Arequipa's Beauty

Under threat of rain, we headed out early into the city to try to obtain more establishing shots and sounds for our film. To our surprise, the skies cleared and the sun was shining. We were walking to go view a mural and Chuck stopped and pointed out Misti. Misti is a large volcano that dominates Arequipa’s landscape. However, due to poor weather and visibility, we had not gotten to view the snow-capped peak in its entirety until today. After we checked out the mural we rushed to the Yanahuara overlook to get a better view of the breathtaking volcano. I wanted to take a time-lapse of the volcano, but I did not have a tripod so I held my camera still against a railing while it took some hundred-odd photos. Then, in search of sounds of transportation, we headed to street corners to record passing traffic. It’s interesting to monitor what you’re recording because it makes you feel like you have super hearing. I enjoyed being able to isolate the slow lope of the combi’s diesel engines. The weather seemed rather concerning throughout the whole day, a storm front sat menacingly in the east. Thankfully it appeared to make no progress towards us as the day went on. We had a meeting and the sun began to set. Encouraged by the storm’s slow progress, we decided to seek out one final view for the day atop a west-facing building on the Plaza de Armas. I’d like to say I enjoyed the sunset in its entirety, but I was too focused on capturing as much of it as possible. Managing one camera taking a time-lapse and using the lighting to take random portraits with another I lost the sun. Once it was gone I was not so worried about squeezing every last ounce out of it. Then I just enjoyed watching the last bits of light bleed into the clouds and another day in Arequipa was at its close. 

-Ryan