JOURNAL DATE:oct. 31st, 2008

one of many

(working title)

        

      fútbol en peru

      (working title)

comments about above image begin on facing page (R pg),

then continue behind the image (L pg).

the top two images are ones that i'll probably use for future purposes.

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the bottom two were not documented w/ film (only the polaroid you see here).

read the journal entries to learn more about the images.

above: images

below: corresponding journal entries.

misc fun pics:locations vary

above: um, not much to say...hehehe...we celebrated halloween early...i dressed up like josh!  the funny part, is the fake beard, well, it was pretty hard to find.  not too many salon shops w/ wigs...thus, when this one was found (it was a beard, mustache, shoulder length hair set) we took it, even though the hair was red-ish.  sidenote: i love my family!

above: my first trip outside of cusco w/ some of the limeños!  pancho & sylvia, gargula, lolo, and myself.  it was a pretty cramped drive...one in the front, 4 in the back!  we stopped here for the view...what we found out, was that though the view was amazing (typically the snow covered mnts in the bkgrnd are covered by clouds), it was also quite windy/chilly.

above: this is near where the journal entry from yesterday took place.  that's chaufa (human) and kucho (kick ass dog, english staffordshire). breathtaking, to be so close to the city, but not feel any of its restraints.  i loved coming out here.

above: a detail shot of a hot spring in the town, aguas caliente.  aguas is the town travelers must stay in to get to machu picchu.  the town itself, has a concrete feeling to it, seeing as they're continuously expanding to make space available for the hungry machu seeking tourists!  anyway, according to claire and the girls (and what i observed) not the cleanest looking spring.  of course, we had been to the springs in lares, and that was unbelievably beautiful.

anyway, i thought this little bird thing was kind of amusing, so i took a picture of him. 

sidenote: i tried finding a good picture of the place, but they all seem to be on random flickr sites (and not very good).  i should stop giving you info on the place, seeing as i'll be posting image of the place a little bit later.  :)

above: on wayna picchu (the big mnt. in the typical postcard bkgrnd of machu picchu), it takes about 1-1 1/2 hrs to hike up there, and it's not for just young people!  there was an extreme variety of people (shapes/sizes/ages) inching their way to the top.

helpful hint 1: if you go to machu picchu...make sure to take the earliest bus, b/c that's when you get the coolest view of the place. (the clouds rise in the morning, and it looks like super fast moving fog!). 

helpful hint 2: also, go up wayna picchu as soon as you can, b/c 1: they only allow 400 people up the mnt (conservation purposes); and 2: if you go later in the day, it can be hotter, and then it's just a bit unpleasant.

JOURNAL DATE:oct. 25th, 2008

one thing worth noting...while viewing the large format work (work posted in "journal form").  if the image has "hash" marks on the left&right side (where the paper lining is), the it means it'll be a square.  on the pg w/ the text, it'll also give you a designation, if you look on the upper right side/pg.  (ie: shapes resembling a square, are a square image...vertical/horizontal squares are labeled also)

both entries done the same day.  feel free to click on the written page to read more about the image and/or location.

a splash of color from cusco

above: lots of stray dogs in cusco.  don't be surprised when you see more dogs (or animals, in general) in my photos!!! hehehe.

above: so, it may seem like nothing, but let me do an image/geographical breakdown for ya...we are a fair distance, above the main plaza (and the majority of the city).  the altitude in cusco, is roughly 11,203 ft...that may mean nothing, but let's do some comparisons...

cusco is about double the altitude of denver...

better idea of how altitude effects people...here, in southern illinois (my place of longtime living), it's REALLY easy to walk up 2 flights of stairs...in cusco, it's f'in hard to walk up 1!

yeah, yeah, yeah, that's nothing, w/ the exception that these guys, above, are friggin' playing a soccer game.  let me tell you, if walking up a flight of steps is hard, i can't even imagine how quickly my wee heart would explode if i had actually played w/ those guys while i was there!

above: a common sight, this little girl is one of many who wanders the streets, looking for someone to take un foto.   usually, these kids dress in native attire, and are accompanied by baby goats or llamas (they're easier to carry); as well as friends who are similarly dressed.

after taking their photograph, it's typical to pay un sol por un foto, for their service, unless there are multiple people in the image, then it's un sol/person.  (1 sol = 33 cents).  

today, there had been a protest (something that occurs often in the city)...unfortunately it began to rain during the best part of the march -- the people were burning a full size dummy that resembled the peruvian president (they were comparing him to former-president bush).  though that last bit has little to do w/ rain, it's a fun sidenote!

oh yeah, this is the plaza de armas (the main plaza), and this is what it looks like wet! (them stones is slippery, don't lett'em fool ya!  ie: crocs are bad shoes to have when this happens!).

francisco, a remarkably kind hearted man, who not only sells beautiful textiles around town, also spends time as a shaman. 

