Blog — Andy Mumford Photography

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ALTIPLANO PART 1: SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

ALTIPLANO PART 1: SAN PEDRO DE ATACAMA

It's been about two months now since we returned from South America, and our trip across the Altiplano from San Pedro de Atacama in northern Chile to Lake Titicaca in Bolivia. As I wrote in my previous blog about the trip, it's a place I've wanted to see for about as long as I've been interested in photography. It's a genuinely remote and extreme part of the planet with landscapes that look like they belong on Mars rather than our own green and blue planet.

We flew to Santiago de Chile via Madrid, one of the longest single flights I've ever done. Not only do you cross the Atlantic Ocean, but also the whole of the south American continent and move from the northern hemisphere to the south. We flew overnight, arriving in Santiago early in the morning and caught the bus to the centre of the city. It's always said that Santiago is South America's most European city, and although I can see why people say that, to us it really didn't feel particularly European. It's incredibly wide streets have all the signs of a city that was built for cars like most of the cities I've seen in both North and South America. Still, we'd decided to stay for a night, and soon found our room in the Lastarria district. We spent the afternoon wandering around the city, trying the food and enjoying the atmosphere before having a great meal in the evening.

Altiplano, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordNovember 14, 2014atacama, altiplano, san pedro de atacama, lascar, chile, boliviaComment

HEADING TO THE ALTIPLANO

HEADING TO THE ALTIPLANO

On Sunday we're going to the airport to head off on another adventure. This time we'll be flying to Santiago do Chile, before heading to Calama in northern Chile and then on to San Pedro de Atacama, our base for the beginning of a trip across the Altiplano which will take us all the way to Lake Titicaka

This trip has been on the agenda for a long time now, I can well remember sitting in a bookshop in Brazil after we'd just left the Amazon about 7 years ago, reading the Footprint Guide to Bolivia and trying to find out information on crossing the Altiplano from San Pedro de Atacama to the Salar de Uyuni. Since then, I've kept returning to the document on my computer with an outline of a dream itinerary for this trip and researched the area a little more, and then finally last summer we took the plunge and decided to make serious plans to actually do it.

Altiplano, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordAugust 9, 2014bolivia, chile, altiplano, uyuniComment

MYANMAR PART 7: NGAPALI

MYANMAR PART 7: NGAPALI

Ngapali, in Burma's Rhakine state on the west coast of the country, was our last stop on our trip around Burma. We'd chosen it because we thought that after 2 weeks of traveling around Burma (as well as Bangkok) it would be great to just unwind on a beach next to the ocean for a few days.

It wasn't just about doing nothing though. We'd chosen accommodation at the very southern end of the long beach right next to a local village, giving me the opportunity to photograph the fishermen and villagers bringing the fish in at sunrise and sunset.

The flight in, on perhaps the smallest plane we went on throughout the trip, took us over huge swathes of the forest of Rhakine state. It's a fascinating, but troubled part of the country which has seen conflicts between the state army and local separatists who've disputed this area for years. The area is also home to one of the largest undisturbed forests in south east Asia, which runs for almost a thousand kilometers to the border with Bangladesh in the north.

Burma, Travel, Street PhotographyAndy MumfordJune 12, 2014ngapali, burma, myanmar, rhakine, south east asia, GyeiktawComment

MYANMAR PART 6: BAGAN

MYANMAR PART 6: BAGAN

After spending three hours at dawn on the top terrace of Shwesandaw pagoda we were hungry and ready for breakfast.
The terrace had been packed for sunrise, but immediately after the sun came up a lot of people had disappeared and it was easier to move around and take in the views across the plain in different directions. By the time we left some local kids had come to the top of the temple and were hustling the tourists, selling postcards and posing for photos

We saw more kids hustling in Bagan than anywhere else in Burma, which isn't surprising really as it's one of Burma's most popular and long established tourist attractions. On leaving the hotel after breakfast to explore the temples a young girl immediately approached us and after (very sweetly) asking us if we'd like to buy some postcards, proceeded to pull a brand new Penguin paperback of Orwell's Burmese Days from her dress and ask us if we'd like to buy it. She said it was "very good" and I asked her if she'd read it, to which she smiled in a kind of you-know-I'm-not-being-strictly-honest kind of way and said "Yes, of course. It's very good."
In all the time we were in Burma we never found these encounters tiresome or awkward. The kids were always polite and not particularly persistent, and it never felt like a pressure, but at the same time it is sad that the kids don't go to school because they can make money selling to tourists.

Burma, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordApril 24, 2014burma, myanmar, bagan, shwedagon, pythanda, temples, buddhismComment

MYANMAR PART 5: SUNRISE AT BAGAN

MYANMAR PART 5: SUNRISE AT BAGAN

Back when we first started looking into this trip, when we'd decided to go to Asia but weren't sure which country yet, the more I looked at Burma and saw places like Golden Rock and Inle, the more I wanted to go there. However, it was seeing photos of Bagan and reading descriptions of the vast plain covered with thousands of ancient temples that really made us decide "We have to see this place!"

