May 092013
 

Last year I managed to keep the locations of my photos varied pretty well. I was able to switch between images taken from South Africa, Zambia, Rwanda, New York, Canada, Prague, Iceland and Italy. At the moment I’m feeling like all I’ve got are African shots and any Bermuda shots I manage to sneak out and take. So, I’ve decided to share some of my earliest photographs from my first real adventure.

I took a gap-year before heading to University, and got to head down to Bolivia and Peru. That’s where I became a bit of a travel addict and discovered I quite liked taking pictures, and wasn’t too bad at it either. I had a little Olympus point and shoot. I can’t remember the model but it was pretty robust. It survived walking a puma through the Bolivian jungle, 4-treks in Bolivia and Peru, and even sand dune boarding (also known as falling over a lot).

Driving across the Ayuni Salt Flats is one of the most amazing things I’ve ever done in my life. Miles upon miles of whiteness, minimal landmarks, and no signs of civilization. When we were there, a thin film of water over the salt turned the entire place into one giant mirror. It was like driving in the clouds.

This shot is taken from on top of our jeep. In the picture, you can see one of the girls making her way on to the roof and in the one ahead, you can see the luggage rack is already loaded with people. It was an exhilarating ride, but the salt water splashing up turned all of our clothes into crusty messes.

Two red jeeps reflected with the sky and clouds on the Ayuni Desert Salt flats

  11 Responses to “An old one: Ayuni Salt Flats, Bolivia”

  1. i just saw this JP and this shot is bearutiful…this would be a good one to hang up
    just amazing

  2. Fabulous shot!

  3. Stunning and what is really important, you were there and saw it.
    “For all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, ‘It might have been’.”…not for you JP

  4. Aaaawwwwww, Roy and Simba the pumas!!! Something you didn’t mention about the Salt flats – you get drunk really quickly because of the altitude!! What awesome times!

    • It also helps if you buy every village you encounter out of booze!

      And, if you accidently drink the water brought along to cool the engine… drinking more booze will definitly keep you healthy.

  5. That is one of the most amazing photos I’ve ever seen ! It really does look as though you are riding in the clouds !

  6. This photo confirms two things, you are a natural photographer and a very good story teller/writer. Definitely exciting to see an “early” shot but also fun to hear about another tale other than Africa or Bermuda. Very cool photo and thanks for sharing!

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