Incendios // Norte de Santander
Volunteers battle wildfires in Norte de Santander, Colombia.
By last week 39 of the department’s 40 municipalities had issued a red alert for forest fires. Only 12 of those have an active fire service.
Volcán de Fuego // Guatemala, 2023
Images taken five years after the eruption of Fuego in 2018, which killed and displaced many between Sacatepéquez and Escuintla in Guatemala.
1 - Father Ruperto, who gave the exequias to the unidentified bodies recovered after the eruption, pictured in Escuintla Cathedral.
2 - Fireman’s gloves in the station of the bomberos municipales, Antigua. As there is no public funding for emergency services in Guatemala, almost all of those who responded to the disaster were unpaid volunteers.
3 - Anibal, a farmer who still works in the shadow of the volcano, around 1 mile from the ruin of San Miguel los Lotes.
4 - Dense ferns grow around the farm where Anibal goes to work. The volcanic soil provides ideal conditions for life.
5 - Don Abraham, a beekeeper who was displaced by the disaster.
Images shot on 4x5
#largeformat#documentary#nowherediary#intrepid4x5#documentaryphotography#documagazine#4x5film#4x5#analogue#analoguepeople
Sol y Verde // Peten, Guatemala
Born in Honduras, Baltazar spent his early twenties as part of a military group targeting smuggling and narcotraffic in his home country.
His involvement in an anti-government protest group preceded decades of forced migration, which included a year long prison stretch in Belize after he was assaulted in the street for his refugee status.
He has since settled in Peten, where he has lived a peaceful life with his now adult son, Emanuel, for many years. He spends most of his time at his restoration project, Sol y Verde, where he teaches bioconstruction and leads community projects.
Shot on 4x5
@solyverdeorg#largeformat#4x5film#permaculture#bioconstruccion#documagazine#nowherediary#staybrokeshootfilm#analoguepeople#phasesmag#velveteyeszine
Semillas de Agua // Jocotitlan
Miguel and Aurora photographed at Semillas de Agua. Here they’re digging up earth from the farm for construction materials - hay, sand, water, manure and clay are moulded into Adobe bricks that become solid when dried in the sun.
When the ingredients have been combined, they jump around barefoot on the mixture to blend everything together before moulding each brick individually.
They say that they work with a lot of love for the earth, and this is evident in the time and effort that’s taken to construct their building in this way.
Shot on 4x5 film
@hurakaan.semillasdeagua@intrepidcamera#4x5#largeformat#darkroom#documentary#documentaryphotography#analog#largeformatcamera
Don Abraham // El Rodeo, Guatemala
After his home was destroyed by Volcán de Fuego, Abraham was moved to an estate constructed by the government to house the survivors.
Soon after though he returned to live here - less than a kilometre from his old home. The ruin is just a short walk from the farm where he now works and lives alone.
Some damage on this neg but that’s what you get for shooting sheet film in a jungle climate.
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Shot on 4x5 HP5+
@intrepidcamera
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#largeformat#documentaryphotography#documentary#analog#blackandwhite#guatemala
Zona 0 // Escuintla Department, Guatemala
Five years ago San Miguel los Lotes was destroyed by the eruption of Fuego, a nearby volcano, and many of its inhabitants were killed.
Contrary to information released by the government, the exact death toll is unknown and even now there are missing bodies buried here. Their possessions are still scattered around the ruin.
Volunteer organisations like Antigua Al Rescate and the Bomberos Municipales / Voluntarios have provided some support to survivors - these groups are accepting donations.
I spent a few months this year taking pictures of the continuing social consequences of the eruption - more stuff to come.
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Shot on 4x5 with @intrepidcamera
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#largeformat#largeformatphotography#documentary#documentaryphotography#outofservicemag
En Bruto // Simojovel, 2023
Alberto, an artisan from Simojovel, sits polishing amber in the house he shares with his family of eight. His face is covered in dust from the rock.
Across the room his wife makes jewellery while one of his daughters does her chemistry homework on the bed.
On the other side of town another artisan, Jesus, sits with his young son next to the workbench he shares with his own father. It’s likely the boy will sit there too one day.
@intrepidcamera 4x5 with HP5+
#largeformat#largeformatphotography#documentaryphotography#documentary#analog#35mm#4x5#bnw#bnwphotography
Miners by daylight // Simojovel, Mexico, 2023
Amber miners resting outside the tunnel after a morning’s work.
They dig using the same basic tools as have been seen for centuries here - sledgehammers, pick axes and metal spikes - and eat nothing through the working day, sustaining themselves with pozol (a maize drink).
The first two images are of Facundo, a fifteen year old miner who’s worked in the tunnels for the last three years. He wears wrist wraps to wipe sweat from his face in the sweltering tunnel.
The third picture is of Sefarino, his father, who brought him into the mine and who still digs the same tunnel as his son.
Shot on @intrepidcamera 4x5 and @ilfordphoto HP5
#largeformatphotography#largeformat#documentary#35mm#4x5#4x5photography#intrepid#documentaryphotography
Miners by lamplight // Simojovel, Mexico, 2023
Sometimes extending over half a kilometre into the mountain, these tunnels are pitch dark and extremely hot. They collapse often and many have lost their lives here.
This year I spent time photographing them as part of my work around the amber mining industry of Simojovel, Chiapas.
The risks and difficulties of the tunnels are matched by the resilience and physical power of the miners who go to earn their living there. Some I saw were as young as 12 years old.
These images form part of my series We Wait for the Rain, which follows people searching the earth for buried things.
Images shot on @intrepidcamera 4x5
@ilfordphoto@kodakprofessional#largeformat#largeformatphotography#documentary#documentaryphotography#photoseries#35mm#4x5
