485 - Castillo de San Felipe
Alcohol and photography don’t mix. (Although it would be especially nice if they did.) Today’s adventure was a case study number 100 about how many times I’ve tested out this theory.
But today’s shoot wasn't in the form of “drunk photography,” for lack of a better term. It involved photography the day after a drinking session. “Hangover photography,” if you will.
It all started when we came across the perfect campground. A rarity in Central America, but this one was a true gem. It featured a clean bathroom, hot showers, and a view off of a dock that would make anyone lose their mind. Hence when we saw the view, we immediately pulled out a six pack of Salva Vida (a Honduras lager) and started drinking.
Time switched into blur mode as we jumped off the deck into the murky waters and swam around like kids at a waterpark. I swear there’s no better feeling in the world than swimming while mildly intoxicated. It’s ridiculously freeing.
And then we woke up the next morning.
Oof. I don’t think I need to describe what a hangover is to you. Today we had a shoot planned at Castillo de San Felipe in Guatemala, which was right down the street, about 20 minutes away. We groggily packed up our gear and began to walk over. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to commit to the shoot yet.
A trend that happens in a surprising amount of my adventures, if I’m being 100% honest. I think it’s the fear of rolling up to an unfamiliar setting and that creeping fear that I might not be able to pull off a good photo. But today it was worse. The weekend was upon us, my head was woozy, and ruins are always notoriously difficult for me to shoot, so my own odds were against me. I was feeling defeated before even entering- which was not a good headspace to be in.
But believe it or not, I have a tried and tested method to counter this. Mental programming I’ve designed over the years. I simply tell myself “today’s not a real shoot that I’m going to publish, it’s just a fun adventure I’m bringing a camera on.” This removes all of my pressure to perform. Then, I begin to relax and take photos of whatever I find interesting. Sometimes I don’t even lift up my camera for the first hour or two. But I always end up finding something that catches my eye. Then before I know it I’m warmed up, starting to enter flow state, and taking real shots.
Upon entering, the place turned out to be pretty neat. Castillo de San Felipe was essentially a small “fort” castle nestled right on the edge of a lake in Guatemala, complete with a moat, cannons, and stone staircases.
As I walked around, I couldn’t help but feel like I’d been here before, but in the game Uncharted. I soon realized this shoot was going to be all about small scenes. The only outside view of the castle was from the river, which was inaccessible unless you had a boat. Thus, we were limited to shooting its tight internal corridors, rough textures, and dark hallways.
My first shot was of a staircase that descended into the basement. There were no lights below, and when looking down from above, it looked like you were entering hell. Once I climbed down, I realized I could get an angle that gave it this soft light appearance:
“Moldy Prison”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 1000 ~ 17mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/2000s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Almost like a staircase to heaven. Quite literally, I might add. This basement also had a section that doubled as a prison during its time, where they kept people in the dark, moldy walls until the end of time. Chills went through my spine.
We climbed out, and I realized my mind still hadn’t entered that glorious flow state I was talking about earlier. I loved the shot, but the depressed, hungover part of my brain kept saying “it’s just a shot of a staircase bro, you’re losing it…”
And I halfheartedly believed it- until I stumbled upon a staircase scene that one-upped it. A twisting, spiral drop speckled with hints of greenery:
“Staircase to Hell”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 1000 ~ 17mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/1000s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
And with that image taken, I was sold. My mind kicked into flow, I told my hungover brain to fuck a pigeon, and I was suddenly AMPED to shoot everything and anything. I swear once you get an epic shot it's like taking a drug. And all this came from a little mental trick I played on myself earlier. Now we were in the big leagues.
I kept walking and found a texture shot that tickled my fancy:
“Mountain Range on a Wall”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 800 ~ 21mm ~ f/6.3 ~ 1/80s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
I’m not even sure what the purpose of that wall was, but it looked cool as hell. It was simply in the middle of a room. Decoration maybe?
After a few more shots, I felt like I’d covered the vibe of the interior of the castle, and I wanted an outside shot of the entire thing. As I’ve said before, the best three sets to any adventure is a texture shot, a small scene, then a big shot. Since we didn’t have a boat, I figured I could use my drone to fly over the water and get a shot of the entire castle right on the water. YES. This was going to be awesome.
I got the security guard’s permission (this place was fairly busy with tourists,) setup my controller, and took the drone out. I went to turn it on, and then my heart sank. I forgot to pack my batteries.
A faucet of my photography personality that I’m quite proud of is that I never forget batteries for shoots. Having uncharged batteries was a cardinal sin, and forgetting them might as well have been the equivalent of murder. I realized that in yesterday’s nutty mind state, I had forgotten to take them out of the charger and pack them into my camera bag.
My flow state crashed into a tree much like an out of control drone, and I began to loathe my hungover mind.
Alcohol and photography don’t mix. There’s too many moving, technical aspects.
So there you have it folks- a tragic story, imparted by a hangover. I can’t make all these stories happy.
Well, I guess I can. We arrived back at the campsite, and began to make lunch. I didn’t mention it earlier, but the caretakers of the campground were a kind Guatemalan family who had a seriously curious young boy.
Unlike the Children of the Coconut in the last adventure, this kid wasn’t constantly pushing us to buy something. In fact, he didn’t try to sell us anything at all. He hung out in our van with us as we made sandwiches, and was asking us all sorts of questions about the English language.
He eventually revealed to us that today was his mother’s birthday, and that a party featuring cooked chicken was about to happen. Then, as if on cue, two or three other families showed up to the campground. The festivities proceeded to play out around us, and we awkwardly hung out by our van in the middle of the campground. The family suddenly brought over two plates full of food to us, and invited us over to their dining room table.
Damn these people were nice. We had barely spoken to this caretaker and now they were feeding us!
The catch was that we had just eaten a massive lunch, but we couldn’t decline this offer into. We sat down at the table, forcing the absolutely delicious food down our throats. If that food wasn’t on the caliber that it was, I honestly don’t know what I would have done.
We then proceeded to have awkward small talk with 20 other Guatemalans sitting in close proximity to us. Our Spanish is good enough to get by, but fluid conversations were still difficult for us. Especially with this large of an audience. But nevertheless, they accepted our level of proficiency in the language and were still curious and quite welcoming.
I thought the whole “get invited to eat with foreigners at their dinner table” trope was just in cheesy travel movies. Now I can certify that it’s real. And surprisingly wholesome.
I soon forgot all about my hungover shenanigans as my stomach gurgled like a stuffed meatloaf. I’d say it was a good day.
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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