This will be my second year judging the annual Douglas County Libraries teen photo contest. Let me tell you, it is one of the toughest assignments I have had. The kids that participate are all super creative and the work they submit is nothing short of amazing. I reached out to the winner of last year’s event to see if he would like to share his winning image with us. Not only did he agree to that, he shared his portfolio from his trip to Peru. From the images below, it is pretty obvious Hayden has talent. Any one of these images is a winner. So without further ado, here is Hayden!
From Peru With Love
My name is Hayden Tornabene and I am an IB (International Baccalaureate) Photography Student and I am so honored and humbled to be writing a guest post for Hossedia.com. I am sixteen years old and photography is one of my greatest passions.
This past summer, I took a trip to the country of Peru. I went with a school group through an organization called Walking Tree Travel. We went down there to, of course, see the sights, but also to engage in a community service project where we built a cafeteria for a school in the last surviving Incan village in the world. I can tell you I went down for the cultural aspect, or the community service project, which were both very important, but my true driving force: the photography. I’ll let my photographs tell you the rest of the story.
This photograph is from a city called Puno, which runs right along Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world. My trite, but I feel like accurate saying for photography is, “capture what captures you.” We arrived at Puno after being in a bus for 6 hours, got to our hotel, and set off to explore the streets. I couldn’t have left without my camera of course. I hadn’t walked more than 15 seconds when I saw this incredibly beautiful dog. I snapped two shots, and ran to catch up with the group. (Something I did quite frequently.) It only took those two shots to get this beautiful shot. I think about what this dog is doing now, almost 7 months after this shot was taken. I wonder, is he still a stray along with the millions of other strays in Peru? Is he still alive? Whatever and however he is doing, he will forever be immortalized in this image and he will always have a special place in my heart. I’m sorry for being so cheesy.
This shot is from an island on Lake Titicaca called Tequila. There is a ideology on the island that a photograph takes your soul. I had to be careful, but I soon learned that one or two sols (Peruvian Currency) enabled them to keep their own from the photograph.
This was a beautiful flower I found in the Peruvian jungles. The flora of this country was absolutely stunning.
This shot has a funny story. I took this image in the Sacred Valley on the Urubamba River. We took a three-day trek to Machu Picchu along this river. We go to a point where we had to cross the river. Waiting there for us was a rope that spanned the river with a basket large enough for two to ride in. You would use you momentum to propel you across, and then pull your self the rest of the way. As my friend pulled, I shot. Thank you Mitch Sellers for focusing on our safety while I focused on the photography.
Mountains, mountains everywhere but not a breath to catch. Lots of photos to take though!
At Machu Picchu there are three days where it rains during the summer. On the final day of our three-day trek, it started. The next morning we had to climb 2000 steps in the frigid rain at three in the morning. It was so worth it. This image was taken at the top of Wynu Picchu, the mountain that over looks Machu Picchu. After another 1000 steps scaling slick rocks and holding to ropes attached themselves to rainy 45-degree slopes of rock face, we finally got to the top of the mountain. Once we arrived, the clouds started to disperse. I told my friend to quickly sit on the edge of a terrace while the mountain in the distance was visible for a moment, and I snapped this shot. You do anything for the shot, right?
Finally, this shot, once again on the island of Tequila on Lake Titicaca. When I think of Peru, I think of this shot. It was an incredible feast for the eyes that I encourage anyone that has the chance to experience. An amazing trip.
Thank you so much Justin and everyone that read my rambling! You can see more of my work here on Facebook.
Thank you so much, and remember, Capture what Captures you!
