466 - Lago de Coautepeque
Every once in awhile we push our van a little more than we should. Today was an example of such instances.
Our goal for the day was to shoot Lago de Coutepeque, a famous lake in El Salvador that’s vaguely similar to Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. Except there was one key difference between this lake and that one- this lake wasn’t exactly “public.” Or, at least, according to Google Maps’ standards, which are very high mind you.
What I mean by this is that despite the popularity of this massive lake, I could not for the life of me find an overlook or access point that wasn’t owned by a hotel, restaurant, or someone private. Sometimes it’s hard to accept that that’s just the way it goes sometimes in Central America. People own every inch of important landmarks and the government doesn’t really give a shit because they got bigger fish to fry.
Like cartels, for example.
Luckily, I’m dating Haley Nicole Parker. Who happens to be a wizard(ette) at finding cheap campgrounds. And she just so happened to find one for $7USD a night that was right on the edge of the lake. Within minutes. I love you Haley.
Only problem was… wait for it… the drive in was going to be lil’ off-road. It involved about 2 kilometers on a single land dirt road that had god knows how many hairpin turns and inclines.
For context, our van is just over twenty feet long… Which means that if we need to turn around, we need a MASSIVE space. If we can’t find one, it means driving backwards until we can get out. Which is a MAJOR pain in the ass when you’re off-road and I’m not in condition to guide her out from behind.
But you know what? Fuck it, we decided. There wasn’t any other way we were going to shoot this lake, and we were here, so we decided to risk it. Full steam ahead.
And that we did. After about 1.5 kilometers, I was confident we’d make it. (Besides a small section where the van was almost tipping, it was nothing we hadn’t seen before.) However, we were almost at the finish line, and the road kept getting smaller and the bumps bigger. If this place ended up being closed, we were fucked. There was no turn around and it was starting to get dark. We’d probably be stuck in the middle of the road until morning.
As we rolled up to the presumed entrance, my brain began to hurt as I realized it was chained shut. Completely locked. Fucking shit. We honked for a solid 5 minutes, but no one came to open it.
And right when we were about to give up, we decided to walk down the road a bit further in case the Google Maps pin was wrong. And guess what? It was. Thanks Google, you cock-faced chump.
WOOO!!! As we entered, a friendly old man greeted us and gave us the grand tour of the camp. The place was fantastic. Quiet, remote, safe, and it had a massive turnaround to leave tomorrow. We were hooked.
All we had to do now was seal the deal with a shotki.
Haley decided she’d wake up for sunset to shoot, but since the sunrise was actively happening, I figured I mind as well try my luck. After all, I’m a goddamn cripple with this broken foot, and I was gonna need every chance I can get to snag a photo.
I scaled the steep driveway in my crutches, and broke the end tip off a crutch. That’s how high the incline was- it literally bent the rubber bottom in half and just snapped. It was the kind of driveway where if you fell, you’d fall more than couple feet forward. I tried not to think about that.
The highlight of this place was a dock that struck out into the water, complete with a boat and all. It was gorgeous and leading lines were out of control. I limped out to the end of it, conscious to not put my crutches through one of the rotting holes in the planks.
At the end, I just sat down, winded. It was an absolutely gorgeous view of the lake, and Haley soon joined me. I loaded up the ole’ Mavic Mini, and got a shot of us chillin’ on it’s end:
“Two for One”
Taken on DJI Mavic Mini
[ISO 100 ~ 4.49mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/160s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
I particularly enjoyed the calmness of the water, and the patterns it created here. Almost looked like TV static. Lately, I decided I’m going to try to steer away from top-down drone shots, because I do them all the time and they’re like pie to me. This shot was my best attempt at changing it up. Wherever I get too comfortable with a certain kind of shot, I know it’s time to try some new stuff.
And with that banger, we closed up shop for the night. I power housed up the driveway just to watch some god awful Sandra Bullock movie about getting fucked by the government. Hot take, maybe she should get fucked by the government after her latest releases.
I dreamed about Muppets, and before I knew it, our alarm was going off in the AM.
Today was one of those days where waking up was really, really, really difficult. Since I’ve been sleeping in my foot brace, I haven’t been getting quality shut eye lately. It’s been a bit of a problem. But luckily, my asshole came to save the day. After eating some local El Salvadorian food yesterday, my stomach was demanding retreat.
I crawled out of the warm blankets, simultaneously loving/hating my churning stomach. By the time I got out of the restroom, the sunrise light was kicking hard, and I was too awake to go back to bed. Just as planned. (Not really, but imagine.)
If there’s anything I’ve learned from shooting lakes, it’s that they’re almost always more cinematic in the morning. The water is exponentially more still, there’s little activity, and there’s often an eerie fog over them.
As I setup my tripod, a fisherman just happened to be pulling into our dock, and the silhouette was perfect:
“Blue Dream”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 50 ~ 35mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/125s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
I love the blue/purple palate in this shot. Not a color combo I see everyday, but it’s a result of that sunrise light hitting the mountains in the backdrop. Aesthetically, I chose to leave the powerlines in. Initially I removed them, but it felt too blank. I think they helped frame the fisherman better. Plus, they’re man made like the dock, so it fits here.
The best thing about this shot and next shot you’ll see is the timing. I might have said this in my last adventure, but literally any time a moving element comes into a boring scene, it’s my perfect opportunity for magic. I turn my shutter on high and click as many frames as possible.
As the fisherman pulled in, I began to watch what he was doing. They seemed to be setting up a circular fishing net on the dock’s outskirts. I realized this would be a fantastic opportunity for a unique top-down shot.
Yes, I know I just said I was steering away from them earlier, but I couldn’t resist. Sometimes I’m my own worst enemy:
“Hole in One”
Taken on DJI Mavic Mini
[ISO 100 ~ 4.49mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/100s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
While I was up there, I managed to get another drone shot of a palm tree and a mini tool shed. One thing I did with that shot editing wise was make it almost like a swirl. The middle palm tree was the brightest, then as the swirl wraps around counter-clockwise, the colors get more and more desaturated:
One minor editing trick I’ve been implementing lately is to desaturate ever so slightly everything but the subject. Adds a little more “umph” to it.
After that, I knew I had enough bangers in my pocket to call it a wizzle. It’s starting to look like the drone is competing for my best friend position. I can’t object.
Stay tuned. In the next adventure, we hike through an area in El Salvador infamous for armed robberies. Oh, goodie.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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