Chile & Bolivia

South America was a dream come true I can’t quite remember.

Was I there?

It’s clear that I was; the photos insist on it.

Frankly, the whole trip was such an off-kilter, gung-ho adventure—through the deserts of Chile and across the flat, rocky plains and yellow bush-hair landscapes of Bolivia— that I receded from being there to doing my best to take pictures to later prove to myself that yes, I was there, as my was brother.

I hadn’t left the country in nearly seven years, and suddenly there I was: freezing my tuchus off—the same one that usually sits eight hours a day at Beau Photo—now perched four thousand meters above sea level, hoping these waking daydreams would eventually settle into memory.

As it happened, I brought along more than my fair share of film.

Langston Hughes asks, “What happens to a dream deferred?”
Notorious B.I.G. reminds us, “It was all a dream.”

And when I sent my brother the first scans from our trip, he texted back:

“Bro.”
“That photo is wild.”
“Film captures so much more.”

He was right. The frames I shot didn’t just document our days—they unraveled them the way I felt them: for they were dreams I’d already lived.

I don’t really have a thesis for this blog. It’s more of a reminder—to myself, mostly—of how gorgeous film is, and how much closer it sits to our memories than any hyper-sharp  sensor ever will. If there is a thesis, it’s this: shoot more film. Expired, fresh, slide, negative, black and white—whatever you can get your hands on. Just shoot. Shoot all of it.

I carried a Nikon F2 with a single trusted lens, the 20mm, because I am all about perspective. And if you’re looking for a companion for your own adventure, we’ve got plenty of film (notoriously) and more than a few rugged Nikon F bodies (certainly) here at Beau Photo. They’re waiting for the next dream you decide to chase.