Market Day

Market day in Urubamba. Beautiful, delicious, organic and oh so colorful. Always so much healthier here.

Chonta Morning

Mornings in Chonta. Wake up to the sounds of roosters cackawwwing, the songbirds dancing across the flowers, the fresh, cool dry mountain air tickling your face, and the faint sounds of baaaaah as the sheep are shepherded to the fields for a day of grazing. It's a daily scene in a small mountain community in the Peruvian Andes. Life is simple here. To many of us, it’s lackluster. It's difficult. It's connected. Here, a family heads out in the early morning taking the sheep to the pampa. The boy kicks his soccer ball, the girl plays with the dogs and mom chugs along stoically but with intention. Soon after I captured this photo, they sat down to eat soup...and before taking a bite, they brought it over to me and offered me some first. Whattt? A family that has very little offering what they have to a gringo riding his fancy mountain bike down the road. I happily obliged and enjoyed a 20 minute conversation with them about their animals, life and teaching a few English words to the children. Remarkable how generous and connected with the land these folks truly are. It's spiritual and special. We should all take note.

Keeping Tradition Alive

Demonstrating traditional weaving techniques in Chinchero at the Center for Textiles. Stunning work and mesmerizing work. Each weaving incorporates a story, utilizes natural dyes, completely hand woven and an incredible homage to a fascinating and intricate tradition.

Back Breaking Work

Back-breaking work. A woman work's her family's salt pool in Maras, Peru. She is squeezing the moisture out of the salt before letting it sit out in the sun to dry. This salt mine has been worked since Inca times owned cooperatively among the families of Maras. The salt comes from a subterranean stream. The water comes out at a spring by the mines. The flow is channeled into many tiny canals that direct the water gradually downslope to the numerous terraced pools. Almost all the pools are less than four meters square in area, and none exceeds thirty centimeters in depth. They are shaped into polygons with the flow of water carefully controlled and monitored by the workers. The altitude of the pools slowly decreases, so that the water may flow through the myriad branches of the water-supply channels and be introduced slowly through a notch in one sidewall of each pond.

Hardened Hands

You don't always have to capture someone's face to tell their story. Hands reflect a life lived. Here, Basilia organizes the various Ullucus into several piles. One for her soups. One for seeding and one for feeding the pigs.

Twirl

Weekends in Cusco are for dancing, music and color explosions in the streets. Slowing the shutter down a bit to capture some of the energy and motion.

Basilia

Basilia, 83 years old. Grandmother of my second family member Carolina. A powerful soul who lives by herself in Chonta and takes care of everything on her own. She still rides a horse to go check on the cows, takes the sheep to graze, maintains a garden, tends to the chickens, weaves beautiful tapestries, makes chicha (corn beer), cooks and is almost completely self sustainable. Remarkable. An encyclopedia of ancient traditions and true connection with the land.

Rope

A steady grip on the tethered rope. High in the Andes around Ausangate life is tough. The working relationship with the people and their animals is paramount to survival.

Soul of a Child

This picture was taken in the small Amazon community of Asuncion de Quiquibey in Bolivia. There's no way for me to ever know what this little girl was thinking but it felt powerful.

Mornings in Ollantaytambo

Mornings along the ancient Incan streets of Ollantaytambo. The oldest inhabited Incan settlement.

Wrinkles

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been." Mark Twain is one of my favorites; but he falls short here. Wrinkles indicate a life lived. They are products of smiles, tears, anger, hardship, grief, joy, love and the range of emotions only gained through experience. This woman forever captivates my spirit. She was sitting in Amaru, Peru drinking homemade chicha (corn beer). By best buddy Yieber and I approached her and started chatting. Quechua being Yieber's first language provided us direct insight and instant connection. She spoke of a arduous life lived at high altitude, working in the fields, being a mother, a grandmother and just embodying what the human experience is for so many campesinas living in the high Andes. She even scolded me for not taking the glass of chicha with two hands and informed me, I wouldn't be having many babies if I continued accepting with one hand. Her countenance explains it all. Authentic. Straight forward. No complaints about being poor or living such a difficult, physical life....just a matter of fact attitude with some sagely advice intermixed. Here I sit, aware of my privilege. Consciously grateful to be able to travel to such places and hear other's experiences. The takeaway... infinite. I crave these interactions. Profound gratitude resides in my very core. I have fostered incredibly special relationships with people around the world who grew up very different than I did. They have shaped my perspectives and left an indelible sense of curiosity and compassion for the human spirit. I look up to those who have persevered through true adversity with a sense of dignity and generosity that is utterly remarkable and admirable. Those wrinkle aren't solely evidence of myriad smiles. They are boundless emotions worn on a face of a life lived. I hope one day, I'll have as many wrinkles.

