During my last month in Peru, I got to work with art model,
@JennyPoses4U_2, who traveled to Peru from the US to shoot with me. She met me in
Lima, Peru's capital city, and we traveled for 3 weeks up to Northern Peru, back to Lima, and then to two locations in Southern Peru before returning again to Lima. We spent almost a week up north at a beach bungalow resort before heading south to
Puno on
Lake Titicaca. There, we stayed with hosts on a man-made island built by a family from the Aymaras, (nope, not Incas) who's culture has lasted for centuries on this lake at 12,000 feet above sea level. Lastly, a visit to a lodge in Colca Canyon turned out to be extraordinary.
Northern Peru
After a few days in Lima to settle in, we took a flight to Piura and bused to our hotel in
Cancas, just north of the popular town of
Mancora. Why? Well, when you have nudes on your itinerary, less people and more private beaches may come at a premium, but its worth it. We chose a beachfront bungalow at a resort that had plenty of privacy and an interior worth shooting. Working with Jennifer early in the mornings allowed the best beach advantage. The tide was also at a low point. When we couldn't shoot outside, we did our best to be creative on the inside of our large and spacious bungalow.
Back to Lima
We were actually in Lima 3 different times at 4 different hotels. One, when Jennifer flew in for two days. Again upon returning from Northern Peru. And twice more upon returning from Southern Peru til she flew back home. Each stay in Lima was 2 or 3 days. Of course, there was no outdoor shooting in Lima. But when we were not shooting inside, we went out and just explored. I am not the best city tourist, unfortunately, but I did my best to go shopping and sight seeing around the city without looking like I wanted to be in the wild somewhere. I'm not entirely certain I succeeded, however this was her adventure, too. So being a team player was important. Shopping, museums, and city tours were added to the agenda. Lima had all this aplenty, especially in the Miraflores and Barranco districts.
Southern Peru
Puno
It was beautiful and relaxing on the beach for nearly a week in the north. But for me at least, the adventure began in the south. We flew to Puno along the banks of the famous
Lake Titicaca which spans the border, and of which 40% is claimed by Bolivia. We were met by our host Wilbur of the
Aymara people who live out ON the lake on an island that HE made of reeds. He keeps adding layers every so often as the island will fully submerge after 20 to 30 years. We spent 3 days with this family where the nights are below freezing despite the fact that they were in the summer season. We got 2.5 liter hot water bottles to keep us warm and this was our only source of heat at night. Of course this is not a large island; maybe 50' x 50', so there was not much shooting outdoors and the interiors were not as appealing. Mainly just white walls.
Colca Canyon
We bused for 6 hours northward, (but still in Southern Peru) to Chivay and then a taxi 10 mins down the road to the town of Yanque. Here we stayed at another lodge that sat on the precipice along
Colca Canyon at it's midpoint. Breath-taking is the most literal way I could describe this place. What we missed shooting in on Lake Titicaca, we more than made up for it, shooting here. I endeavor to return here and venture more into this canyon. It's about 45 miles long and over 10,000 feet deep, which is even deeper than the Grand Canyon at 6,000 feet. That gives me a lot of ground to cover! But alas, only 3 days there, a 3 hour bus ride to Arequipa, and then a flight back to Lima. Jennifer returned home 3 days after that.
I've been editing for the last 5 weeks, going over more than 3 thousand photos taken over 3 weeks. Granted, most of my peers would be shooting that total per day! A book on this project is forthcoming, as well. I am confident to have it all completed within the first week of May and am looking forward to having a copy of that book in my hands. There's no comparison between looking at it on a computer screen versus having a series of tangible prints in your hands bound in a hardback 11 x 14 150-page book. These will be large full-page spreads on some of the best heavy stock paper made for printing. So yeah, I can't wait to see this. Maybe you'll like it, too! Or even better, maybe you'd like to do a shoot like this. Well... regardless, stay tuned.
