Occasionally, I have to reach into the archives and pull something out for this photo of the week project. This was taken a few weeks back when I was on my family’s organic orchard in Coachella CA. I wish I had time to shoot every week, alas, I do not, but I am also happy to get to show this image as otherwise it may never have seen the light of day.
I met Foxie Flambé last summer camping in Jackson Hole, Montana. We had both been invited to a spiritual gathering that celebrated the opening of the Sacred Door Trail, a 165-mile long, nondenominational, circular, pilgrimage route. For four days and nights, we kept a sacred fire burning, listened and participated, while spiritual leaders from faiths around the globe blessed the space. For many of us, it was an intense and changing experience, full of great joy and great release. On the last night, Foxie sidled up to me and asked if I would be interested in wearing a feather Mohawk. Obviously, I said yes.
Fast-forward seven months, I get an email from Foxie asking me to purchase a ticket for the festival event Leyend Eterna. At first, I balked, and totally missed the chance. I had reservations, the event was being held across the Mexicali border in a desert canyon in Baja, Mexico, an area known for border violence. Knowing I had missed the opportunity, I stopped thinking about it until a month later when I received another email, they had released more tickets. At the time I was traveling through Mexico and had nothing but a suitcase full of clothes, no camping gear whatsoever. Foxie promised me that she was fully equipped to host me. If I just showed up at her house in Orange County a day or so before the event to purchase food and pack, she had all the camping gear and costumes I would ever need. I bought the ticket.
One month, and a pickup truck brimming with gear later; I was watching the sunrise as we drove south. What followed was one of the most unique festival events I have ever attended. Leyenda is much like Burningman, but set in an arid desert canyon with an oasis of palm trees and fresh running hot and cold springs. The six hundred or so participants are assigned small campsites, each with their own natural hot tub. During the day, hot weather is offset by hiking up to icy waterfalls, where one can brave high rock jumps into the deep pools below. On Saturday, there is an annual pool party where all attendees come dressed in their finest festival regalia to dance, swim, and enjoy their vice of choice. Thankfully, the main stage does not bump twenty-four hours a day, which allows you to really enjoy the tranquil, natural beauty, of the place. At night though, the party is on and everyone gets down on the dance floor until the sun comes up.
I was encamped right next to the main stage with Hullabaloo. The core of camp Hullabaloo is a group of circus performers known as Lucent Dossier. Needless to say, over the top pranks, performances, and general shenanigans were the norm and there was never a moment when someone wasn’t in hysterics laughing. I felt super welcome in this group, and I am so thankful that knowing no one but Foxie, I was surrounded by such fun-loving, caring souls.
Each night, as the moment struck me, I snuck off and did photo shoots in the beautiful, moonless, desert, darkness. Although, on very dark nights the challenge is to figure out how to light myself, the stars that appear in these images really bring out a special beauty. For a few of these shoots, I was able to borrow Isis wings from Foxie, a special treat that I hope to revisit someday. I am really happy with the work that I accomplished over these four nights, the last being a photo shoot with Miss Foxie Flambé herself. Enjoy the images, and if anyone ever sends you an invite to Leyenda Eterna, don’t hesitate!
As always, double click to enlarge and please feel free to share, repost and subscribe. Xoxo –janelle
For some reason, I have really been slacking on writing this post. It has been almost a month since I took these images and still I have not put them up. Maybe it is because I am not really sure if I like any of these images, or maybe I have just been having too much fun and writing my blog feels like homework. Regardless, I have since done new work, so I have to get this out of the way.
These images were taken at three different Mayan temple/city complexes on the Yucatan peninsula, Chichen Itza, Ek Balam, and Tulum. At this point I have taken images at six different temple locations and although some of the images have come out well, it is really difficult to dodge the tourists, get images with out ropes and signs, be barricaded from getting close to or climbing on the ruins (yeah, yeah, I know) and thus, I never feel very satisfied when I leave. One thing I have learned is that my best images happen when I am completely alone, no assistants, and no audience. When I am in these locations, my mind just reels with “what ifs,” aka: what if I had this all to myself, what if tripods were allowed and I didn’t have to hide mine from the guards, what if I could be here at night, etc. I know that on special occasions such as equinoxes, they allow adventurous tourists into the ruins at night, but excepting this, I think I am over shooting in super touristy ruins.
That being said, I did get up early enough to avoid the hoards of tour busses and get a few nice images. Lately, I have been trying to explore some different ideas with my work, so you will see some of the same and some new looking stuff. I was too lazy to give this a hard edit, and after all there were three different shoots involved so there are lots of images to look at. Special thanks to my assistant who knows who he is. As always, click on an image for a larger view, and please share! Much love — Janelle
I have always been a great lover of natural hot springs, I seek them out and relish in their healing waters. Now, I am also a great lover of cenotes. Prior to this trip, I had never experienced these amazing formations created by underground rivers. The Yucatan peninsula, ancestral home of the Mayan people, is entirely limestone with no running surface water. Due to the extreme porosity of this rock, all of the fresh water is underground. Scientists believe that there are around six-thousand cenotes in this area and less than half have been documented. There are several types and they range from lakes and open sinkholes, to caves connected by underwater channels and passageways. In many areas, one can scuba dive and explore these magical, interconnected, and very dark places.
