. There just wasn't enough time. But at least it helps me see where my efforts should go.
I am set to return to Chile with a restored sense of creative inspiration and personal thoughts to process. As perplexing as my time here has been it has been insanely productive on a number of levels and I look forward to seeing how things play out in the future. Some of these thoughts may seem out of the blue, and partly out of context, but oh well, hopefully you all will get to know me better in upcoming posts and it will begin to make sense.
And for all of you looking for some sexy photos to skip to, I'm sorry. There are none this post because I'm not on my own computer. But it will give you something to look forward to, I hope!
It is about 48 hours before I begin my journey back to Santiago. I call it a journey because there will be over 24 hours of travel between multiple countries. My flight leaves at 3:30am on Wednesday morning (I didn't even know they had flights that early), so obviously I won't be sleeping and will probably begin my trip to the airport with detours at a few bars. I then land in Bogota, Colombia at 6:30am and have a 17 hour layover. Fortunately, I can leave the airport and will get a free day to explore Bogota. My flight to Santiago then leaves at 11:30pm and lands at 5:05am the next day. So it sounds kinda shitty on paper, but getting to check out Bogota makes it all worth while.
The past 24 days have been creatively inspiring for me. There have been ups, downs, a lot of running around and a whole mess of thoughts, feelings and moments of reflection.
Returning to NY for three weeks felt like stepping back in time. I began a new chapter in my life by moving to Chile. I took a step in a completely different direction, but then, quite suddenly, I was back in NY working the same types of jobs, seeing the same people and living the same life of running in out of the city between work, friends and family. It was mostly enjoyable, but equally perplexing. I was doing work I enjoyed for companies I legitimately support and wanted to be a part of. I was seeing friends and family during all of my spare time and in reality I should have nothing to complain about. Yet, there was something inside of me telling me I shouldn't be here. My place in life is no longer in NY. Who knows where my place will be in a year or even four months. But at this exact moment I belong in Chile.
I have been battling these conflicting emotions since I first set foot in NY. These feelings, induced by my environment, offered a unique position for personal reflection. My time here has given me reassurance that living in Chile does make sense right now. My inner desire to return as soon as possible let me know that yes, I do enjoy it there and truly want to be there.
It also enforced a thought that I already knew. That there are more important things in life than money. I'm 26 years old and money has never been a goal for me. I have turned down more work opportunities than I prefer to think about, but everything has turned out in ways I am genuinely happy about. I am realistic and understand the importance of money in life, but only use it as a tool to make other things happen. I don't want it just to have it and certainly don't care about excess. I prefer enriching life experience over a secure job. I find far more fulfillment and happiness in achieving personal goals and discovering as much as I can about people, the world around me and most importantly myself.
Photography has been a way for me to release a lot of creative energy I never before knew what to do with. It also gave me a way to legitimize my wanderlust desires and more productively process my thoughts and experiences. Photography has become an obsession, and something I do for personal interest and nothing more. I do strive to work for certain companies, doing certain types of projects and using these opportunities to challenge myself creatively and ideally support myself financially while doing something I love. But making other people happy and working a shit job where I'm miserable just doesn't fit in my path through life. I have way too many things that I want to accomplish, and way too many things I need to experience, to waste years working a job that doesn't offer an enriching or fulfilling atmosphere.
Being here for a short while, with no concept of how long it will be until I return, forced a lot of importance onto how I spend my free time. It made me aware of the friends that mean more to me. The type of work I do and the lifestyle I live means that I meet a lot of new people. A lot of them are cool people worth knowing, but it sometimes makes it overwhelming to keep in touch and take certain friendships beyond the surface. So moving to Chile and then returning has made it clearer who I truly care about on a deeper level. The sad thing is that I didn't get to see half of them this trip. There just wasn't enough time. But at least it helps me see where my efforts should go.