Because of the route we'd chosen to travel around Burma Bagan was one of the last places on our itinerary, and despite all the amazing places we'd seen before there'd always been a sense of anticipation about finally getting to Bagan.
As it turned out, our plane landed at night and driving from the airport to our hotel in Old Bagan we couldn't really see much, just the odd tantalizing glimpse of a couple of large illuminated temples between the trees.

Burma, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordApril 16, 2014burma, myanmar, bagan, shwesandaw, pagodos, temples, telephoto landscapes, mist, dawn, sunriseComment

MYANMAR PART 4: MANDALAY

MYANMAR PART 4: MANDALAY

Mandalay.

The name itself evokes images of exotic places, far away lands. It's one of those magical names like Sahara, Amazon and Himalaya, which when I was growing up seemed to belong to places so distant and foreign and alien that they couldn't really exist.

Of course, as I got older, and as my fascination with travel got stronger and deeper, I realized that these places are all real and that with a little will power and dedication it was perfectly possible to actually go there and see them. Even so, Mandalay is a place name that everyone knows (thanks mostly to Kipling's poem, Road To Mandalay but I knew very little about. As I researched it for the trip, I began to realize more and more that it would be a fascinating place to spend some time, the spiritual heart of Burma, more monks and nuns as a ratio of the population than anywhere else in the country, three former capital cities in Mandalay, Amarapura and Inwe (two suburbs/towns to the south) and a city with a huge amount of traditional craft and trade.

MYANMAR PART 3: LAKE INLE

MYANMAR PART 3: LAKE INLE

After leaving Yangon, we flew to Lake Inle in the highlands of Shan State. It was one of those places that when I was researching Burma, couldn't believe really existed. A huge lake populated with floating villages, entire communities living on the lake, it looked amazing. Of course, there are already plenty of photographs of the lake, and in particular, the fishermen who make their living there with their distinctive style of paddling with one leg, but I hadn't really seen much photography that gave me a clear impression of the different communities that lived there.

We arrived on a small plane from Yangon in late afternoon. Internal flights in Burma really are an experience, your luggage is wheeled onto the the plane in a small cart, and then on arrival at your destination, it's wheeled into the arrivals hall and pretty much dumped on the floor. Getting your luggage can be a bit of a free-for-all, and this was our first experience of it. By the time we left Burma, we'd made 4 more internal flights and were pretty much used to it.

Burma, Travel, Street PhotographyAndy MumfordFebruary 24, 2014burma, myanmar, boats, inle, lake inle, fishermen, shan state, nampanComment

MYANMAR PART 2: GOLDEN ROCK

MYANMAR PART 2: GOLDEN ROCK

Golden Rock on the top of Mount Kyaiktiyo was a place in Burma I was determined to get to as soon as we decided to go to Burma. I'd seen Steve McCurry's photo of it years before and it just fascinated me, and even though it was pretty awkward to get there with the limited time we had in Yangon, I thought it would be worth it.

Of course, to see it at it's best you have to be there for sunset and sunrise, and that means staying overnight at the top, which proved to be easier said than done. There are a couple of small hotels next to the temple site, but before going we'd pretty much exhausted every means we had of booking a room. We couldn't contact them at all via the telephone numbers and email addresses we had for them, but eventually a local travel agent (who we'd originally got in touch with to arrange internal flights) managed to arrange a room for us.

Burma, Street Photography, TravelAndy MumfordFebruary 4, 2014burma, myanmar, golden rock, bago, kyaiktiyo, mountains, kinpun, yangon, monksComment

MYANMAR PART 1: YANGON

MYANMAR PART 1: YANGON

We'd been planning the trip to Burma for almost a year, and during that time had looked at hundreds of photos of different parts of the country as we attempted to plan out an itinerary, but nothing could have prepared us for the reality of the country. By the time we left, we were both convinced that it was without a doubt the most beautiful country we'd ever seen, populated by the warmest, most graceful people we'd ever met.

Our first view of the country was from the plane as we flew in from Bangkok. Looking down, the country seemed incredibly rural, full of fields and woods, and every few kilometers, scattered with golden temples. The stupas, covered with gold leaf, are dotted everywhere throughout the landscape, and they were to be a repeated motif throughout our journey across Burma. The place is deeply religious, and in one of the poorest countries in South East Asia, the people still dedicate so much of their time and meagre wealth to building and maintaining the temples.

Burma, Street Photography, TravelAndy MumfordJanuary 14, 2014burma, myanmar, yangon, daw nana sari, monastery, nuns, monks buddhism, shwedagon, chaukhatgyiComment

BANGKOK

BANGKOK

We've just returned from our trip to Burma. What an amazing place it is!
I've never been to a place which not only lived up to expectations, but consistently exceeded them. A beautiful country with a wonderful people, we had so many fantastic experiences there and the trip left us feeling richer and sad to have to leave.

There will be plenty more blog posts to come as I sort through the images and try to combine them into coherent photo essays that communicate the essence of each place we visited, but first up is Bangkok. If you're flying into Burma from Europe, Bangkok is by far the easiest connecting point, and we decided to spend a night here getting over jet lag from the long flight east before making the small hop to Yangon.

