Lined Up On Manhattan Beach
Manhattan Beach, California.
Water From The Tap: Valparaíso Street Art
I have a fascination with street art, especially in places foreign to me. I find it so compelling, the expression on the street from political to whimsical, often with a wink and a uniquely creative way to tell a short story. In South America, I was astounded by the diversity on the streets of Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Cordobá, Mendoza and Valparaíso. There are a number of great art books on the subject – one of which I contributed images to – and perhaps one day I will create my own volume. Here’s a shot from Valparaíso, Chile – a place steeped in music, art and creative expression. Presently, I’ll post a larger collection of street art shots from Chile and Argentina so stay tuned!
Valparaíso, Chile, 2007.
Patagonia Skies
Traveling on the Siete Lagos route from Bariloche to San Martin de Los Andes in Argentina’s Patagonia region. At dusk, the stormy sky lit up with layers of cloud, mist and glimpses of the sky up top. It was an incredible scene in a land of mind-blowing landscape and dramatic skies.
Río Negro province near Bariloche, Argentina, 2007.
Old, Framed By New
Santa Clara, Cuba, 2011.
Flores Dog Race
We came across this unusual event in Flores, Guatemala up in El Petén where we were staying to explore the Mayan ruins in the area. The jungle is very dense around these parts, but in the middle of this department is a large, warm lake – Lago Petén Itzá. An incredible little island town called Flores sits on this lake, joined to the mainland by the causeway you see above. Colourful, Mediterranean-style buildings cascade towards the waterfront and it only takes about 20 minutes to walk across the width of the island. It’s a major staging point for Mayan exploration, with the ruins of Tikal, Uxactún, Yaxhá and many more all close by.
Interestingly, this city was home to the last holdout of an independent Mayan state against the Spanish conquerors. While many other Mayan states fell soon after the arrival of Cortés in 1541, this small island of the Itzá remained independent for another 150 years, until 1697. Amazing. The ruins of the Tayasal site are just across the water; a pyramid overgrown with a massive tree on the top. Quite the lookout. I’ll have more shots from El Petén in upcoming posts.
Back to the scene in these photos. We were returning from an attempt at Yaxhá when our tuk-tuk was stopped by a road race. Not just any kind of race. It was a human/dog combo race! We managed to catch the tail end (haha) and cheered a few dozen owners and dogs. Some dogs seemed to be enjoying themselves, others clearly were not into running. There was even a dog that had passed out, receiving water and resuscitation which was rather sad. We saw a small dog being pulled along by a big owner, we saw a small owner being pulled along by their big dog. It was hilarious. I only wish we had been there from the start for more pictures!
Flores, Guatemala, 2011.
Version of a Billboard
Arriving in Cuba, especially after a capitalism-gone-mad place like we saw in parts of Guatemala, it was refreshing to find the landscape peppered with people, buildings, bikes, cars…and maybe a couple ads here and there. Cuba does not have many billboards and they are severely lacking in corporate advertising in any shape or form. To me, this is one of the (many) great things about a visit to this country. I considered it a mental break from the inundation of media messages selling, telling and coercing that we get each day here in North America.
The number of advertisements we receive each day is truly alarming – recent estimates say approximately 5000 ad messages a day seep into our brains. Often, seep is the wrong word as we are forced to intake corporate messages wherever there is free space (ads on toilet paper, under bottle caps, our own bodies), where we are held captive (TVs in front of urinals & in elevators, backs of seats on airplanes) and usually against our will. It’s often called Ad Creep and it’s an unfortunate product of our North American lifestyle. Luckily, more people are becoming aware of this steady stream of data entering our brains and change is happening here and there (volume caps on TV commercials, banning of scent-producing bus shelter ads, etc).
In Cuba, the lack of advertising and corporate presence is refreshing in a way that’s hard to put a finger on. It’s a subtractive thing. Walking through Havana – or Cienfuegos, Santa Clara, Trinidad – it took some time before we realized we weren’t hearing ads over loud speakers near malls, hadn’t see the Coca-Cola or MacDonald’s logo for weeks and the only thing we were asked to buy were cigars, salsa show tickets, street trinkets and art. It was always people, face to face, doing that asking. The billboards we did see were almost always political. Socialist slogans and signs demanding the return of the Cuban Five outnumber any other message on the streets by far. And there is still so little of it.
Often when you miss something, you feel that lack of presence most when it returns. The clear minds we felt after three weeks in Cuba could have been from the simpler lives we shared with the Cuban people – true to life interactions and human connection. The mental environment was peaceful in the way a beach in the cays is to the body. It was eye-opening and gave us a culture shock before we even left the country. Taxi-ing in a jet bound for home, it wasn’t long before we were back in the fold, brains absorbing all those messages around us on the plane and tuning out what we could. In Cuba, we felt more tuned in and the filters we rely on that get so clogged up so fast were cast aside for a time, at least.
Cuba, 2011.
Street Soccer Striker
I love this shot I took in Old Havana and it’s not only for the frozen action of the moment before a strike. It’s the footwear that makes it for me. The primary defender, airborne and all, has but one shoe on what appears to be his non-dominant foot. Sneakers for the striker and flip-flops for the other boy. It wasn’t very common to see soccer being played in the streets of Havana. Far more than not, we would see stick-and-cap baseball, but matches appeared down side streets and in parks like this. Can’t say who won the game, but I’m hoping the young man in the middle has another “pair” of shoes at home.
La Habana Vieja, Cuba, 2011.
Cycling to Playa la Boca, Trinidad
Cuba is great for pedaling around, an observation I’ve alluded to in a past post called Public Transportation. The roads are fairly flat in the western region of the country and relatively empty. I was told there are less cars on the roads today in Cuba than in pre-war England. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but the fact is when there are other vehicles on the road there is no hierarchy as to whom gets the right of way. Donkey, bus, bicycle, taxi, pedestrian – it seems there is little road rage and entitlement. If it takes a bit longer to get to your destination due to a horse and buggy ahead, well, that’s just more time to socialize with your friends along the way. I’d rather be on a bike anyways.
The shot above was taken at sunset riding from Playa La Boca back to the low-lying hills of Trinidad. Below are some shots from the ride and the ‘secret beach’ we discovered. Not really a secret as it was right next to Carretera a Ancón – the coastal route connecting Trinidad to La Boca and onwards to Playa Ancón – but it was such a slice of paradise we were happy to find nobody there. A perfect Christmas day on the beach. This was just a taste of cycling on the island – borrowing (old) bikes from our casa owners and their friends. Next time, I don’t doubt we’ll be packing our own bicycles to explore much more of this amazing place.
Trinidad, Cuba, 2011.
Caribbean Sunset in Trinidad
As the sun goes down in Trinidad, Cuba on Christmas Eve, 2011.
Getty Images: This Is Canada photo contest
I was recently selected by Getty Images as a finalist in their This Is Canada photo contest. The image that got me there is the one above, shot last Canada Day during a parade here in Vancouver, BC. There are ten images up for both Grand Prize and People’s Choice awards and voting is now open to the public for the latter. If you are so inclined, I would love your vote for my image ‘Shady’.
To vote, simply go to this link and ‘Like’ my image. Yes, it’s a facebook vote, so please feel free to share the link with anyone you see fit.
Votes are collected until June 10th and the winners for both prizes are announced June 14. Fingers crossed!
Thank you for your vote and for your ongoing support.
– david
Meeting Fires Creative 