Random Photos

A few images from just outside of San Pedro de Atacama in Northern Chile.

Random Photo

Image from Humberstone. An hour inland from Iquique, Chile is an abandoned mining town from the mid 1800s with dozens of decaying buildings from old homes and infirmaries to factories, churches and theaters.

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.

Last weekend I took a trip to Mendoza, Argentina, mostly to renew my visa and of course to visit another Argentinean city. The 6.5 hour bus ride from Santiago is an experience in itself. It's beautiful mountain, river, lake and vineyard vistas the whole way. Right after crossing the border into Argentina you get a glimpse of Aconcagua (22,841 ft), the highest peak in the world outside of the Himalayas. I could write about the beauty of it all, but it will do it more justice to show some photos. From Santiago to Mendoza:

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

Photos for Tabu, Iquique

While in Iquique I shot some photos for a woman's clothing store called Tabu (http://tabustore.cl/ I believe the website is currently under construction). I haven't shot all that much fashion but I've had an increasing interest and I jump on any opportunity that comes my way. We went about an hour inland from Iquique to an abandoned mining town which provided a very cool backdrop for the shoot. The decaying buildings from the mid 1800's had an endless number of nooks to shoot in. Below are a few shots from the day:

Random Photos

San Pedro de Atacama backroad

Rain drops on the sunroof

Tocopilla homes

Stray dogs in Antofagasta

The Atacama

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.

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

Iquique

Tomorrow Camila and I head to San Pedro de Atacama for a few weeks. There I'll be working on a project documenting the hotels and restaurants in the area. The architecture and design is the exact opposite of anything in New York and I find it very beautiful and inspiring. The town and surrounding area are breathtaking and have a very relaxing, get back to nature sort of vibe. It is also the best place in the world to view the stars. Needless to say I'm very excited to go there.

The week before was spent in Iquique; a small desert city about 5 hours from Peru. Life here is centered around the beach and they have plenty of beautiful views of it from around the city. Iquique is backed by impressive, arid mountains and a massive sand dune creating a unique atmosphere.

View from Above

Playa Cavancha

Playa Cavancha

There are many, very large jelly fish

Apartments

Sunset from the Apartment