Last year, I conducted my first photographic tour of the Bolivian altiplano. We made our way from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile across the southern side of Bolivia to the capital La Paz over nine days. It was quite a tour.

My most recent Bolivia altiplano images, 2012 (click for larger view)

I’d originally shot the altiplano in 2009, and the images from that particular shoot were at that time, an epiphany for me: I saw the start of my journey towards more simplified compositions.

Returning back in 2012, I wasn’t so sure I could add anything new to what I’d shot back then, so it was a surprise to me to note that my compositional style has become more reduced and more simplified in the intervening years.

My first attempts at the Bolivian Altiplano, 2009 (click for larger view)

One could argue that shooting a square aspect ratio camera helped me achieve that look of simplification. I would indeed agree, that square offers the opportunity to be more abstract with compositional elements than any rectangular aspect ratio can. I also feel that rectangles are more traditional, whereas square has no deep roots in art history: rafael did not paint his images on square canvases.

One could also argue that I’ve had a chance to become more familiar with the altiplano. This is also true. I do believe that we often need two visits to a location: the first to understand it – to know what works and what doesn’t work, the second visit to do the work with a more refined viewpoint.

I’ll be heading back to Bolivia in two months from now, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what new material may transpire from the tour we will be doing there.

By looking back at my previous work, I’m often able to see that there has been a shift, a subtle change in direction. I feel all photographers should do this as a matter of course. Consider, reflect, open up an inner dialog, ask yourself some questions about your development. Other times, I feel the changes are less apparent, but usually something comes along to show us just how far we’ve come.

Note: I’m returning to the Bolivian altiplano in June to conduct a photographic tour with six participants. If you’d like to come along, I’m pleased to say there are two spaces left. The tour was originally full, but there’s been a couple of cancellations due to health issues and other commitments. If you would like to find out more about this trip, you can read all about it here.

Dear all,

I’m just taking some time-out at the moment, after a rather busy schedule this year. So I do hope to be back on this very blog with more thoughts about photography soon!

In the meantime, I have had one cancellation for Bolivia next year, due to a graduation, so I thought I would let you all know about this space as the trip was extremely popular and sold out in a matter of hours this year.

–

My Bolivia photographic-safari for 2013, now has one space free on it, due to a cancellation. This trip was extremely popular this year and had sold out before I’d even gotten round to mentioning it on my monthly newsletter!

(Click for a larger view)

If you’d like to know more about this trip, then you can find the details here. I expect this space to go very quickly, but rather than just let you find out by going to the workshop pages on this site, felt I should really just tell you all about it.

I hope you are all out there making nice images!

regards, Bruce.

I’ve been away all week on the isle of Eigg with a terrific group, running a workshop.

I’ve not got much time today, but felt I should let you all know that all the new images I’ve been producing for the past year – are now up on my site.

New images section of my site

I decided to separate them into a ‘new’ section, away from my older work, as I feel there’s a refinement in my style over the past few years. So if you’d like to browse the work, which includes Iceland, Norway, Patagonia and my recent trip to Bolivia, please click on the ‘new’ section to the navigation menu at the top of the blog.

I hope you enjoy the newer images presented in portfolios, even if you feel you know most of the work by visiting my blog.

I’ve more or less completed the scanning and image selection from my trips to Bolivia and patagonia this June.

I have to say that the number of images I’m left with is very small. But there is a reason for this: I felt that there were two particularly strong shoots for me during the time away where the images feel very ‘cohesive’. I really prefer to choose images that behave as if they belong to a set, and in the final selection here, I think you can see that.

Final image selection

The two shoots in particular that really worked for me were of Laguna Colorada on the Bolivian Altiplano, and that of the Perito Moreno glacier in Argentine Patagonia. I certainly have other images that were successful, but they don’t fit this particular ‘theme’ or ‘style’. And I think this narrowed down selection indicates perhaps where my style is strongest at the moment.

I think that’s a very key thing to understand about your own photography: what it is you’re currently trying to achieve and being successful at. I see these images as a reflection, an indicator of what it is I’m striving for. I think they’re very simplistic and mostly are involved in conveying colour as mood. There is almost nothing inside the frames as such, but I think the mood of the places is very strong in them.

I shot a hell of a lot more images, but I’ve had some technical problems with those. I made them on Kodak’s Portra 160 (the new stock) but I’m having trouble scanning them. I’ve determined it’s not my scanner that is at fault, but I’ve got coloured streaks going through the images in very bright clear areas, and I’m not sure if this is a product of the development, or if it’s an issue with the batch of films I’ve bought. I’m seriously not happy about this and it’s a lesson to myself to never go away again on a shoot with untested equipment or materials.

