Flag of the Aymara, Dance of the Llama

A performer participates in the 'dance of the llama herders' and waves the Aymara flag during a fiesta in Copacabana, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/500 second @ f4 ISO 400.

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Amongst the hustle of packed streets and endless processions of dancers I came across this troupe of performers who said they were doing the ‘dance of the llama herders’. Don’t be confused, this flag represents the Aymaran people of western Bolivia, southern Peru and northern Chile. This is not a gay pride flag, though the colours are similar.

Getting this shot was partly persistence but also partly luck. I had been trying to shoot some backlit stuff in this street but was having trouble as the intensity of the sun was very strong and the performers were moving quite quickly. I was trying to set my exposure for the people and catching moments when they blocked the sun so as to avoid over-exposure. Failed attempts were totally blown out while others often turned out too dark as the light reflecting into the space was inconsistent. This shot I accidentally underexposed, but was lucky enough to catch the moment right when the flag was waved in front of the sun. In that split second the sunlight reflected perfectly off the white flag into the face of the dancer, fixing what would have otherwise been an underexposed shot (all the shots before and after of this particular dancer were underexposed for her face). I love the composition of this shot, particularly where the girl’s eyes are just caught inside the flag while the sun projects a partial silhouette of her profile onto the flag. The moment is nice too because she is engaging with me (I was quite close shooting wide at 24mm) and because the flag is perfectly displayed. I could never have planned this composition precisely, was another occasion where just being out there and trying stuff lets luck sail your way.

Saludos.

Cam

The Authentic Youth Union

Two members of 'El Autentico Union Juvenil de La Paz' (The Authentic Youth Union from La Paz) lug their instruments up the hill in Copacabana, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/500 second @ f4 ISO 400.

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I grabbed this shot during the fiesta in Copacabana, Bolivia I’ve been blogging about for the past couple of weeks. These two guys (amongst others) were lugging their gear up the hill towards another churchground and the main area for the night’s festivities. I think a number of things make this shot work. One is the kind of Abbey Road symmetry going on with the two subject’s legs. Another are the kind of compositional triangles that are formed between the main points of interest (the legs, heads of the two figures and the red drum). Finally the glance in my direction that the front drummer made is what completes the moment. The lighting was not ideal but everything else seems to make up for it. It’s not a wow shot, but I somehow kept coming back to it browsing through my collection so I threw it up here. I find it subtly pleasing, and like my last post from this fiesta it could work as an album cover. Was the music affecting my composition that day?

Still a ways to go before I’ll be moving on from Bolivian fiestas.

Cam.

Intercontinental Latin Sound

Four of the musicians from the band Marisma Mundial take a break in the shade in Copacabana, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/320 seconds @ f4 ISO 200.

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I nabbed this photograph of Bolivian musicians taking a break from an uphill march and the relentless sunshine pummeling our heads during a fiesta in Copacabana, Bolivia. Like most people at the fiesta -performers and spectators alike- taking a break was essential to recharge after all the beers, marching, dancing, singing, and in my case: running, ducking, weaving, crouching and clicking (and some of those other verbs too of course). As soon as I noticed these guys I had to grab a shot because the light was reflecting beautifully right into where they were sitting and the colours of their suits matched the street well too (blue shirts with otherwise warm tones). The square crop works well, makes this look like a record cover for the band Marisma Mundial, who according to their drum print have an intercontinental latin sound.

As always, more on the way.

Cam.

Marching on Copacabana

Brass players march on Copacabana to kick off a fiesta. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/400 seconds @ f11 ISO 320.

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The hordes of musicians and dancers continued to stream down the hill under the banner of Paceña, the beer from La Paz. Getting this close for the shot gave me a bit of an ear drubbing, but I think it was worth it. My eardrums have had worse anyway. I love the hands on this guy. You think his hand could ever return to normal function after lugging that instrument around? Or has it become a permanently fixed meaty vice dedicated to music?

And so the November fiesta month shall roll on into December.

Cam.

Trinity and Poverty

A beggar sits in front of a representation of the holy trinity in church grounds, Copacabana, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM lens. Exposure Details: 1/320 second @ f6.3 ISO 1000.