I am set to return to Chile with a restored sense of creative inspiration and personal thoughts to process. As perplexing as my time here has been it has been insanely productive on a number of levels and I look forward to seeing how things play out in the future. Some of these thoughts may seem out of the blue, and partly out of context, but oh well, hopefully you all will get to know me better in upcoming posts and it will begin to make sense.
And for all of you looking for some sexy photos to skip to, I'm sorry. There are none this post because I'm not on my own computer. But it will give you something to look forward to, I hope!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Random Photo - Santiago Centro
This is a photo taken from Cerro Santa Lucia looking west towards Santiago Centro.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Heading to NY
This Thursday I'm heading back to NY for a few weeks to work my ass off, see family and friends and indulge in all of the things I can't get down here. Of course I'm talking about eating. Thai, burgers, real Italian, Mexican, pizza, Indian... I am going to eat my face off and it is going to be awesome.
Anyway, leaving Chile and heading back to NY is bringing up some mixed feelings. Of course I'm excited to see my family and friends and I'm excited to get back to NYC for a short while, but just as much I'm upset to be leaving Camila and Chile. It always seems that even when I try to settle down in one place I still manage to bounce around a little.
I'm also, strangely enough, very excited to work. Anybody between jobs or any freelancers know that if you have periods of little to no work, when you finally get some you are stoked to go back. I'm not saying I'm without work here. It's just the pay here is so low that it feels like I'm practically working for free, so making some decent money is oh so appealing. It also doesn't hurt that I'm going to be working on a TV show for National Geographic. Even though it's not my dream job, it is still for my dream company, so it's a step in the right direction. I'll also have some photography assignments on my spare days too. So basically I will be going nonstop for three weeks.
Why exactly am I going to NY? Well the whole idea came from the fact that I really NEED my snowboard and equipment. I didn't bring it to Chile initially because Camila and I weren't positive where we would end up and I didn't want to have the burden of a huge, heavy bag to drag around. Of course, I almost immediately regretted not bringing it. So the idea to go back to NY, work my ass off to pay for my plane ticket and save up some money was born. It appears to be all working out quite well. Hopefully I didn't just jinx it...
Once I'm back in Chile I will be able to get up in the mountains and get you all some awesome new ski and snowboard photos! It has been way too long since I've been able to shoot any mountain sports and I'm craving it like no other. It is my ultimate photography passion, and snowboarding is my ultimate non-photography passion. And anybody who knows me personally knows I've basically had endless summers for the last two years. Heading to South America during our winters, just to head back to North America for more summer. And now I'm doing it again ironically. But it's all for a reason and I'll still have a solid two months of winter when I return.
Since I'm going to NY, here are some photos of NY:
My postings for the next few weeks may be a little less frequent than I would prefer, so I apologize in advance, but I will do my best!
Anyway, leaving Chile and heading back to NY is bringing up some mixed feelings. Of course I'm excited to see my family and friends and I'm excited to get back to NYC for a short while, but just as much I'm upset to be leaving Camila and Chile. It always seems that even when I try to settle down in one place I still manage to bounce around a little.
I'm also, strangely enough, very excited to work. Anybody between jobs or any freelancers know that if you have periods of little to no work, when you finally get some you are stoked to go back. I'm not saying I'm without work here. It's just the pay here is so low that it feels like I'm practically working for free, so making some decent money is oh so appealing. It also doesn't hurt that I'm going to be working on a TV show for National Geographic. Even though it's not my dream job, it is still for my dream company, so it's a step in the right direction. I'll also have some photography assignments on my spare days too. So basically I will be going nonstop for three weeks.
Why exactly am I going to NY? Well the whole idea came from the fact that I really NEED my snowboard and equipment. I didn't bring it to Chile initially because Camila and I weren't positive where we would end up and I didn't want to have the burden of a huge, heavy bag to drag around. Of course, I almost immediately regretted not bringing it. So the idea to go back to NY, work my ass off to pay for my plane ticket and save up some money was born. It appears to be all working out quite well. Hopefully I didn't just jinx it...