Believed by the Mayan people to be entrances to the underworld, cenotes served as both a source of water and a site for sacred rituals. They were the foundation for such great civilizations as Chichen Itza, Coba and Ek Balam. Many Mayan people still believe that spirits dwell in cenotes and thus they never learn to swim. Within many of the caves, stalactites and stalagmites are common formations, as are the fossils of shells and marine life dating back as far as 50 million years. Complex and interesting ecosystems, the crystal clear water is home to a variety of fish including a species of blind catfish. In many, tree roots extend hundreds of feet from above to reach the deep, water sources below. It is impossible not to be impressed by these natural wonders, and the opportunity to swim in them and take photographs is truly unworldly.
The cenotes pictured here are just outside the small town of Valladolid, deep in the jungle at the center of the peninsula. The local Mayan name for this group of cenotes is Dzitnup, and they are respectively referred to as X’kekén and Samulá. Only a two-hour drive from Cancun, these cenotes are often on the itinerary for huge tour groups. Knowing this, and to the surprise of the locals, I arrived just before opening at eight am, and was rewarded with two full hours completely by myself. The first cave was lit with colored LED lights that illuminate the stalactites and provide an added layer of surrealism to the images. Although, I started shooting while dressed and rarely work without clothes, I felt comfortable being nude and I really like the results. In the second cave I had to swim to the island with my dress in a bucket to keep it dry. Like an optical illusion, the water is perfectly clear, and it is almost impossible to tell the depth until you jump in. Thus, that which appears shallow in the foreground of this image is actually several meters deep. Though I visited a few other cenotes on this trip, I was never able to make more images but I am certain I will return in the future.
Be sure to click on the image to see a larger view as these cenotes are really amazing and in the last one I am a tiny figure on the island. As always, feel free to repost and sign up for e-mail blasts below if you don’t want to miss anything.
It has been about four months since I last made any new images. This winter, I have been living in the snowy Colorado Mountains and I find that when the weather is cold I have no interest in creating new work. Fortunately, this post finds me traveling through the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. I arrived on the full moon, landing in Cancun and immediately taking a ferry out to Isla Mujeres. During the day I partook of the usual beach stuff, highlighted by a snorkeling trip to the Under Water Museum. This place is absolutely amazing and a lot bigger than I expected, there were sculptures all over the place, and a lot of surprising ones I had not seen in any photos of the project. My biggest regret is not being a diver, as the sculptures sit about thirty feet under the ocean surface and snorkeling just does not do the artwork justice. For more info on this incredible place, check out: http://www.musacancun.com/.
By night, I have been out under the full moon on the rocky seaside cliffs, evoking La Serena. Fitting, as I am on the Island of Women. The motivation for these images came while dancing to Cuban salsa, at La Terraza, a great local bar. I met three German sailors there who were living and working on The Stahlratte: www.stahlratte.org. This is huge steel sailboat run by a non-profit foundation, and by far the largest sailing vessel docked on the island. Anyone can sail with them as they circle the Caribbean, but it is a work/live situation not a cruse ship. From my tour of the boat and meeting the staff, I imagine this might be as close to feeling like a real pirate as one could find these days. With sailing on my mind, and hearing stories of vessels breaking up on the rocks surrounding the island, I was inspired to play the roll of the temptress on the cliffs.
In the first images, La Serena beams a light into the night, mimicking a lighthouse and falsely directing ships. Later, she sings out to the sailors, enchanting them and luring them to their demise. It felt so good to be shooting again, and to also have a little narrative in mind while I was working. I do feel a bit rusty, and I am test-driving my brand new Nikon D7000. So far so good but I kind of wish I had not left the manual at home. The images I am getting look gorgeous with this improved sensor, but I have to be careful these days, as my images files are three times larger and my computer’s hard drive is going fast. I have about ten more days in the Yucatan to shoot new work, cenotes and Mayan ruins here I come. As always click on the image to see a larger version.
A few years ago I saw a travel photo of my friend Lauren Lewis standing in one of the most beautiful natural infinity pools in the world. This image really made an impression on me and I knew that one day I would have to try to shoot an image there. Turns out that the location is Hierve el Agua, a few hours drive into the mountains outside the city of Oaxaca, Mexico. Created by natural spring that has a very high mineral content, thousands of years has left cascading deposits that flow down the mountain side in frozen waterfalls. On the top of this unusual formation are pools of water where bathers can swim on hot days.
