Peru and Bolivia Landscapes, Cityscapes and Nature
Llamas In The Mist
This is one of my favorite photos I have ever taken. The story behind it is rather fortuitous. Photographers just get lucky sometimes! I was looking for a place to use the bathroom around 5:30 a.m., and I found a beautiful rock to go behind. As I started doing my business, I looked up and was blown away by the lighting and llamas peacefully resting in front of me. I dashed back through the soggy field and grabbed my camera knowing I had almost zero battery life left. I quickly dialed in my settings and hoped it worked knowing I would only get 2 or 3 shots before the battery crapped out. Then I checked my LCD screen after taking the shot and saw that I luckily had captured a bit of the magic and spirit of the Peruvian Andes
Apurimac Canyon
Such a special place that recharge the soul and reminds you of the important things in life. Taking in the sunset above the Apurimac Canyon had us all in a beautiful trance. Watching the Condors catch the thermals as the sun descended piercing through the layered cliffs.
Colorful Siesta
Campeon finding a nice spot for a siesta at the house in Limatambo among the maiz and fallen bougainvillea leaves.
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Chonta Rays
No amount of poetic prose will encapsulate how incredible the Apurimac Canyon in the late afternoon. It's a masterpiece only nature could produce through millions of years using water as it's paintbrush to carve through the Andes.
This canyon is one of the deepest on earth with depths roughly at 10,000...twice as much as the Grand Canyon. This particular spot is unique to view condors catching the thermals as they use their senses to scavenge
Chasing Rainbows
Chasing Rainbows. Cusco.
Having just returned on our flight back from the rainforest, we dropped our crew off at their hotel and headed home to rest for a couple hours. I never made it to the front door. I saw this storm shaping up and decided to head up the nearest mountain. Literally...over 50 dogs tried to tear my legs off along the way. Not such a fun experience having to throw rocks and keep back 4-5 large dogs at a time snarling and charging showing teeth. Not trying to make this sound bravado, just setting the scene. I consider myself lucky that a few folks from the neighborhood stepped in to help fend them off. Finally, I make it past and head up the steep farm foot paths. I wait for an hour and a half as the rainbow gradually grew extending across the sky becoming more brilliant by the minute. I head down in the dark ( a different route), and then catch a taxi back up to meet the group for dinner.
Experiences and photography pull at me even when the easy route is to just go home and rest. Often, I'm asked how I am always in the right place...and my answer is....you have to seek these right places out. You must go that extra mile or 2 or 10 and oftentimes work hard and have an abundance of patience. Realistically...many times the scene never shapes up how you wanted it to. Through it all, it teaches me to listen to the world and appreciate the before and after moments. Sure, the rainbow is the climax of sorts, but the experience behind the photo really is equally important. It's not just a press of a shutter. It's a dedication, an insatiable curiosity, a willingness to battle the elements and environment, patience and feeling the world around you. It will continually teach me about true gratitude and presence for the rest of my life. Always seeking.
Dog Days
A dog taking a siesta in Misminay after herding the sheep in the early morning up to the grazing grounds. Not a bad lookout.
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Inkarri
Inkarri. A Quechua word for morning sun, which is a spiritual awakening or dawn of a new era. The Inti, or sun god, is the patron deity in all of Andean cosmovision. Pictured here, in a remote community in Q'eros, the last remaining direct blood descendants of the Inca still pay reverence to Inti everyday.
Machu Picchu Inhabitant
A not so common shot at Machu Picchu. Having visited many times, I challenge myself to come up with new ways to see the ancient ruins. This one was taking as the site was about to close late in the afternoon.
Morning Reminders
Hard to beat a better wake up call. view....it's as if nature is sending a friendly reminder to get out there and live. Each day I wake up, I tell myself to be kind, vulnerable and love deeply. I tell myself to remain passionate. I tell myself to listen to the world because it has so much to say. I tell myself to push my comfort zone. I tell myself to appreciate the grandiose and more nuanced beauty offered up to us daily. I tell myself to never ignore the hardship that so many suffer daily. I tell myself to confront and contemplate my privilege. Lastly, I tell myself to be curious and compassionate. Life is a perpetual work in progress and a story of discovery that we all must navigate. I will never take for granted the opportunities and love I have been afforded. Through my photography, I hope to capture a bit of these raw emotions. I don't want to merely press the shutter...I want to feel the world with my entire soul.
Afternoon at Salineras
The salt mine pools in Maras come alive in the afternoon light.
Cusco Ethereal Rainbow
When you look out of your bedroom window and see this...Ran outside as fast I could and up the nearest hill to try and capture the beauty. I got 2 shots before it was gone....just like that.
Siesta
A dog finds a nice place to take a little siesta at a home in Misminay, Peru.
Fire in the Sky
This one was published by National Geographic online. It was taken from camp Upis on the Ausangate trek. A storm had just started to clear as sunset dawned. It left this remarkable "fire in the sky"
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We're Llaman
Llamas going about their daily business near Pacchanta, Peru. They are integrated into the landscape and paramount to rural life in the Andes. These cameloids serve as pack and meat animals as well as providing wool for textiles, blankets and clothing. They first appeared in the North America plains 40 million years ago, and subsequently migrated to Asia and South America roughly 3 million years ago. They are herbivores, highly social and particularly intelligent. Truly remarkable animals!