Once I'm back in Chile I will be able to get up in the mountains and get you all some awesome new ski and snowboard photos! It has been way too long since I've been able to shoot any mountain sports and I'm craving it like no other. It is my ultimate photography passion, and snowboarding is my ultimate non-photography passion. And anybody who knows me personally knows I've basically had endless summers for the last two years. Heading to South America during our winters, just to head back to North America for more summer. And now I'm doing it again ironically. But it's all for a reason and I'll still have a solid two months of winter when I return.
Since I'm going to NY, here are some photos of NY:
Long Island City, Queens with the Manhattan skyline
Midtown Manhattan
Midtown
The New Museum
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Loving La Vega
There are few things in Latin culture I'm more drawn to than the markets. For many people most, if not all, of their food is purchased in local mercados. I happen to live a short walk from La Vega, which is one of the biggest mercados in Chile. It really is massive, made up of hundreds of vendors selling nearly everything edible you could ever want and expect to find in Chile.
Living in Santiago Centro with Bella Artes, Bellavista and Providencia in walking distance it is easy to forget what the rest of Chile is like. These neighborhoods are full of a smaller population of more modern, cosmopolitan and artsy Chileans. Fortunately all it takes is a 10 minute walk north, past Rio Mapocho to La Vega and the surrounding neighborhood of Patronato to get a glimpse of a more typical Chilean community. It is more gritty, colorful and full of the sketchy character that I am constantly drawn to. It is wildly different from where I grew up in NY to say the least.
Sitting in the middle of it is La Vega which is certainly the center of life in this barrio. The streets are always packed with trucks, push-carts and mobile vendors transporting seemingly endless supplies of fresh produce. Sidewalks are packed with locals selling anything from used clothes to TV antenas and batteries. And of course pedestrians heading to and from the market are littered throughout the streets and sidewalks.
The first few times visiting La Vega was a little intimidating. I ended up walking around looking at everything for nearly an hour before even purchasing anything. After a couple months of weekly trips I am getting pretty efficient. I can be in and out in twenty minutes and know which vendors have the best and cheapest selections. And cheap it is. Every single time I walk away from this place I have a smile ear to ear and feel as if I just happened to hit a 75% off everything sale. But no, this place is cheap all day, everyday.
This is an example of what $11 of groceries looks like from La Vega.
For whatever reason I really enjoy the lack of order and chaotic nature of places like this. It is messy, smelly (sometimes good, sometimes bad), unruly and a little dangerous. It just feels so authentic. It isn't even uncommon to see cars or motorcycles for some reason navigating these tiny aisles. Everybody is yelling, bargaining, throwing things, running around and keeping the energy level abnormally high. The bottom line is, it is a very interesting place to spend an hour or two wandering around and highly recommend it to anybody visiting Santiago. I plan on doing a more formal photo essay in the future about La Vega, so for now I only have a couple photos I shot this morning while shopping.
Check out an older post about the market in Cusco, Peru here!
Living in Santiago Centro with Bella Artes, Bellavista and Providencia in walking distance it is easy to forget what the rest of Chile is like. These neighborhoods are full of a smaller population of more modern, cosmopolitan and artsy Chileans. Fortunately all it takes is a 10 minute walk north, past Rio Mapocho to La Vega and the surrounding neighborhood of Patronato to get a glimpse of a more typical Chilean community. It is more gritty, colorful and full of the sketchy character that I am constantly drawn to. It is wildly different from where I grew up in NY to say the least.
The first few times visiting La Vega was a little intimidating. I ended up walking around looking at everything for nearly an hour before even purchasing anything. After a couple months of weekly trips I am getting pretty efficient. I can be in and out in twenty minutes and know which vendors have the best and cheapest selections. And cheap it is. Every single time I walk away from this place I have a smile ear to ear and feel as if I just happened to hit a 75% off everything sale. But no, this place is cheap all day, everyday.
