Boxes and Beetles
I seem to have taken a photo of every old Volkswagen in Lima, and that is not a small number of Volkswagens. I guess growing up with them has led me to develop an eye for them and a need to take a photo every time.
In addition to old Beetles, Miraflores struck me as a jungle of big concrete boxes. The food was amazing, but the abundance of modern towers, many still going up now, just wasn’t my thing. The architecture just felt so soulless and left me wondering what was torn down to build this place (not that this isn’t a somewhat of a necessary evil of increasing density and something that is happening in parts of SF right now). Barranco to the south turned out to be much more my speed. More on both of these thoughts later. 🙂
Brick Canyon: Up the Walls of La Paz
“Hey guys, I found the perfect location for our new development! Now, stay with me here. See this 3000 foot deep canyon on the map? We’re going to build our city right up those walls. It will be perfect! Oh! I forgot to mention that the bottom of the canyon is still 10,500 feet above sea level, with thin air, a harsh subpolar tundra climate and no real summer. It’s going to be wonderful! …Wait, where’s everyone going? Come back!”
At least, that’s how I like to imagine the first planning meeting going. 🙂
Peering down into this 3000 foot deep gash in the Earth from the rim of the canyon, Nuestra Señora de La Paz, Bolivia is truly a sight unlike any other I’ve come across. 30+ story skyscrapers disappear into the canyon floor, while the homogenous color of red brick envelops the steep walls from floor to rim, seemingly clinging tight to any available surface.
In this relatively inhospitable environment, huge numbers of Bolivians have chosen to build a life, build their own homes, and build a city, which I really grew to admire over my time here.
(Kodak Portra 160)
Se Vende Volkswagen con Vista Verde: Christmas in Lima
Day 359: December 25, 2014: Lima, Peru
A quiet Christmas Day on the streets of Lima. The parties on Christmas Eve here really kick off around midnight, with some pretty impressive illegal firework displays from pretty much every rooftop and street corner. From there, they seem to continue long into the morning after the fireworks supplies are exhausted, presumably until the alcohol supply is exhausted. As such, I was pretty much the only person out on the deserted streets on Christmas Day.
It was a nice change of pace to be able to cross the street without needing to use any Frogger moves to dodge speeding vehicles. :p
(Kodak Portra 160 35mm)
Day 152: We Get Around
Day 152: June 1, 2014: Mid-Market
Just follow the green arrows and don’t get run over by that bus. It’s just like frogger. No big deal. You got this.
(Very expired Arista EDU Black and White 400 film in the Canon Sureshot A1 SLC P20, taken while simultaneously riding a bike and dodging that traffic…)
Thunderstorm! Best San Francisco Sunset Ever.
Well now, this is unusual. My return to SF has been greeted with a thunderstorm and some crazy clouds and sunset unlike any I’ve ever seen here. And I feel like I pay pretty close attention to the skies…
At any rate, I wish I had anticipated this, because all I had time for was to run out the door with my camera and half dead battery to head up the hill. Unfortunately I missed the brightest of the sunset, but I did notice a bit of lightning on the horizon. Hoping for more at the top of Twin Peaks, I encountered roughly half of the population of San Francisco parked on the hill top. Apparently I missed the memo. For about a half hour as the sky grew dark, we were treated to crazy colorful clouds, lightning, and a very grumpy old man on a motorcycle slowly rolling by while yelling a rant that went something along the lines of “it’s a thunderstorm, who cares, go home!” Don’t be that guy: Never forget to stop and appreciate the wonder that randomly presents itself in our world
I didn’t manage to catch any photos of the lightning, but it was there, and it was oh so cool. 🙂 
Day 151: Getting Around in West Portal
Day 151: May 31, 2014: West Portal Station
I started looking through my photos from South America and Antarctica, and have about 8000 + 14 rolls of unscanned film. So, safe to say, that might take me a minute to get through.