Salineras Gold
Before gold was so expensive, salt was the main source of currency. These salt pools were worth more than any pot of gold. Salt enabled people to preserve food which made it highly valuable.
Layered Canyon
Sun descending in the late afternoon highlighting all of the beautiful mountains of the Apurimac Canyon
Pacchanta
Cascading glaciel streams tumble in the community of Pacchanta at the base of Apu Ausangate, the highest and most sacred mountain in the Cusco region. A very special place for me that always grounds me and provides space to really offer gratitude for a place that has given me so much.
Urubamba Market
One of best ways to experience a place....visit the market. Urubamba market in the Sacred Valley.
Willka Weqe
Veronica, or Willka Weqe in Quechua is a sacred deity or apu that rises drastically above the Sacred Valley in the Peruvian Andes. You can see why the Andean people view the mountains as god. They are stunning cathedrals created by Mother Nature or Pachamama
Spiraling
Beauty comes in all forms. I was wandering the streets of Huaraz, Peru focusing a bit on the market but I looked to the sky and noticed this beautiful staircase with a beautiful blue sky backdrop. It spoke to me. It had a visceral feel that in my mind composition wise and artistically would resonate with others. The stories these steps could tell.
Morning in Pilcopata
A moody and misty sunrise in Pilcopata.
Foggy Window
Terraced farmland makes a brief appearance as seen from above Limatambo
Salkantay
Salkantay is seen as a living spirit or Apu among the people of the Andes. It's easy to see why.
Condors!!
No amount of poetic prose will encapsulate how incredible the Apurimac Canyon in the late afternoon. It's a masterpiece only nature could produce through millions of years using water as it's paintbrush to carve through the Andes.
This canyon is one of the deepest on earth with depths roughly at 10,000...twice as much as the Grand Canyon. Two condors catching the thermals as they scavenge. The largest flying birds on earth and sacred animals in the Andes.
Adorned
Beautiful colors and patterns. Hats can tell you so much in Peru. They show where a person is from, about their family and if they are single or not.
Pachacuti's View.
A bit of a different perspective as seen from a window at Machu Picchu. The Inca had some rather fabulous views.
Food Cart
Fresh foods abound on this cart at the local market in Huaraz.
Resbalosa-Cusco
Looking down the famous Calle Resbalosa down on the main Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru. Resbalosa means slippery. The steep stone steps get really slick when it rains...hence the name resbalosa!
Quico Chico
Life. As I sit here typing this, people in every pocket of our world go about their daily lives. It boggles my mind. Pictured here is Chico Quico, a small community in Nacion Q'eros, Peru. No roads, no electricity, no toilets. These people have inhabited the remote Andes for hundreds of years largely unaffected by the "outside" and "modern" world. Things are changing dramatically, but much remains the same. This is the community. That's it. Maybe 20 families or so who eat a 90% potato diet. It's really all they can grow at high altitude. Life is hard. I spend a week here at a time and already start to miss a hot shower, a diverse diet, a bathroom, access to communication/information and the freedom to travel. If you get sick here, you have to hike out to the nearest road. Every time I turn on the faucet, I think of this place. Each time I get into bed, I imagine huddling close in a smoke filled house with wind drafts penetrating the loosely fitted rock walls, and I think of having to stumble in the middle of the night in absolute darkness out into the freezing temperatures and scour the area just to find a suitable place to use the bathroom. I think of this community all of the time. It is indelibly part of my imaginative thanks to my privilege to travel. I don't romanticize it. I will never fully understand it. I just know it's out there, and there are so many other similar pockets around the world where life goes on....It's bigger than me or you. Think about it when you make decisions.
Cleansing The Soul
I think it's very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and no be defined by another person- Oscar Wilde
Basking in the solitude of Pachamama as she erases all doubts and invigorates the mind, body and soul. Inti (the sun) illuminates the beautiful Peruvian Andes above the agricultural community of Misminay just before sunset.
When The Storm Clears
Those wow moments when the fog suddenly parts and the mountains show off all of their glory.
Chonta
The beautiful green fields in the mountain community of Chonta
Illampu Waters
Glacial water flows from the glaciers of Illampu in Northeast Bolivia
Apurimac Panorama
No amount of poetic prose will encapsulate how incredible the Apurimac Canyon in the late afternoon. It's a masterpiece only nature could produce through millions of years using water as it's paintbrush to carve through the Andes.
This canyon is one of the deepest on earth with depths roughly at 10,000...twice as much as the Grand Canyon. This particular spot is unique to view condors catching the thermals as they use their senses to scavenge. 15 images stitched together panorama.
Limatambo
Limatambo valley shrouded in the clouds.
Puffing
Ausangate, the highest mountain in the Cusco region seeming puffing pink clouds into the air at sunset as seen from Upis camp.
