My Chilean Adventure

Circus Circus!!!! Chilean Style

abockchile — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:10:42 +0000

So earlier in the trip I helped Amanda and Adam with a clown/circus/mime story. It was pretty cool and here are some shots from that. Plus an architecture shot from earlier that day.

Enjoy.

Sunsets!

abockchile — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:45:28 +0000

I haven’t seen prettier sunsets anywhere. They are incredible!!! Here are a few that I’ve documented.

Let me know what you think.

love- Austin

A sunset over Valparaiso, Chile.

Another Valparaiso sunset.

Sunset in Valparaiso, Chile.

Some Randoms

abockchile — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:19:53 +0000

Hola,

After the midterm I have traveled back to the fishing village of Ancud on the island of Chiloe. Everything is going great and everything is so beautiful here. Since I’ve been behind on my posting I’m catching up now. Soooooooo……. with that said, these are some fun shots that I really like that don’t have anything to do with one another.

Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Ciao ciao – Austin

Some Hanging Beads

A stray beagle from Valparaiso.

Little girls playing in front of their home.

Light switch with ray of light on it.

A sculpture in Santiago, Chile.

Stadium seating in sunlight and shadows in Santiago, Chile.

Just Wow

abockchile — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 07:34:18 +0000

I know I’ve been slacking but tomorrow I’ve got some major time. Here’s where I am right now!

-Austin

I’m Back

abockchile — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 04:38:19 +0000

Sorry Everyone,

It’s been a few days since I’ve been able to post due to poor internet access, which shows me that I’m definitely not in the US of A anymore. Oh well, I must march on I suspect, so on we go!

I left Valparaiso on Tuesday, November 3, but not before a few more memorable events! I started working on a mini-series that I like to call light and color. I’m only putting two photos up, but don’t worry…. there is much more to come. On Monday, November 2, I was exploring with Adam and Jason, and we were down at the harbor and we noticed a fairly large group of people gathering around an area of the dock. There were TV crews and newspaper photographers there, so we went over to check out what was going on, being journalists and all, and we unfortunately found out that a woman had drowned in the harbor, and the Chilean Coast Guard was bringing the body back to shore. There was “do-not-cross” tape strung across a gated area that had the Chilean Navy’s “seal” on it, but we disregarded that and crossed anyway, and just acted like we were supposed to be there, and funny enough, no one said anything to us. The Coast Guard brought the lady back to shore, and we shot the “spot news” portion, but then we started talking to the Coast Guard personal and they invited us aboard their vessel!!!! They also said that we could go out on patrol with them if we wanted to.

Another thing that happened was…. the day that I left Valparaiso, a protest took place in the morning, so I shot some photos, but mostly recorded audio. (sound bites to come) It was the first protest I have ever shot, and I loved it!!! The energy and pace was intense and challenging and I loved every minute of it!

Well enough from me, I hope you enjoy what I have to show you today, and again….. there is much more to come very soon!

Ciao!!!

Lights spills into a dark market corridor.

A selection of house fronts in Valparaiso, Chile.

Meeting People and Places

abockchile — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 06:21:35 +0000

So I’ve been in Valparaiso, Chile for three days now and have already had incredible experiences! WOW!!! This city is much, much more than I expected. I thought it was going to be much smaller than it is, but it’s gigantic. The culture here is so eclectic. I’ve eaten some great food…… heart stopping food yes… but great none the less (photo included) On Thursday, October 29, I had my first conversations, and by conversations I mean these wonderful women talked to Amanda, Emma, Terra, and I, completely in Spanish, and I tried my best to comprehend what they were saying and respond in a somewhat linguistic manner, however I would categorize that as a major fail. Oh well we moved on and then met a group of children who were playing handball in the streets. The four of us started out there, but then Emma and Amanda went back to the hostel and Terra and I stayed and hung out with them for almost two hours. By the time we left it was dark. About halfway through the time spent with them, the started playing soccer. The passion that these kids have for soccer was almost overwhelming. They really loved what they were doing, and they were playing on the street using and beat up ball and a section of wall for their goal, but they didn’t care. They loved what they were doing.

If I am able to put even half of the passion and love they hold for soccer into this project, I know that it will be a success. I love what I’m doing here and have some great ideas for future posts, so keep coming back for more of my adventure! Thanks for reading.

The Valparaiso Harbor

Soccer in the streets.

Beat up soccer ball.

And the Adventure Begins!

abockchile — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:19:39 +0000

Hello all,

For those who don’t know…… I am a journalism student at Brooks Institute in Ventura, CA, and recently (well 6 months ago) I applied to be a part of a documentary program with my school, and I was accepted! The program covers a 1 year documentary project on Chile consisting of pre production (finding stories), traveling to Chile and covering those stories, and post production (editing the documentary). The final product from this project will include a coffee table book of beautiful images about the people and culture of Chile and a DVD of the final multimedia documentary piece. But enough about that.

Our group left the states on Tuesday, October 27 at 1pm from LAX en-route for Chile, and along the way I recorded what I saw. After about nine hours airborn, we landed in Lima, Peru where I tasted some local culture. We arrived in Santiago, Chile at 6:45 the next morning Wednesday, October 28.

Closing thoughts……. Clouds are my friends and reflections inspire.

Leaving Los Angeles

The screens in the back of our seats on LAN.

Me and Drea at Lima, Peru International Airport.

I tasted some local brew in Lima. Mmmmmmm.

Clouds in the sky above Santiago.

A self portrait in the window of our bus to Valparaiso.