This is an example of what $11 of groceries looks like from La Vega.
For whatever reason I really enjoy the lack of order and chaotic nature of places like this. It is messy, smelly (sometimes good, sometimes bad), unruly and a little dangerous. It just feels so authentic. It isn't even uncommon to see cars or motorcycles for some reason navigating these tiny aisles. Everybody is yelling, bargaining, throwing things, running around and keeping the energy level abnormally high. The bottom line is, it is a very interesting place to spend an hour or two wandering around and highly recommend it to anybody visiting Santiago. I plan on doing a more formal photo essay in the future about La Vega, so for now I only have a couple photos I shot this morning while shopping.
Check out an older post about the market in Cusco, Peru here!
Monday, June 18, 2012
Smoggy Santiago from Cerro San Cristóbal
Today I decided it was time to get up to Cerro San Cristobal for the first time this year. It had been raining all weekend and stopped late last night. Being Santiago is smog central during the winter and the only relief comes after rain, I knew I had to get up there while I had the chance.
Santiago suffers from thermal inversion which ensures there is almost always a heavy blanket of pollution just overhead. This sounds horrible, and in a way it is, but here in Santiago Centro I don't see it effecting my life like people in blogs all over the web complain about. Sure it's unsightly and probably doing some silent damage to my lungs, but if it's not in my face crappy, I just forget about it. I find it much easier that way than obsessing and worrying over something that isn't going to change and I certainly can't control.
Anyway, I woke up nice and early and ran the approximately 8km from my apartment to the top of Cerro San Cristobal. For those who don't know, it is the hill in view from most of Northern Santiago with The Virgin Mary perched atop. Aside from spectacular views of the city, the mountains and miles and miles of smog, it also offers some decent hiking trails and momentary escapes into nature.
Heading up the dirt trails on the western side of the hill I almost felt like I was truly in nature, as long as I ignored the views of urban sprawl off to one side of the trail. Chile has an incredibly diverse number of trees and plants and even hiking up Cerro San Cristobal you are reminded of what is out there. The smells alone are overpowering (in an entirely good way). It reminded me of being in the hills of northern California during the spring. It was easy to temporarily forget about the pollution and grime of city life. Then you arrive to the top for expansive views and the slowly forming smog. Getting there quite early I did get to see farther and cleaner views than usual. But while sitting up there for about 30 minutes I did notice the smog forming over certain areas and thickening by the minute. It is less than ideal, but this is just how it is here in Santiago, so deal with it I say.
This photo is entirely unrelated to smog, but I just took it from my little balcony and figured I'd throw it in because a blog post with only one photo is a little boring eh?
Santiago suffers from thermal inversion which ensures there is almost always a heavy blanket of pollution just overhead. This sounds horrible, and in a way it is, but here in Santiago Centro I don't see it effecting my life like people in blogs all over the web complain about. Sure it's unsightly and probably doing some silent damage to my lungs, but if it's not in my face crappy, I just forget about it. I find it much easier that way than obsessing and worrying over something that isn't going to change and I certainly can't control.
A photo from 2009. The view was better today.
Heading up the dirt trails on the western side of the hill I almost felt like I was truly in nature, as long as I ignored the views of urban sprawl off to one side of the trail. Chile has an incredibly diverse number of trees and plants and even hiking up Cerro San Cristobal you are reminded of what is out there. The smells alone are overpowering (in an entirely good way). It reminded me of being in the hills of northern California during the spring. It was easy to temporarily forget about the pollution and grime of city life. Then you arrive to the top for expansive views and the slowly forming smog. Getting there quite early I did get to see farther and cleaner views than usual. But while sitting up there for about 30 minutes I did notice the smog forming over certain areas and thickening by the minute. It is less than ideal, but this is just how it is here in Santiago, so deal with it I say.
This photo is entirely unrelated to smog, but I just took it from my little balcony and figured I'd throw it in because a blog post with only one photo is a little boring eh?