(insert me knowing more about shaman's and shaman rituals here)

actually, i lied, the one we had done, a despacho -- it's an offering, used as a way to cleanse the space in which you live, and to ask for good blessings for future goals/projects/life plans/etc).

some b/w holga:cusco

preface.  these image were scanned on a contact sheet, cropped down to individual image size, mildly contrasted, etc.  they're rough, and just to give you an idea of some of the things i shot w/ the non pocket view cameras.  i think all of the ones below are holga happiness photos!! (hehehehe)  - enjoy

above: william (or well...i don't know how to spell his "nickname", but it wasn't very nice...i think the other boys were just jealous b/c he was in school, working hard, smart, and still had a bit of an innocence to him). we were in the plaza san blas, 2nd to last day in peru...sitting in the shade of a tree, watching two kids play.

THIS RANT is in reference to the image above

i was given a hard time for the 4x5 image i was trying to take...apparently, foreigners aren't supposed to know that "real" homeless/drunk people fall asleep on benches in the plaza de armas...yeah, that happens to be the main square in cusco...

setting up my camera made me a target for the municipal.  big and bulky, easier to spot then a quick fire camera (analog/digital, didn't matter)..i was almost instantly approached, asking if i was taking pictures of the man or the church...having been in the area for almost 2 months, i was fed up w/ certain things, and replied as best i could (w/ broke spanish) that if it were a digital camera he wouldn't even notice....i was pissed...it was fun though, b/c a gentleman who spoke english tried to tell the guy what i was saying, but i'm not sure if it helped.

once i walked away from taking the man's photo (got a proof in though), the authorities questioned him.  an undercover cop and one dressed in standard attire.  he (the undercover cop) ended up returning to me (at this point, i had transitioned to a new location, but still w/in sight, maybe 50 feet away)...the man comes over and asks in choppy english, "will you be having an exhibition of your work? ... can i see what you have taken pictures of?"  

now, realize, that i could have easily said, fuck of, i'm a tourist asshole, NO! ...but i didn't, instead, i showed him 3 proofs, opting not to show him the one i had just captured (it was dark anyway).  after double checking to make sure i hadn't take anymore, he "didn't like", left me be...i might print the image out of spite, but i'm undecided right now.

i was really pissed though, especially after having learned the loop holes people have to go through just to become municipals!  here, you can be fat, skinny, black, white, whatever and become a cop...in cusco, there are steps you have to take...  #1 pay lots of money (not sure amount....possibly 500 soles [divide by 3 to get american equivalent]) to take a test;   #2 if you pass, make sure you don't have any visible scars (or you're out),   #3 make sure you have good teeth (or you're out)...oh, and having lighter skin might have been a preference too.  a very shitty thing.

above and below: images taken the day of a protest...protest = very common in cusco.  if people are unhappy about something, they share it w/ the town and the tourists!!!  the woman above, in her bag/satch, you should be able to see it, but she's carrying a baby goat/llama...perfect photo op!  many women and children will dress up, typically w/ llamas or baby goats, and if a tourist wants/takes their picture, they'll ask for money...sorry, i hope you're not offended if i stole me this one!

things to change...

ok, so yes, this is my first blog, so humor me.  

1. i need to re-arrange it so that the two pages are facing one another (right next to one another). 

2. also, must work on text layout & the second image may not link to a larger version...gonna figure out why.

thanks everyone!

JOURNAL DATE:oct. 12st, 2008

alright, so here goes!  this was my first 4x5 image made in peru.  it was a pre-production day at the mudbrick house (we added an addition to the existing space to make it look a smidge bigger).  i had been there before, but this was my first time bringing the pocketview out of it's previous shelter...my luggage bags.

so yeah, i had the mini-4x5, called a pocketview, www.petergowland.com/camera, and took a very simple image of cusco w/ the "viva cusco" etched into the mnts.

feel free to select the text pg. for more details!!