I think square aspect ratio really works for these images. I love putting collections of images together. In this case, I sometimes feel I’m looking at a colour chart from my local DIY (hardware) store.

(Click for a larger view)

But Bolivia is like that. The colours and tones that are present on the landscape throughout the early mornings and evenings is something I’ve not witnessed anywhere else on my travels. I believe it must be due to the high altitude – 3,600 metres to 4,500 at its highest elevation.

I’ve really enjoyed this week at home. The blinds in my studio have been shut, the ambient music is up loud, and the only light I have around me is the stuff pouring out of my light table and daylight viewing booths. It’s a very closed-in, intimate setting in which to lose myself, and get fully absorbed in the editing process.

There have been moments when I thought I was right back there in Bolivia. There have been some revelations too; I feel my photography took on a new direction about 4 years ago when I first visited Bolivia. The empty spaces there called for a more simplified approach to compositions, and I think this was a catalyst for the simplified compositions I’ve been working on these past few years. Returning back there this June to run the photo-tours, I wasn’t sure if I would do anything new, with the same locations. But I think, if anything, I’ve learned a lot about the direction I’m heading in. I do see a change; I seem to respond more to colour and tone now and in some ways, the compositional elements are less important. I feel using the square aspect ratio helps get the feeling of ‘the graphic’ over as well. It’s been a nice little journey of self-discovery this week, and I find working on the images very therapeutic too.

I don’t feel like sorting out my images at all from my south america trips. It’s kind of nice to just find something I want to work on and scan it.

Amazing sunsets at the lagoon

I stumbled upon these lovely images of Laguna Colorada, taken on the Bolivian altiplano. We were all suffering from shortness of breath and it was extremely cold here. But I was so keen to get my group here because each night, the light does something very wonderful to the landscape – I’ve not really experienced light anywhere else quite like this. Everything goes very red as the sun sets.

Red Evening, Laguna Colorada, Bolivia

The lagoon is famous for displaying a red colour throughout the day when there is wind to stir up the sediments lurking below. But when night falls, the wind tends to go, and the lagoon becomes calm. It is at this time that the rays of the sun seem to be absorbed by the surrounding landscape and the lagoon becomes red again. It’s extremely beautiful to witness. There are no pollutants in the sky, the altitude is 4,500 metres (yes, that’s not a typo – we’re at an extremely high elevation here), and I’m sure this is why the light is so spectacular.

I think next week I may get a bit more strict with myself and sort the images into each ‘country project’. As I feel this is the only way to create a unified body of work for each place I’ve visited. I so often dislike working on images in a piece-meal fashion. Today is an exception, and it’s nice to just sift through and decide what I feel I’d like to work on, and perhaps more importantly – relive as I look at the transparencies on my light table, and find my imagination being cast back to a special place at a special time.

I’m sitting in my hotel room at the Ritz in La Paz, Bolivia tonight. It is now officially the end of a three week photo adventure with six participants.

Moon set on the Salar de Uyuni, 2007

It’s been a great time and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time with the group. Most importantly for me, I’ve just had the pleasure of re-aquainting myself with two very special landscapes – that of Torres del Paine national park in the far south of Chile and the Bolivian Altiplano – an undervalued landscape that is – to my mind – as impressive, if not more so, than many of Iceland’s landscapes. The Bolivian Altiplano is a place to watch for increased popularity for landscape photographers, that I am sure of.

While we were there, we had a full moon, and managed to shoot it during dawn, dusk, sunrise and sunset. The above image was taken on a previous trip way back in 2007. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait until later on this year to see my results as I’m heading off to Iceland in a week’s time, so I don’t have any free time right now to get the films processed and begin work on them.

I’d just like to express my deepest thanks to all the drivers and guides who assisted me and my group through these remarkable landscapes. I’d also like to thank my group for the enthusiasm and commitment they showed on both trips. We had such amazing weather – lots of snow and clear mornings in Patagonia while in Bolivia we had amazing pink hues + earth shadows every morning and evening during sunrise and sunset.

I’m now hatching a plan for two repeat trips for next June, and possibly a trip to Easter Island too. I’m also hoping to spend some more dedicated personal time on the Bolivian Altiplano during the course of July next year. It’s an amazing place which I feel hasn’t been fully explored by photographers as yet.

I have over 50 rolls of film – Velvia 50 and Portra 160 to process when I get home. But before that happens, I’m off to Iceland for a month of personal photography time to trek some locations I’ve sorely missed on previous visits.

Life is short. Still,  I guess I can’t say I’ve not used my time unwisely.

I’ll be back on the blog in a few days time once I’m home and over my jet lag.