An old man waiting for the bus
Friday, June 15, 2012
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Notes from La Paz
Thoughts on Bolivia taken from my notebook. Written while eating at an Indian restaurant in La Paz. It's unedited aside from standard grammar.
"La Paz fascinates me. It is the same concept I have experienced dozens of times all over the world: a city. Many, many people living in the same area. But here it feels so different. It feels crazy, exciting and dangerous. New York never felt so tame. These days, you can walk in plenty of areas of New York while being lost in your head. You can be absolutely clueless of your surroundings, as most New Yorkers seem to be. But here I feel like I need to be awake and aware. Not sure if it's because La Paz is excitingly different or simply new to me.
Either way, there is a level of chaos I find comforting. I tend to dislike police officers more than the average scofflaw on the street. It is liberating to know there is such a lack of order that you can get away with so much without law enforcement even batting an eye. They seem prepared to move for nothing less than a full scale riot, despite their constant presence.
This city has the most intimidating police force I have ever seen. Around nearly every corner is a machine gun or shotgun toting man in a dark, earthy green army suit with the entire hat, boots and sunglasses get-up. They also carry an expression that says "yes I'm corrupt and fire my gun at will." There are also a strangely high number of unmarked randoms walking around in full bullet proof gear. Yes, they are prepared. But for what?
Traffic and pollution in La Paz is insanely high. In the time before my body could adapt to the thick exhaust, smoke and smog filling all main streets I couldn't help but imagine how much this must effect your health after years of inhalation. Poorly maintained, old cars recklessly speeding around, combined with La Paz's position in a valley that doesn't allow car exhaust to properly escape, makes for some horrid air quality.
The pedestrians in La Paz are just as aggressive as the cars. And you have to be to get anywhere. When it's common for drivers to completely ignore red lights, driving lanes and the pedestrians have the right-of-way mentality, you have to be brave. You have to carry the confidence that the driver will eventually stop. Won't he?
It's not uncommon to see groups of old women slowly making their way, lane by lane, across eight lanes of zig-zagging cars. And darting past them is middle aged men in full sprint. On the narrow sidewalks stocky, bull-headed women in traditional garb, trek on with no intention of moving for anybody. They have days of dirt in their sun-pruned faces, silver teeth and a colorful sack on their back filled with salable items, food and maybe even a dead llama fetus (for good luck). Children play real-life games of Frogger with reckless abandon. While tourists simply stand there thinking back on how they thought crossing the street in New York was tough.
As fast and crazy as this city seems to be, there are an excessive number of people who walk obnoxiously slow. Most sidewalks are thin and have tons of people spilling into the streets with traffic whizzing by. And there is always, always somebody clogging up the flow. Walking a block here is work in itself. So much time is spent looking at the ground because it is rarely smooth or stable. There are holes, puddles and eight inch wide cracks between cobblestones. Maintenance, upkeep and order is practically nonexistent. One orange cone may warn of a 30 foot area of wet cement or sketchy, block long construction sites. There will be little to no sidewalk, dead ends and absolutely no advise on the safest route."
All being said, I think this city is awesome.
More notes to come! And if you missed my first set of notes on Bolivia check them out here.
"La Paz fascinates me. It is the same concept I have experienced dozens of times all over the world: a city. Many, many people living in the same area. But here it feels so different. It feels crazy, exciting and dangerous. New York never felt so tame. These days, you can walk in plenty of areas of New York while being lost in your head. You can be absolutely clueless of your surroundings, as most New Yorkers seem to be. But here I feel like I need to be awake and aware. Not sure if it's because La Paz is excitingly different or simply new to me.
Either way, there is a level of chaos I find comforting. I tend to dislike police officers more than the average scofflaw on the street. It is liberating to know there is such a lack of order that you can get away with so much without law enforcement even batting an eye. They seem prepared to move for nothing less than a full scale riot, despite their constant presence.