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I arrived in Copacabana to discover yet another multi-day fiesta was about to begin. This time on a scale far larger than anything I’d experienced in the small villages of Sorata and San Pedro. Though here I had a day to explore town and the shores of Lake Titicaca before events kicked off. I took this picture in front of the Basilica in front of the main plaza in town. I felt the scene presented the powerful contrast between the wealth and grandeur of the Catholic Church and the poverty found in so many parts of Latin America. The scene is backlight by a quite strong early afternoon light, but filled in with reflected light from the much larger Basilica that is out of the frame to the left. These conditions gave the scene a kind of lightness (in terms of weight) despite the heavy pillars and crosses towering over the humble beggar asking for loose change.

Looking at this stage like Bolivian Fiesta month might have to run in December, will keep you posted.

Cam.

Rolling Fiestas

Vertical diptych of night fiesta scenes in Sorata, La Paz province, Bolivia. Photographs taken on a Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 24-105mm f4L IS USM lens. Exposure Details, top: 1/6 seconds @ f4 ISO 800, bottom: 1/8 seconds @ f4 ISO 800.

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The cars started to roll out from San Pedro late in the evening. Crowds of musicians and dancers fell out of their costumes in every direction. One by one they climbed aboard the tooting 4WDs and old Chevron pickups that sent dust floating across the valley. A few overloaded options rolled past before I flagged down a cattle truck. The driver motioned to a ladder welded high onto the side-tray. With drunken finesse I scaled it and dropped into a crowd of grinning teenagers. They were a high-school band heading back to Sorata. From their giggles and sway I sensed it wasn’t just the windy mountain ride throwing their footing out. I watched with a sense of nostalgia as the sixteen year-old boys flirted with the sixteen year-old girls. My face stung of sunburn in the dark and the cool air rushing through the truck chilled the sweat down my back.

That night the fiesta filled the main plaza of Sorata with endless morenadas and fireworks. The crowds drank till they fell, but the vibe was safe, encompassing, kids ran free and scenes never got ugly. I passed out I don’t know when and the next morning dragged myself onto a crammed minibus headed half way to Copacabana. By the side of a rutted highway checkpoint I ate fried trout and tried to work off my hangover by hailing down a bus headed the rest of my way. For three hours they passed me by each as crammed as the last. I didn’t mind, leaning into my pack I had a view of Lake Titicaca, fried fish and beautiful sunshine after a cold night. As they normally do in Latin America, the things you seek find you when you’ve just about stopped looking. An equally crammed coach pulled up at the checkpoint, but this time I could see gears clicking over in the driver’s mind. There was just enough space for my packs in the luggage compartment and he threw a cushion down for me on a ledge in the stair-entry. Pulling onto the highway Bolivia’s undulating highplain began to work its’ charms on me. Ancient pre-Incan terraces covered the hillsides and dry yellow grasses disappeared into a blue haze of glacial peaks and cumulus nimbus. I put my feet up on the dash and smiled, I was on my way to Copacabana.

Thanks for reading guys. More from the shores of Lake Titicaca coming soon.

In front of the lens in Bolivia

Myself (Cam Cope) trying on a 'morenada' dance costume with new friends at a fiesta in San Pedro, La Paz province, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM lens. Exposure Details: 1/400 second @ f2.5 ISO 640.

Myself (Cam Cope) trying on a 'morenada' dance costume at a fiesta in San Pedro, La Paz province, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM lens. Exposure Details: 1/400 second @ f2.5 ISO 640.

Diptych of myself (Cam Cope) trying on a 'morenada' dance costume at a fiesta in San Pedro, La Paz province, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM lens. Exposure details for both images: 1/400 second @ f2.5 ISO 640.

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Standing out at a Bolivian fiesta is unavoidable when you’re a six-foot gringo running around with a beefy camera. Not that standing out is something I wanted to avoid. In fact I’ve found through the years that rather than trying to hide behind the camera, it is far better to use it as a tool to meet and interact with people. When you approach people openly either before or after taking a photo, and share what you are doing with them, suspicion evaporates 99% of the time. At events like festivals, where people are essentially engaged in visual performance, you have a very strong social license to photograph people you don’t know (yet). And so it was that in the San Pedro fiesta that not only did I meet many people through my photography, but I was warmly welcomed and even invited to participate in a ‘morenada‘ dance (after being invited to more than a few beers I might add). I couldn’t resist the chance to try on one of the elaborate costumes that had been on display all day, and after having gotten to know a group of dancers, I could trust them with my camera while I danced.

