Olympus SP500-uz

Minimal

beginnings

dawn

start

soñar

natural

reposo

dusk

twilight

night

endings

entropy

and hope

rebirth

Mélanie

a treasure in itself

Mélanie is an adorable person that more than limited to one country she’s citizen of the world. From dawns in Japan, middays in Florida, sunsets in the Pacific Ocean her experiences enrich me because they are seen across eyes that have read and seen with European humanist culture, and a kind heart. Besides she is a formidable translator, I love especially her versions of poems.

Her playground is, although I’m sure the occasional visitant of my diary already knows it ;-), here.

Always is nice to have a time in the day to play :-)

rainbow at dusk

Mélanie asked for a rainbow, an aurora borealis and the pure heart of a congressman in a coffer. Sadly I just could get the rainbows, I live in the austral hemisphere and will try to travel at least once to Ultima Thule; even worse my dagger have search in the chests of several politicians without success (but I’m still searching), so I could not fulfill the requirements TTT_TTT (I’m joking about the hearts btw XP)

The first image is in the countryside of Bolivia near the capital of an old Empire; the second is in Juliaca city years before when I didn’t know how to use a camera, so the shake in it.

Stubbornness

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Arequipa A – Volcanic rock upon the Valley

white architecture for a colorful world

Arequipa is a city in the Peruvian southwest in a valley in the north of Atacama’s desert. It was relatively a new city founded during the Inca Empire. After that Spaniards came and change the name misspelling it to its actual shape. Probably meant originally their location related to Misti volcano. I believe it could be a signal that it was a city planned to the future so its name could mean more something like place of tomorrow.

Mountains

There are three important mountains that are seen from the city: Chachani, Misti and Pichu Pichu. I climbed the last of them… but that’s a post for another day.

speaking to u (Chachani)

snow covering Misti

wake up, Pichu Pichu

Volcanic rock

This is the most western city upon Peru, as native that means that I feel a bit foreigner in that city. I don’t understand the raison d’être about certain foods and traditions, but if you are from Europe I think you could feel this city closer to you. Mostly my friends there, just a few, are from the old families, mostly the population now has a great percentage of sons and daughters of newcomers and to prove their new identity can be a bit harsh with people from other cities. I went there because studies, if I would know about that characteristic I think I would chosen another city.

The city is built with white volcanic rock. In colonial times it was painted with a lot of happy colors but in twentieth century a mayor decided to let the city with white walls; what could be a terrible mistake because the Sun is strong. It’s the city with the second world strongest solar radiation after Cairo.

let me protect you, madame

doubts

hacedor de sombras

business meeting

blue night

But there is a revival to recover colors:

shades of vermillion

two brothers

Red Paint under Blue Midday

absence

Among the merits Arequipa could shine in two: it’s probably the cleanest city in Peru, that because the people take care of the city; the second one is the cultural activity is powerful and there are artists and thinkers in several fields.

Upon the valley

Arequipa is a city whose economics are strongly linked to the agribusiness so the countryside is in the center of the city, omnipresent.

infinite green for two friends

spots

bow my branches to the sound of the water

Chachani (ghost in the sunset)

And that would be all for today, hope you find something interesting ;-)

Tuturutu

Ilo B – Pozo de Lizas beach

happy ending

Ilo city is in the south coast of the Peruvian deserts. Usually covered with the Kamanchaca (sea fog) in summer it’s an amazing place to go to the beaches. In the south of Peru Ilo beaches are in my opinion the most beautiful and always are hidden ones to discover. They are not the glamorous tropical beaches in the north of Peru, with palms and its armies of surfers, but are quite beautiful in its own right.

I went for a work, so I had just one afternoon to enjoy the beach, with a broken camera… The humidity damaged the mechanism and I just could to shoot it in manual; I liked so much that since then I’ve never used full automatic modes.

The yellow building is a bar with restaurants, bathrooms, and services. I think they have good taste because don’t impact negatively the beach and even from the sea they looks discret in the topography.

sea and desert

So I took off my clothes and went to the beach. As I was just alone I let my camera, after having taken a few vistas, and backpack with a kind lady working in the building. I was in the water for hours…

crystalline

perfect sky for a perfect day

my shadow in blue clue

waves coming

jump!