This city has the most intimidating police force I have ever seen. Around nearly every corner is a machine gun or shotgun toting man in a dark, earthy green army suit with the entire hat, boots and sunglasses get-up. They also carry an expression that says "yes I'm corrupt and fire my gun at will." There are also a strangely high number of unmarked randoms walking around in full bullet proof gear. Yes, they are prepared. But for what?
Traffic and pollution in La Paz is insanely high. In the time before my body could adapt to the thick exhaust, smoke and smog filling all main streets I couldn't help but imagine how much this must effect your health after years of inhalation. Poorly maintained, old cars recklessly speeding around, combined with La Paz's position in a valley that doesn't allow car exhaust to properly escape, makes for some horrid air quality.
The pedestrians in La Paz are just as aggressive as the cars. And you have to be to get anywhere. When it's common for drivers to completely ignore red lights, driving lanes and the pedestrians have the right-of-way mentality, you have to be brave. You have to carry the confidence that the driver will eventually stop. Won't he?
It's not uncommon to see groups of old women slowly making their way, lane by lane, across eight lanes of zig-zagging cars. And darting past them is middle aged men in full sprint. On the narrow sidewalks stocky, bull-headed women in traditional garb, trek on with no intention of moving for anybody. They have days of dirt in their sun-pruned faces, silver teeth and a colorful sack on their back filled with salable items, food and maybe even a dead llama fetus (for good luck). Children play real-life games of Frogger with reckless abandon. While tourists simply stand there thinking back on how they thought crossing the street in New York was tough.
As fast and crazy as this city seems to be, there are an excessive number of people who walk obnoxiously slow. Most sidewalks are thin and have tons of people spilling into the streets with traffic whizzing by. And there is always, always somebody clogging up the flow. Walking a block here is work in itself. So much time is spent looking at the ground because it is rarely smooth or stable. There are holes, puddles and eight inch wide cracks between cobblestones. Maintenance, upkeep and order is practically nonexistent. One orange cone may warn of a 30 foot area of wet cement or sketchy, block long construction sites. There will be little to no sidewalk, dead ends and absolutely no advise on the safest route."
All being said, I think this city is awesome.
View of the Andes off in the distance
Vendor at El Alto Mercado
Street Vendor
Mother and daugthers
More notes to come! And if you missed my first set of notes on Bolivia check them out here.
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.
Monday, June 4, 2012
Santiago to Mendoza on Three Wheels
This past weekend I went solo on my second trip to Mendoza, Argentina to renew my visa. My first trip I went with Camila and although there isn't all too much to do in Mendoza, it was a good time. I don't generally use the word lovely, but for some reason it feels entirely appropriate when describing Mendoza. As a traveler it isn't all that exciting and doesn't require more than a few days to enjoy most it has to offer.
There are nice wineries and hot springs outside of town, and nice restaurants, parks and plazas within the town. But beyond that it gets boring kinda quick. That being said, I can see it being a lovely place to live. Life here is slow and it seems like everything in town is closed most of the time. Stores, restaurants and most businesses seem to open between 9am and 12pm and then close from 2pm-6/7pm. Then they open again for a couple more hours, with restaurants staying open later obviously. Then on Saturday things have even less hours open and on Sunday, practically everything is closed.
It is a city that clearly doesn't take life too seriously, which is great. Beyond that, the weather is usually pretty nice and people seem quite happy overall. Oh yeah, and like all Argentinians, they love to party. Things don't kick off until after midnight, but parties easily go until 7am or later.
Being that I was alone this trip it was a little more boring than last time. I was exhausted after waking up early for the first bus to Mendoza which generally takes about six hours. This time, it took nearly 10 hours due to a lazy wheel on the bus.