As reluctant as I am to get up early, we were in our van by 7am and at the pools by 9am when they open. I was just able to take these images before the hoards started to arrive. Thankfully, I was traveling with a group of photographers that appreciate shooting without other people around. This is one location I would love to photograph over and over again just to see how different cloud formations, sunsets and sunrises affect the images.
Normally, I pride myself on having crisp in focus images, but while shooting this I accidentally dropped my neutral density filter into the water. I dried it carefully and put it back on my camera, but I didn’t realize that the water had left behind a really nasty film. The effect of this film was an incredibly beautiful soft focus. Although this is not my normal modus operandi, I actually love the effect.
Above the town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico is the 160 acre nature preserve El Charco del Ingenio. Over the past few years this place has become one of my main centers for creativity and inspiration. I have had the privilege to shoot some of my best photographs in this space as well as work as an invited artist on an incredible land art project. For this project I built four large-scale altars, one to each of the four directions, incorporating different indigenous mythologies. When I returned to San Miguel this September, I knew I was going to have to do some new photography in the preserve. Although you are technically not allowed to be in the park after dark, if you go to watch the sunset and stay for a few hours they are generally tolerant. I always warn the guards that I will be there late just so we don’t scare the crap out of each other in the dark. Surprising men with big guns isn’t exactly high on my list of priorities.
The main beauty of the Charco is that there are a plethora of different ecosystems crammed into a small space. The area around San Miguel is a high altitude (7000ft), two-season (dry and rainy) climate. The plants are very hardy, and include massive prickly pear cactus trees, very spiny acacias, and lots of grasses. Water can be quite scarce at times. In the center of the park is a large dam created wetland that regularly hosts Autobahn bird watching tours and can flood or become a dry mud flat depending on the season. Below the dam there is a very steep rocky canyon with sheer hundred foot walls. On hot days you can climb down very sketchy ladders to the shady floor and sit on the boulders amongst cool pools of water. At the head of this canyon is a large natural spring or El Charco. This spring is said to be protected by a spirit, El Chan, that harms anyone who comes too close. There are many tales of drowning in the spring and apparently scuba divers have never found the bottom, just a maze of underwater tunnels. For some reason, depending on the season, the water changes colors and can range from white, red and orange to deep blues and greens.
Once again, my friend Nico came to assist and after watching the sunset from the cliffs over looking San Miguel, we got to work. The location I scouted was below the dam and above the spring where there are large pools of water and lots of boulders to climb on. Once we got started, a lovely bright half moon rose to illuminate the scene. We had such a beautiful experience that evening I’m not even sure I was really concentrating on the work. Behind us a small waterfall was trickling down, the air was warm and comfortable, the wind was calm, and to my absolute delight the fireflies decided to join us. To say this was a magical and memorable evening only saddens the great poets. At one point I think we almost decided to curl up on one of the big, flat, sun-warmed boulders to sleep under the stars. Honestly, I probably would have done just that if I weren’t half packed and leaving at eight in the morning.
What follows are the last images taken with my old Tamron 10-24 lens. After shooting probably 60,000 images with this lens, I am really starting to see the quality of the images degrading. I have heard that the cheap digital lenses eventually wear out, but this is the first one I have actually used to death. I am not unhappy with the intentions of this work, but I am not thrilled with the image quality. There were a lot of interesting shots in this group that just didn’t turn out well and I know it has much to do with my lens. So out with the old and in with the new, I am chomping at the bit to start using my new Nikon 10-24, yippie!
On a sunny September day, I climbed onto a Primera Plus bus and traveled to the small city of Guanajuato. A four-hundred-year-old Spanish mining town, Guanajuato was the center of the Mexican war of independence. Built into a steep valley, colorful houses are terraced along tiny staircases that thread down to the valley floor. The city is generally known for two things, its tunnels and its mummies. The tunnels came about after the main river flooded in 1907, and almost wiped out the town. The locals decided to divert the river, leaving empty subterranean tunnels that had funneled water under the city. The tunnels were re-appropriated for transportation and expanded through out the area, minimizing traffic and leaving a lovely walking street that winds through downtown. The mummies are due to the hot dry climate and the practice of interring the dead in mausoleums. When the families of the dead could no longer afford to pay a yearly fee in order keep their dead loved ones in graves, the bodies were pulled out and kept in a museum adjacent to the graveyard. The museum is open today, but no longer practices disinterment.
Another remarkable historical site in Guanajuato is the Ex-Hacienda San Gabriel de Barrera. Built in the late 1600’s it was home to Captain Gabriel de Barrera who’s family were descendants of the Conde de Rul of the local Valenciana mine. This mine, though still active, was once one of the largest silver producing mines in the world. The old hacienda still stands, although it was heavily damaged in the war of independence. The hacienda grounds used to be a working refinery for silver oar extracted from the Valenciana mine, but now have been converted into seventeen incredible gardens. A week before, I came to Guanajuato on a scouting mission to see whether this place was appropriate for photography. What I found was a huge space that I would love to return to again and again, day or night, to create images.