Isla Del Sol: A Day in the Life

Isla del Sol's interstate. On the island situated in the middle of Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, there are no roads or motorized vehicles. To get supplies to houses, restaurants, hotels etc..., locals must take their mules down to the boat docks everyday and load their mules up and then make the long journey up the steep hillsides. Furthermore, the island is situated at roughly 12,500 feet. If you want increased lung power, sculpted legs and to shed a few pounds, go to work with these people. The ultimate tried and true weight loss plan.

Market Day Huaraz

My life is shaped by the urgent need to wander and observe, and my camera is my passport.”– Steve McCurry. What's the first thing I do whenever I get back to Peru? I head for the market. It's the heartbeat of all the cities especially on Sundays.

A Mountain Life

This boy's intense stare and weathered face says it all. Life in the high Peruvian Andes is difficult. The Q'eros people, the wisdom keepers of the Andes, are the last direct blood descendants of the Inca and still live a very traditional life. tucked away from much of our modern world.

Mother's Day

Mothers take a break from working in the fields to drop by the school to watch their children show their appreciate and love for them on Mother's Day in rural Peru. It was truly special and humbling to be invited by the head of the school to enjoy the festivities. I absolutely adore how inviting the Andean culture is and how systems of reciprocity (ayni) and community are paramount. It doesn't matter what class, gender, creed or color you are....they welcome you with open arms and love. In our current political climate here in the US, it is a poignant reminder that we all share this planet together, we all deserved to be loved and being truly human and kind is beautiful. If only some of us had the ability and/or willingness to travel and push our comfort zones, our perspectives would shift, and we would be a lot more tolerant. I am infinitely grateful for what I have been exposed to and am lucky to have a brother and dearest friend in Peru...Yieber

Powerful Gaze

Life is too complex to ever pretend to capture in a singular frame but when trying to catch a glimpse of the story, I really try to take my time, observe and FEEL before clicking the shutter. I focus in on the subtleties, behaviors and what draws me in. It's one thing to look into someone else's eyes, but it's all the more powerful when you reach for the soul and connect in a more poignant way. Photo taken in Cusco while wandering the streets.

Blind Soul

A blind man beautiful plays from the heart creating music that soothes the soul. Amazing.

Tomas

Inline

Weekends in Cusco are always magical. The streets are shut down to cars and dancing and music ensues. A way to celebrate, remember and share culture. This dance comes is called the Morenada and comes from Bolivia. It's believed to stem from a mixture of African and indigenous roots. Similar to the United States, Africans were enslaved in the silver mines in Potosi. These dances were created as forms of expression and to sustain through incredible hardship.

Juliana and Alex

Shepherd's Life

Daily business in Misminay, Peru. Taking the sheep up the mountain to graze. Life is slower, quieter, more difficult yet intrinsically connected with the land...and that is pretty damn special.

Nervous Eyes

At a Mother's Day celebration at a school in Maras, Peru, students prepare to perform a traditional dance for their Mothers, who have taken breaks from working the fields to come see their children show their appreciation for them. This girl kept looking over at her teacher with nervous eyes as she was readying for her performance.

Sacrifice

Nicolas in Nacion Q'eros watches along unfazed as the community slaughters two sheep for a Pachamanca. Pachamanca's in Peru are a way to bring the community together to celebrate each other, the earth and the sustenance it provides.

All Smiles

"The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” Wade Davis Aunt and niece high in the Andes beneath the sacred peak Apu Ausangate. Salt of the earth people.