I’ll endure in my quietness

impact

The sunset came so I went for my stuff, but not without take another vistas of the sea dying in fire tones…

mar in crescendo

walking in the black side of life

silver and gold

lo! symbols in the water

And that was all, the next day my back was red and sensible, lol, I mean, auch!

After the rain a door

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Living in a flower

living in a flower

Not me by the way :P, some time ago I saw ants in a flower so I used the macro function of my old bridge camera, an Olympus. With cameras with little sensors macro is easier and convenient, there is no need of complex technics as focus stacking or exotic and expensive lenses. I think this tri-dimensional world translated to architectural terms would be more suitable into the space. But it would be nice to try something similar as a concept.

follow the light

hear…

atlas

the world beyond home

watchflower

space station

Pause in middle of an urban storm

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My city, Juliaca (probably the true name is “Xullaca”), has human occupation from thousand of years ago but certainly is not touristic and it has fame to be an ugly city. But we can develop a sense of beauty in any place we have grew up and I find it in the life of it. It’s a commercial city so there is a lot of flyers, posters, ads, signs, in the most colorful palettes against our dull colors in buildings, and several kind of sellers that sell things from the coast, the highlands and the jungles, even things that aren’t in the capital, and of course things from our own industries.

At the same time it’s a luck to not be a touristic city because our traditions are in my opinion more natural and true to ourselves. It’s not about to put a disguise to get one dollar from a tourist but just because we are just like that.

Uros: Artificial Islands in lake Titicaca

hill talking to heaven

Uros are at the same time old and new artificial islands in the Peruvian side of lake Titicaca. Similar to the Japanese wooden buildings they are old because people have built them since long ago, possibly as a way of defense against invaders, they could be when there was a migration from the south. I’ve theories but not details. They are made with totora, I ate totora a bit when child, it’s a neutral taste; and they are new because they are rebuilt, moved, even some can navigate when the lake is brave and the anchors cannot support them. So you have the key in the totora, you can built ships, homes, the ground with it, and even eat them. It’s almost a gift.

I’m not the touristic kind of traveler, I just like to take a bus and walk, see, think. This time I had to go with a brother and, before I got my Sony R1, I used an Olympus SP500-uz from 2006. This camera has softness in the long end of its zoom, chromatic aberrations and was broken so I just could used in totally manual mode so I learnt to control the exposure with the experience. What I try to say is that if I could get some good photographs then you can too with any cheap compact of today. Those days I used to take thousands of photographs, now I think before shoot. With film or digital I just shoot what I think I can share with you.

The travel started with reflections in the lake. We were in road to Uros islands.

soft

rock island

yacht for two

Then we arrived to a little island. There a person expose us about the construction and culture (and I am part of that culture) but it was so short and there was no time to ask questions. But here started the fun and the reason I don’t like to use touristic services: The brief exposition ended and after that we had free time to buy souvenirs… I bought a pair of keychains and went to take some photos, I was a bit uncomfortable, in certain way it was like if I would go to shopping instead of traveling. It was not expensive but I would feel that we were not respected. In our culture it’s quite important the correspondence in education but I think they could avoid that for the contact with tourists in a hurry, I hope.

climb

arrangement

Skeleton of hunted home (perhaps by smugglers of house oil)

white blue yellow

lakeworld

corners

triangle

a touch of vermillion

storm sentry

love

But surprises didn’t end there. The pirate, ehem, the captain, said that there was another island, bigger and with a restaurant (and I guessed with more souvenirs) but we had to pay MOAR or been left in the smallest one until their due return. Well then… So we navigated the eternal sea to the bigger island.

blinding intensity

little pet

In the next photograph I am not sure if it is a place to produce souvenirs. I think that home is preparing for a celebration so the colorful textiles.

time of celebration

a moment in Uros artificial islands

My brother wanted to eat but I didn’t feel with humor to eat for the unexpected surprise. I know I am exaggerating but for that reason I don’t use touristic services. So I just walked…