483 - Laguna Yure
Today we drove through San Pedro Sula, the murder capital of the world. Not out of fun, mind you. It was the only way.
Central America, over the past couple months, has done strange things to my mind. We’ve driven through countless towns listed with a “High Travel Advisory” according to the US government, and been warned by countless people about the dangers of this part of the world. Yet over the entire trip, we’ve only found encountered kind locals who have welcomed us into their world.
I mean, sure, we’ve run across a few scammers, but so has anyone with an email address. So I don’t count those.
By this point, I have no idea what to think about anything. Part of me wants to say everyone in the US is wrong, and these lands are just as dangerous as any other city in the world, but part of me doesn’t want to jinx it and get robbed the next day. When you’re warned so many times, it keeps things stirring in the back of my mind.
Did we just get extremely lucky this entire trip?
Maybe. Maybe not. I guess I’ll never really know. Either way, today felt like the final test of our “Central American Dangers.” San Pedro Sula in Honduras, as of a few years ago, was the murder capital for the entire world. AKA statistically speaking, they get more murders per citizen then any other city. It also heeds warnings on numerous travel blogs, and there’s barely any tourist information about it online.
Yet we had to 1) drive through the city to get to the Guatemala border, and 2) find an antigen COVID test somewhere in the city, as a requirement to cross the border. And according to our maps, the only places to get a COVID test were downtown. We didn’t have a choice. The only other way into Guatemala was hours out of the way, and neither of us felt like driving.
We drove in suspiciously, keeping our eyes peeled for any kind of mischief. But after 20 minutes of driving, we found none. The city looked identical to any other city in Central America we’d been to.
Our COVID test center had an armed guard out front, and we were able to pay a different security officer $1USD to watch our van for an hour. While we waited for our results, we ate traditional Honduras cuisine in a homemade garden. It consisted of corn pancakes, tamalitas, and cheese pupusas. And it was goddamn delicious.
We drove out of the city with smiles on our faces. Is everything we read a lie? I mean… I’m sure it wouldn’t be smart to go downtown at night, or to any of the poorer districts… But I also wouldn’t do that in many US cities.
I don’t know. I’m just as confused as you.
Well, I suppose I should talk about today’s photography adventure, instead of drooling over our meal in San Pedro Sula. Our plan today was to shoot at Laguna Yure, a medium sized lake in the middle of nowhere that had a solid boondocking lot. It was close to the border, and we planned on passing the next morning. Until then, the lagoon was our oyster.
After a long, bumpy road, we arrived. I’m not exactly sure how to describe the place, so I’ll show you an aerial view I got from my drone:
“Settlers of Catan”
Taken on DJI Mavic Mini
[ISO 100 ~ 4.49 ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/20s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
As you can see, the geology was extremely interesting. I’ve been meaning to try more shots like this from the drone- HIGH top/down shots. This entire scene reminded me of a piece from a jigsaw puzzle. I particularly enjoyed the farm that was evident in the middle bottom of the frame.
There were several other patches of dirt in the surrounding forests, but I ended up removing them in Photoshop to simplify the image. I wanted continuity of the greenery, with the focus on the singular farm. Too many competing bright patches can pull the image into too many unnecessary directions.
After that, I got lost in the sauce a bit and just enjoyed the scene. There was one angle of the lagoon I really wanted to get, but I wasn’t high enough off the ground. Essentially, I needed to be standing on a car to get the framing I wanted.
I know what you’re thinking. Stand on your van! Haha, no. There was no way in fuck I was gonna get on that thing with my broken foot. We don’t have a ladder, so climbing on top involved a mixture of finessing the door frame and blind luck.
I didn’t have any other solutions to the problem. The sun set began and I sat there and watched my perfect shot fade into darkness, just five feet above me.
Then I came up with an idea. Too late, mind you, but an idea nonetheless. One that can be utilized in the future. Here’s the trick. If the angle you desire to shoot is a couple feet above you, put your camera on your tripod, focus on the subject with a high f/stop, then put your camera on timelapse mode. Then lift and balance the entire tripod with the camera on it over your head, effectively boosting your camera an extra couple feet. It’ll take a few times to get your composition right and this obviously won’t work for focus stacks, but it’ll get the job done. Just make sure you have insurance.
However, this isn’t the end of the adventure. I still had one more abstract shot in my cup, as a lone fisherman appeared after the sunset. He parked is boat in the algae, and cast a line:
“Layers of Fish”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 1000 ~ 70mm ~ f/4 ~ 1/320s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
I loved how the water felt like a Jackson Pollock canvas, and the fisherman was caught in action. Nothing groundbreaking, but these scenes make my heart happy.
Well guys, it’s been a real two days in Honduras, but we’ll be crossing back into Guatemala tomorrow. We got a couple shoots lined up there, including a canopy tour and the infamous Tikal ruins. We’re not heading back to the states just yet. Stay tuned >:)
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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