I arrived midday at the bus station and was greeted by my old friend Nico. Nico and I met about three years back when he was working as a barista in a coffee shop and I used to ask him for help with my Spanish homework. Nico kindly volunteered to help me for the day as a photo assistant. Thank goodness he did, because I could not have done it with out him. We spent the day goofing around in the gardens taking all kinds of photographs. Having done the image on the Brooklyn Bridge as a Shiva, I though it would be fun to take some photos as Mary and the Virgin Guadalupe. I brought several yards of blue and red fabric with me and draped it over myself like a shroud. The imagery is probably too kitschy and obvious to actually work, but I had fun doing it.
This location screams for my sometimes photography collaborator Aloyse Blair, as it is full of beautiful fountains and I am not nearly as capable as she at imitating Greek goddess statues. I did my best, and looking at the images I would like to do some research on Greek goddess art and try again. At this point, I am finally starting to get the hang of my neutral density filter, and taking images with it is getting much more predictable. Ideally, I show up best in full sunlight with a dark shadowy background. Knowing this, I think making daylight images will start to become far more successful. Next time, I would really love to see if I can come back and shoot at night.
In the Mexican state of Morelos, there is an ancient temple complex that may date as far back as 200bc. This archeological site is known as Xochicalco or “the place of flowers,” and during 700-900ad it was populated by up to 20,000 inhabitants. The actual identity of the people who lived there is unknown, but they are believed to have been Mayan influenced. Although in its heyday, it was a bustling trade city, this place is now a tranquil park, more suited for meditation, and contemplation.
The day we went to Xochicalco was hot and humid, two things that this polar bear does not suffer well. As soon as we reached the temple complex, I was off and running, trying to make as many different images as possible before my sightseeing companions got bored and wanted to head home. Within ten minuets of working I was drenched in sweat. I really wish I had had more time to explore, as Xochicalco is truly magnificent. Although, it is an UNESCO World Heritage Site, you basically have the run of the place and can climb the temples and explore the ancient ruins at will. I don’t know if in the hour I had to shoot, I was able to capture much, but I do know in the future I would love to return to another temple complex. In the end, I got scurried away by a grounds keeper that wouldn’t let me use my tripod, but was fascinated by what I was doing. He kept trying to to use my camera to take my photo for me. If my phone hadn’t started to ring, telling me to come back to the car, I’m sure I could have gotten a final shot with more than one of me standing on the top of the temple.
I used my Neutral Density filter for these images, and although I do love it, I am still learning how to make the best images. I have not yet decided such things as how I look in sun versus shadow, etc. After doing so much work at night, I can generally visualize exactly what will happen in any given circumstance, but in daylight I am often surprised. One of the things I don’t love about this filter is the color shift; it generally muddies and grays out colors. Thus, I decided to push them off the gamut. I like the results, but they are not set in stone.
In mid August, I headed down to Cuernavaca, Mexico, to visit with my old friend Marela Zacarias. Marela grew up around Mexico City but currently resides in New York City; she was on a trip to visit family and I was invited to tag along. The house we stayed at has been in her family for generations. This beautiful compound is a bit like Marquez’s House of a Hundred Years of Solitude. It is built on a large sloping hillside that is terraced and ends in a deep barranca below. Each level accommodates different areas including gardens, swings, walkways, and swimming pools, all in various states of repair.
There is a special magic to a place like this, a place where there are echoes of parties long since past, children grown up, and a future yet to come. One can imagine golden era Hollywood starlets, flirting under the canopy of lush trees, limbs embracing each other like lovers. If you listen carefully you can hear the sounds of children squealing in delight as they dash down the waterslide, crashing into the grotto like swimming pool. Here and there are the shadows of gardens being taken back by the jungle, gardens that must have grown abundant tropical flowers. The past is present, but there is also a great deal of promise, as slowly the structures are being reinforced against a climate that loves to decay anything in its grasp. Who knows what mysteries will unfold or what tails of love will transpire.
On a trip to the local artisans market, I purchased a small handmade, papier-mâché tiger mask. As I have previously discussed, I am trying to incorporate some different costumes and props into my images. One of the things I have always liked about working with long exposures is the anonymity, as my face is usually blurred and unrecognizable. I think that this allows my viewers to place themselves into the images. Now that I am fequently working in full daylight, using my neutral density filter, I find that I am more recognizable and a masking is a great solution. In the past, I created a lot of images dealing with issues of masking, whether through makeup, costumes or just personal identity. I feel like this is an interesting integration between work that is old and new.
