JOURNAL DATE:nov. 13th, 2008

RUINS of

Sacsayhuamán

15 min tico [taxi] ride/cusco....or, +/- 20-45 min walk

(depends on how you acclimated to the altitude, it's an upward hike)

sadly so, i'm pretty sure that most of these images were shot rapid-fire!  the journal entry above talks about my travels to the site, however, once we went inside and the crew began filming, i was a bit overwhelmed (the history surrounding the incan structure, and the immense size of them all...the precision, etc...gaaaaga!).

i really had no idea where to start, so this image was more/less taken to document the size of it all (and to get that first image out of my system)...that, and to give an idea of how close the city/ruins are to one another. (behind the site, you can faintly see the words "viva el peru" to show proximity).

also, i'm fairly certain that the images below were all shot after lunch, which, left me w/ 3-4 hrs. of shooting after i unloaded/reloaded my film holders...if i could do it again, i would've brought a bunch of power bars/water and trudged through it all, no lunch...just photographing (photography = food, right?).

additionally, w/in that 3-4 hr time frame, i also did 2 setups w/ the main actors to be used for potential poster/promotional purposes....i was scrunched for time!   will post those images a little later.

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in respect to journal-ling...this is the part where i need to write stuff down.  the journal pages that accompany the following images are pretty sparse, minus the shooting/tech info; which i've included for your entertainment!  (once i jot down the thoughts in my head from the trip/photos...i'll scan in the pages & update this section!).

oh, and i'm not sure if i mentioned it before, but whenever multiple images from the journal are posted, they're done so chronologically...that's the least i can do w/ the organization of the whole thing!  if only i would have cited times, weather conditions, mental state...lol.

sorry for the inconvenience!!  (it'll happen a few more times)

another reminder: images w/ hash marks indicate square images.  the lower of the markings is more exact to the actual negative...initial markings were due to my laziness in not marking my camera, and guestimating where "square" would be...oops!

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135mm lens

square vertical

f8, 1/125 f8, 1/125

f11, 1/125 f8 1/2, 1/125

this location is actually near where one would enter the site if they were doing that uphill climb from cusco.  the sidewalk is on the opposite side of this pathway, separated by a stream and "ditchlike" incline.

people frequent the paths, having just missed the perfect opportunity -- a woman walking w/ her dog (or possibly goat/llama), on the path.  though it would've added a nice element, i'm ok w/ what was left...an uncertainty as to who was last there, and when that might have been.  (that's what it is for me, at least).

i'm not quite sure why i kept such a close tension between the edge of the R/frame and the path, possibly b/c there was something further along that i didn't like...who knows at this point. i know i wanted to include some of the rock structures on the left...if i could do it again, i'd see what it'd look like horizontal.  perhaps, i wanted just a hint of the city below...eh...

if my rants continue like this, i'll officially be copying this info into my journal...hope that wasn't a joy-kill of a statement!

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210mm lens

f6.8, 1/60

f8, 1/60

there was something about the simplicity of the wooden stakes and tattered rope that intrigued me.  though, even as i was shooting, i thought, "this is not coming out the way that i wanted"...seemed like i kept adjusting the camera to get it closer to what i wanted...don't think it worked very well...that's probably why i only shot 2 frames.

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210mm lens

f8, 1/30

f8 1/2, 1/30

f11, 1/30

as i walked up and across, and down and around the ruins, i realized that certain places i wanted to photograph would be a tad difficult (esp the archway in the distance of this image.  people constantly flowing in and out, getting in the way!!!) sometimes it seemed like it would take me longer to wait for people to exit the frame, then it would to actually setup & take the image.  anyway...

while walking around the site, you realize that there are quite a few areas that tourists aren't allowed to enter.  the area in focus (middle/bottom) is one of those such spots.  i have no clue if the space was used for protection purposes, or simply as walking paths.  

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210mm lens

f6.8, 1/30

f8, 1/30

f8 1/2, 1/30

so, the image above, is sort of the compliment to the first image from this post.  i don't know where exactly i was standing for the first one, but i do know it was somewhere here!  at the time, i couldn't stand the people in the bottom/left corner, so in the actual image, the frame is moved slight right (where the red hash mark is above the image), and i guess i waited for them to move!   i do know that there are a few people tucked away in the photograph, but they're either blurred, or so tiny that they're hardly recognizable. 

later, near the end of filming, i finally got a chance to experience more of peru, and man...i tell ya...the mountains and country-landscape just go on, and on, and on.  it's absolutely beautiful.  cusco is actually near/part of the sacred valley -- know for its fertile lands, numerous villages, and countless archeological remains. 

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135mm lens

square

f5.6, 1/30

f5.6 1/2, 1/30

f8, 1/30

this was one of those spaces that was hard to photograph, more-so, b/c there was a constant flow of people encroaching the frame!  ironically enough, by the time i got here, the crew came round and wanted to film it too!!  lighting conditions made it a little stressful, in that i was rushed to finish taking the pic. 

while positioning the camera, my main objective was to exclude the small square (bottom left)...it houses a small light used at night, and i just couldn't stand the little thing.  now, i wish i had taken a single bracket  full frame: 1, b/c, now, i like seeing the whole thing; 2, b/c i like how the (btm right corner) darkens up...next time.

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135mm lens

square

f8, 1/2

f8 1/2, 1/2

um, last image of the night...very much taken at dusk!  this set of stairs is the same one seen two images above.  not sure how i feel about the image in general, but i do know that if i could change it, id' raise the frame up and over left a smidge, do a bracket w/ the silhouettes at the top, and some how have only the slow moving woman in the frame.  as is, the actual negs are void of people (i think...might have silhouettes at the top, not 100% sure...will check contact prints).

must go, but will proof and add more later.