For now, here’s the next in the line from last year’s film project, finishing off May. Only 7 more months to post. 🙂
Taken on an exploration run around West Portal station. I don’t get out to this chunk of the City very often, so I tried to combine some exercise with some new scenery this, wandering up and down the hills around the station. I ended up coming across this view into the station, which I hadn’t seen before, and some interesting spots along the roads uphill from there. Even after all the time I’ve been here, there’s always something new to discover.
(Arista.edu black and white 400 in Canon Sureshot A1 SLC P20)
A Peaceful Night in Copacabana
Today I’m looking back upon a lovely evening in Copacabana, part of me wishing I was back there instead of passing the days here in the rain in La Paz.
You may have noticed that I haven’t posted much lately, and my 365 project is still stuck back at day 150. Well, to be honest, that project got a bit out of hand. Taking a photo everyday is one thing, but the scanning/organizing/processing that follows with film turned out to be more than I could realistically keep up with while still having a day job and a life outside of my photo world. I still have all of the photos (minus a few days where I later realized I was shooting without film in my camera…doh) and will gradually post them, but I’m thinking I’ll take a year off of the arduous photo projects while I catch up and just take some time to enjoy taking photos when I can without making it a requirement.
For now, though, something completely different! I currently sit here in La Paz, home of my first somewhat reliable internet in a week or so, in the midst of a 2 month trip through South America. After a bit over a week in Peru over the holidays, I’ve made my way into Bolivia and will be crossing into Chile from here in about a week. From there, I’m not quite certain where I’m going, but I have a flight home from Buenos Aires on February 23rd, so I suppose I have to make it there eventually…
Anyway, back to Copacabana: I loved this little town! It surely helped that my altitude sickness had subsided by the time I arrived, but compared to the Peruvian side of Titicaca, this was night and day. Where Puno in Peru is sprawling and industrial, Copacabana has a quaint and welcoming charm. I arrived in town much later than expected after a sketchy bus ride across the border from Peru that involved slow going in the driving rain, a leaky roof, and a surly driver ditching a few people at the border because they were taking too long in line for visas. After a long walk in the rain following bad google directions (something that is becoming a theme in Bolivia), I managed to get directions from a couple helpful shopkeepers and made it to my hotel, relatively exhausted from lugging my gear around at 12,500 feet. From there, everything just got better.
I ended up staying in Hotel La Cupula, which I think is somewhat high end by Copacabana standards, but at $19 a night, wasn’t going to break my budget, and I couldn’t have been happier with the stay. I had a great view, plenty of blankets to fight off the cold nights at this altitude, and an onsite restaurant where I managed to get a steak and glass of wine for somewhere around $11. Not too shabby. After a cozy night listening to the thunder and rain outside, the next days were spent exploring Isla del Sol and the rest of this lovely little town.
Note: If you happen to book a room at Hotel La Cupula, walk a couple blocks uphill from Plaza Sucre and turn left, it’s at the end of the road overlooking the lake, not several blocks inland, as Google would have you believe. Don’t trust the Googles.
Day 150: Lucky Blurteen
Day 150: May 30, 2014: Lucky 13, Market Street
Here for my roommate’s birthday just after midnight, this turned out to be the only photo I took this day. Note to self: Take the pictures before the whiskey next time. :p
(Cinestill 800T in the EOS 3)
Day 149: Building Boom
Day 149: May 29, 2014: Market Street
The building boom continues, here on the site of a former gas station on Market at 15th. Just how many of these new units do we need before we can actually afford to rent here again? I’m assuming that won’t happen until there’s a crash of some sort.
(Arista edu 400 black and white film in the Canon Sureshot A1 SLC P20)
Day 148: Dozing on the Beach
Day 148: May 28, 2014: Ocean Beach
Destined to a life fighting the sustained efforts of the beach to reclaim the Great Highway, this dozer stands at the ready, collecting sand and decorations day by day, waiting for its call to duty.
(Kodak Portra 160 in the EOS 3)
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