On the Chilean side of the border there are a series of around 30 switchbacks. At number 22 we were rounding the bend and out of nowhere there was sudden lurch to the left followed by a loud crash and grinding noise. We immediately came to a stop and we all climbed out to see what it was. The driver grabbed nearby stones to cram under the wheels to prevent the bus from prematurely heading back down the mountain. From the time the bus stopped moving to the time I was outside took about 45 seconds and once I was out there was absolutely no sign of the back wheel. The tire and rim was literally gone. Not sure if it shot off the side of the cliff or where it was, but it was gone.
A group of five men worked on getting the bus mobile while I went off shooting some photos. 45 minutes later we were on our way and then 15 minutes later we heard a loud thwap, thwap as the tire was working its way off the axel again. After stopping three times to fix the damn tire the driver finally started signaling other buses with free space to take us the rest of the way. So almost 10 hours later I finally made it to Mendoza and had little energy to do much at all.
The following day was Sunday, so everything was closed and the only area of activity was the park. So I headed there. One thing I really like about Mendoza, and Argentina in general is the number of old cars on the road. And I mean cool old cars. Most aren't in good shape but they still have a lot more character than a bunch of shiny new cars which dominate the roads in Chile.
I decided to take advantage of having interesting, stationary objects to practice a photographic technique I read about a little while ago called the Brenizer Method, first done by photographer Ryan Brenizer. I could describe all the details of the method but it would take too much time, so if interested click on the link above. It essentially involves shooting closer to a subject with a lens higher than 50mm(preferably even higher) at a wide open f stop of 1.8 or something similar. You stitch together a number of images to create a wider angle photo with a more blurred background(this is a very poor description, just Google it if you're curious). So here are a couple first attempts. These photos are only made with 3-4 frames (Ryan generally uses anywhere from 15-40 frames which makes a massive image) so the depth of field isn't super blurred like it could be. But it is a starting point!
There are nice wineries and hot springs outside of town, and nice restaurants, parks and plazas within the town. But beyond that it gets boring kinda quick. That being said, I can see it being a lovely place to live. Life here is slow and it seems like everything in town is closed most of the time. Stores, restaurants and most businesses seem to open between 9am and 12pm and then close from 2pm-6/7pm. Then they open again for a couple more hours, with restaurants staying open later obviously. Then on Saturday things have even less hours open and on Sunday, practically everything is closed.
It is a city that clearly doesn't take life too seriously, which is great. Beyond that, the weather is usually pretty nice and people seem quite happy overall. Oh yeah, and like all Argentinians, they love to party. Things don't kick off until after midnight, but parties easily go until 7am or later.
Being that I was alone this trip it was a little more boring than last time. I was exhausted after waking up early for the first bus to Mendoza which generally takes about six hours. This time, it took nearly 10 hours due to a lazy wheel on the bus.
On the Chilean side of the border there are a series of around 30 switchbacks. At number 22 we were rounding the bend and out of nowhere there was sudden lurch to the left followed by a loud crash and grinding noise. We immediately came to a stop and we all climbed out to see what it was. The driver grabbed nearby stones to cram under the wheels to prevent the bus from prematurely heading back down the mountain. From the time the bus stopped moving to the time I was outside took about 45 seconds and once I was out there was absolutely no sign of the back wheel. The tire and rim was literally gone. Not sure if it shot off the side of the cliff or where it was, but it was gone.
At least it fell off somewhere with great views
The tire must be somewhere down there
I decided to take advantage of having interesting, stationary objects to practice a photographic technique I read about a little while ago called the Brenizer Method, first done by photographer Ryan Brenizer. I could describe all the details of the method but it would take too much time, so if interested click on the link above. It essentially involves shooting closer to a subject with a lens higher than 50mm(preferably even higher) at a wide open f stop of 1.8 or something similar. You stitch together a number of images to create a wider angle photo with a more blurred background(this is a very poor description, just Google it if you're curious). So here are a couple first attempts. These photos are only made with 3-4 frames (Ryan generally uses anywhere from 15-40 frames which makes a massive image) so the depth of field isn't super blurred like it could be. But it is a starting point!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)