.April 2024.

Armed with 6 rolls of film - 1 for the city and 5 for the trip - I’d wager one roll shy for Caye Caulker. I believe I made some real progress this month. Capturing some fantastic shots along the way, locked-in some great composition of landscapes and personal moments wandering each town; only sparing a few under exposed images or motion blur due to a shaky hand. Now, it can be argued that much of Guatemala & Belize are easy to shoot. The landscapes and environments are beaming with colour but also dynamic by nature. I ran out of film 8 days into our 12 day journey with one roll saved specifically for Tikal - the CineStill 800T - for cinematic-esque images. [CineStill is Kodak motion-picture film converted for photography]. Which is pretty cool because it creates alternative results as certain hues and colours are more apparent through shadows and often a halation effect from light. You’ll notice green and reds bleed and pop-out depending on the photo. Flores got the better half of my rolls and the CineStill created some awesome shots for Tikal - the temples were once marred in Red, and during our sunrise tour you can see that emulated from the sun. One of my favourite shots, taken shortly after the sunrise was a beautiful green hue radiating off the jungle.

I’ve also come to learn even deeper into the ethos of - lens is more. You must spend a good amount of time in one place - remember to really slow down; take in the surroundings and wait to see what magic will reveal itself; not force a shot. For example, there is a photo below featuring a sign Matador Dance Club, a few moments after I took the shot, a women walked into the frame wearing a zebra print faux-fur coat; I was unprepared and missed the magic - that was the shot. Small example but profound in theory. As per usual, with film (specifically on the trip) there was always a tad of nerves wondering if I captured the shot. The moments were fleeting as essentially these were once-in-a-lifetime moments; whether it be at the falls, the ruins, or some other location. Each month I wait for them to be developed and question myself… what am I even doing?? It is exciting and anxious at the same time, but they came in better than expected and then I am inspired and recall exactly what I’m doing - trust the process.

It was a blast reliving the trip flipping through the physical copies. There is a lot to see below so please take your time. We’ll start with a touch of Toronto, and move through the Journey…

ps.ps.