I’m almost finishing up my Patagonia Safari in a few days time, and we’ve seen quite a few memorable images over the past week and a half. Torres del Paine national park was a winter wonderland and each morning we had excellent, atmospheric views at Pehoe. We also had a successful sunrise view of the towers through low cloud. It was really beautiful to witness.

Perito Moreno, Argentina Patagonia ©2003

My Hasselblad continues to stun me with yet more failures. A spare body has jammed and now a film back continues to pump film through it without ever getting to the first frame. I’ve also had the wind catch my Mamiya 7II camera and toss it onto the beach. The camera still works, but the rangefinder feature is broken and there’s a massive hole in the top of the body. So It will be going back for repair when I get home and I’ve just bought a Mamiya 7 Mk1 body tonight to help me out as I’m away to Iceland a week after I get home. I’ve got a month of personal photography time in the centre of the island and also have to meet up with Ragnar Axelsson too, which I’m looking forward to.

Tomorrow morning we are all heading out for sunrise to visit the glorious Perito Moreno glacier – perhaps one of South America’s highlights. It is a living, breathing mass of ice that creaks and groans. Large sections of the face of it come off and hit the surrounding water on a frequent basis, often with a deafening crash.

I first visited this glacier in 2003, and made the above image. It’s actually a stitched composite of several images (I don’t normally do this kind of thing, but in this instance had to, because the glacier is 4 miles wide, and easily takes up over 180º of field of view).

Venturing here for sunrise is great. Tourists don’t arrive here until 10am at the earliest, so you have the whole place to yourself. It’s winter here, and as it turns out, sunrise is at 10am tomorrow morning, so we will be there for the start of civil twilight. It’s a great time to be there as the glacier faces east and it slowly reveals itself to you as the light comes up. At first you can only hear it and that is spooky in itself. As the minutes pass you become aware of the faint glow of the glacier and then as the sun comes up the face of the glacier shifts through the cool colour spectrum and seems to convey many different colours. It’s simply wonderful to witness.

Salar de Uyuni, Bolivian Altiplano © 2007

We will be heading back to Punta Arenas in a days time, where some of us will say goodbye while four of us continue on to San Pedro de Atacama for a few days before we venture onto the Bolivian Altiplano for a week’s worth of photography. I’m having so much fun on this trip I don’t want it to end.

Wish you were here!

I got an email last night from a participant from my Harris workshop last year telling me he’s in South America. His email told me that he’d been to see the Stone Tree (El Arbol de Piedra) in Bolivia.

He told me that there is now a fence around it, because there have been too many tourists climbing on top of it.

El arbol de piedra

Whilst I was there, I did think that it was amazing how the entire stone sculpture was so vulnerable, yet I was grateful that I had easy access to it so I could photograph it. In other parts of the world, we are getting a little too controlling of our heritage – so much protection that it can actually spoil a location.

But I think that in this case, the fence has been a necessity. I did notice whilst I was there, that people had been scratching their names on the stone tree.

I often find this sort of behaviour at odds with a location like this. There are certain kinds of people who come to visit a location of this nature. They appreciate the beauty and rarity of what they find here.

But there must, I fear, come a point when a place gets so popular that it appears on the radar of those that ‘don’t get it’, that will never appreciate its rarity and think that the best thing to do when they get there is climb all over it and scribble their names on it.

That’s the part of human nature I find hardest to deal with about such rare and beautiful places like this.

It seems that morons can apply for, and get granted passports too.

When I was in Bolivia this April, I spent Easter weekend with a Bolivian friend and her family. They were very gracious and kind to me, sharing what they had.

We went north for the weekend, up into a remote village where my Bolivian friend’s parents are from. It was here that I spent a rather chilly (altitude 12,000 feet) weekend eating Llama steak for breakfast and also camping under a llama skin that they kindly offered me. It really was an experience I’ll never forget.

My friend

But the thing was, we spent most of the weekend with everyone else in the village watching friendly football against Argentinians and Peruvians.

My friend’s family is rather extensive, and the Bolivians are very close knit in this way : the family is priority. I remember heading up in a packed car to the north of the country and being reminded of when I was a child going on holiday. My family is rather large (by western standards) so I felt right at home. I was perhaps the oldest child in the car, being 41.

Bolivian Girl, North West Bolivia

Anyway, here’s a picture of one of my Bolivian friend’s cousins. Everyone eventually got used to me just hanging around; the stranger from out of country with the camera permanently attached to his hand and this is rather a candid shot of her. There’s recognition in her face as to who I am, which only goes to show that building up a relationship with your subject can really count.

The image of the little boy with the football came about because he befriended me. Curious as to who I was, he came up to me, offered lots of sweets and I was quickly accepted as his new friend for the rest of the day.

On a technical side, these images were shot (again) with my new love : a Contax 645 camera with standard lens. Film was Kodak Portra 160NC.