ALTIPLANO – Glimpses from a bus window. PART I
April 27, 2016Around Titicaca
Our journey in Peru/Bolivia brought us through the western parts of Altiplano, also called the Andean Plateau. Altiplano is populated by more than 8 million Aymara and Quechua people.
The goal was to visit Uro islands and several sites of Pre-Columbian cultures. We had a 4 day bus tour around Titicaca, a total of 900 km (560 miles) on the road.
Cusco – Puno – Copacabana – Tiwanaku – Juliaca.
Magnificent views passing by, hour after hour, with seemingly endless fields, small villages and distant mountains. Fellow travelers looking eagerly out of the bus window; did you see that? But after a while the sensational fades and the eyelids are getting heavy. Better then to talk with the neighbor, watch the movie, listen to music or read the book brought from home. And then the wonderful powernap.
Bus Street Photography
We left Cusco early morning at sunrise. I started to take pictures out of the bus window, just for fun. After all, a beautiful light filled the streets, and early birds started to show up. All of a sudden the jogger came into my view. Click. Yes, it worked! At that moment I decided to do the «Bus Street Photography» project.
Sitting in the back of the bus, I soon developed a technique to anticipate upcoming situations. Look as far ahead as possible, then point the camera to the direction the action will appear, keep the finger ready, and shoot!
I decided not to use the excellent high speed, 10 fps, continuous shooting mode. I found it more interesting, and challenging, to shoot single frame. Stay alert, sense the people in the street, and be ready to trig the button at the right – decisive – moment.
Bus Photography challenges
Sitting in a bus for 15 hours is not a dream scenario, and certainly not for a photographer. Bumpy roads and dusty windows meant suboptimal working conditions. The bus is crowded so you have to stick to your own window. If something sensational is happening on the opposite side of the bus, forget about it. During a long day the sun is going to shine directly in your window, which is, by the way, getting more and more dusty. With the Altiplano road standard you are in for a really bumpy ride. Add to this the vibrations of the bus itself, and your chance to hold the camera steady is approaching zero. The upside is that the bus has to slow down in narrow streets, giving you more time to react and compose. Capturing landscapes is quite easy, distant lakes and mountains changes slowly while the bus is advancing with a steady speed. Just frame the background and wait for an interesting foreground to appear. Unless, just when it all comes together, you are in the middle of that *dmd* bump and you find yourself pointing the camera to the sky. Or suddenly something appears to completely block the view…
Upcoming:
ALTIPLANO – PART II: The Impossible Art of getting in touch, in a bus.
ALTIPLANO – PART III: The philosophical side of Bus Street Photography.