Photographers
Bolivian Scale
The Art of Adventure - Bruce PercyMany thanks to Karsten Weiss, for allowing me to reproduce this wonderful image of his, from our Bolivia tour back in 2019.
I am always trying to explain to my friends, and fellow photo enthusiasts, just how amazing Bolivia is. I think Karsten does a good job in this photo which sets the scale of the Salar de Uyuni against one of our tour participants.
Scale is a hard thing to convey in photographs. I have simply given up trying to convey it, because for the most part, I think we only truly understand the immensity of a place once we have witnessed it ourselves. But it is nice when I see images that give us a hint of what we might experience if we go there ourselves.
I think this is a point that is often lost when someone is choosing a photo tour or workshop. I think we often think about the photographic potential of a place only. Seldom do we also include the experiences we may have in being in such an extraordinary place.
I was first drawn to photography as a way to mark my life: to record my experiences. I do not think I have forgotten that this is really the main motivation for what I do. Sure, making beautiful images is important too, but it is important to always check in on oneself, and to remember just where you are and what you are witnessing.
I think many times, some of us forget this point. We obsess on the image acquisition part, and forget to remember to be present, to consider just where we are, and how special it is to be there to witness it.
—
Many thanks once again to Karsten for allowing me to reproduce this image. I cannot wait to go back to Bolivia this May. It is such a special landscape.