So after 58 posts on this humble blog, some photographs of myself have finally turned up. They may not be all fine examples of photography but I think they convey a good sense of the fun going on that day. Enjoy them while they last, they’re a rare sight.

Cam.

The Young Untouchables

Two musicians from Los Intocables (The Untouchables) perform during the San Pedro Fiesta in La Paz province, Bolivia. Photographs taken on a Canon 5D Mark II camera and Sigma 50mm f1.4 EX DG HSM lens. Exposure Details: Left - 1/400 second @ f2.8 ISO 200. Right: 1/400 second @ f2.8 ISO 250.

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Here’s another diptych of the stars of any Bolivian Fiesta, the musicians. These two young guys are in a group called Los Intocables (meaning the untouchables, but with the double pun to the effect of ‘the unplayables’ in a musical sense because the verb to touch also means ‘to play’ in a musical context in Spanish). I love that there were so many young players in all the big bands that marched around all day, their suits were awesome too. These shots were taken as the San Pedro fiesta I attended was starting to wrap up.

Enough said here, more to roll out soon.

Cam.

Saints on Parade

Religious parade during a fiesta in San Pedro, La Paz province, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/1600 seconds @ f3.5 ISO 400.

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Fiestas in Bolivia have a very strong religious grounding. Amongst all the costumes, drinking and dancing is a deep spirituality. It draws heavily on indigenous beliefs and customs as well as christian ones. There are also of course creative mixtures of the two. At this fiesta in San Pedro, most people spoke Spanish as a second language, Aymara being their first. They proudly identified themselves as indigenous to me and always poured some of their drink out in offering to the ‘Pachamama’ (mother earth), before taking any themselves. I also saw many people offering coca leaves at several shrines, they are a holy, sacred leaf in Bolivia I was explained. Yet these people of course identify as Catholic too, and technically, this event was in honour of a saint that is held in the church in this tiny village lost in the sierras of La Paz province. Though we’re not talking about canonised saints in the eyes of Rome. As far as I understand the saints here are almost like idols and are common all across South America where indigenous communities were offered both the sword and the cross simultaneously. At risk of sounding like a stuffy anthropologist, turning their spirituality towards these local idol-saints, many indigenous communities found a way to continue their traditional customs in a fashion tolerated by the church. I needed little convincing of this in my time in South America, the evidence was all around me, and in no place more so than Bolivia.

Cheers for now, more coming up on Monday or Tuesday.

Cam.

I tilt my hat to you

Dancer portrait during a fiesta in San Pedro, La Paz province, Bolivia. Canon 5D Mark II camera and Canon 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM lens. Exposure Details: 1/1250 seconds @ f4 ISO 200.

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Drawing a feeble link between the content of this post’s photo and today’s date,  remembrance day, I tilt my hat to the veterans. Though I will also point out that WWI was an imperialist war that in my opinion served Australia in no way. We got slaughtered for king and country, a country not even our own. Over ten per cent of Australians served and the casualty rate was 65%, the highest for any country involved in the war. Why exactly? Well partly because that’s what war does, it kills people, but also because of poor management in high command. And what exactly did we get to show for it? Not much, although there is this curious photo of a kangaroo in Cairo (with the pyramids in the background and everything), where the Australian 9th and 10th battalions trained before being sent to Gallipoli.

I’d also like to point out that today we will see the most useless but beautiful of numerical alignments. In fact I’ve scheduled this post to publish precisely at that moment… sort of, in Turkey anyway, where it seemed most appropriate (and convenient for me). That time is of course 11:11.11 on the date of 11/11/11. Marvel at the wonder, and never mind that when it passed here in Australia I was out surfing.

Moving back to Bolivia’s fiestas.

At risk of a dancer portrait overload, here is yet another from the San Pedro festival I attended in Bolivia in April this year. I’d have stopped photographing them by now if they weren’t so damn photogenic. The bowler hat she is wearing is all the rage for women to wear in Bolivia. Supposedly it was adopted from the British somehow, but now they are ‘traditional’ I suppose and different styles can indicate marital status… or so someone told me.

More variety to come, I promise, we still have most of this month to flesh the theme out.

Cam.