Street Photography, TravelAndy MumfordJanuary 6, 2014bangkok, thailand, travel, street photography, tuk tuk, panningComment

TRAVELLING TO MYANMAR

TRAVELLING TO MYANMAR

There's something about traveling that just inspires photography. It's wrapped up with the excitement of exploring new places and the sense of being on an adventure. Returning to familiar locations is a good way of honing technique, but for me it's the thrill of encountering new places that really gets my creative juices flowing.

So tomorrow I'm off to Burma for 2 weeks, and I'm really excited. Excited to be experiencing a new culture and excited to be seeing some amazing new places.
Why Burma? Well, lots of reasons really.
First of all, I wanted to go somewhere that wasn't just about landscapes. My last trip to Iceland was fun, and I enjoyed shooting the amazing landscapes there, but when I compared it to trips to places like Morocco, it seemed a little...I don't know, unsatisfying.
I realized that the reason was that I'd really missed street photography, capturing images of people and immersing myself in the culture. That's why I fell in love with traveling in the first place.

Burma, Street Photography, TravelAndy MumfordDecember 16, 2013burma, myanmarComment

ICELAND PART 4: THE WESTFJORDS

ICELAND PART 4: THE WESTFJORDS

The final leg of our trip around Iceland was to the Westfjords. When you look at a road map, you can see why it's a part of the country that a lot of people miss out. The road hits the coast, going around each and every fjord, making driving to the main towns there a long and torturous journey.

It's a journey worth making though as the landscape there is stunning. Despite the fact that for the whole of the journey, the weather was absolutely dreadful, just driving rain and grey clouds hanging so low over the fjords that it was impossible to see the other side, the fjords have an ethereal peace and grandeur that takes your breath away.

Travel, Landscapes, icelandAndy MumfordDecember 13, 2012isafjordur, iceland, westfjords, dynjandi, arnafjordur, dyrafjordur, fjords, sunset, overcastComment

ICELAND PART 3: THE NORTH

ICELAND PART 3: THE NORTH

The drive from the south east to the north was epic. From the east fjords across the dark volcanic Jokuldalsheidi plains. The weather and light was constantly changing, from overcast clouds, to heavy rain, then snow followed by sunshine, and then rain again.

The landscape was stunning, and like eastern Iceland, I wished we'd planned time to be able to stay here and shoot it. As it was, the photos taken in the middle of the day will have to suffice from this trip, but it's certainly an incredibly beautiful area that I'd love to return to one day.

iceland, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordNovember 25, 2012iceland, detifoss, godafoss, waterfalls, husavik, whalesComment

ICELAND PART 2: THE SOUTH EAST

ICELAND PART 2: THE SOUTH EAST

After leaving the highlands, we headed west across the southern coast of Iceland. The landscape continued to be amazing as we reached the beginning of the Skeidararjokull glacier, the 20km sweep of ice from the vast Vatnajokul glacier that descends almost to the road.

It's a breathtaking view, which continues to the left of the car for pretty much the entire time that you drive east across the south south eastern part of Iceland. The plains of the Skeidararsandur are a vast flat expanse of grey sand that stretches from a steely grey sea to the south up to the foot of the glacier, broken only by the glacial rivers that run across it carrying water from the Vatnajokul icecap to the ocean.

iceland, Travel, LandscapesAndy MumfordOctober 28, 2012jokulsarlon, hofn, east fjords, iceland, skaftafell, svartifoss, icebergs, vestrahorn, vatnajokulComment

ICELAND PART 1: REYKJAVIK TO FJALLABAK

ICELAND PART 1: REYKJAVIK TO FJALLABAK

Iceland has been on the list of places to visit for a very long time...almost as long as I've been interested in landscape photography.

I guess it first started with seeing Art Wolfe's photographs of icebergs floating in the lagoon at Jokulsarlon, and the cumulative effect of seeing the work of photographers I admire photographing places like Landmannalauger and the waterfalls at Dettifoss. Then, various BBC Natural History documentaries, and it reached a point when it became inevitable that I'd have to visit someday.

iceland, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordOctober 7, 2012iceland, reykjavik, fjallabak, laugavegur, landmannalauger

PENEDA GERES NATIONAL PARK

PENEDA GERES NATIONAL PARK

We've just spent a long weekend in the Peneda Geres national park, in the far north of Portugal. It's a place I've been told about so many times, and have wanted to see for a few years now, and it's also the best place in Portugal for autumn colour.

Having said all that, I didn't regard this as a photography trip. By that I mean, I hadn't spent time researching locations to shoot, partly due to the fact that I'd had no time but mostly because I just wanted to spend three days away with Teresa, relaxing, reading, eating good food and seeing a new part of the country. Besides, the weather forecast was terrible, and I seriously didn't expect that we'd get more than a couple of hours without rain.

Landscapes, Portugal, TravelAndy MumfordDecember 3, 2011portugal, arcos de valdevaz, brufe, germil, geres, landscape, minho, norte, norte de portugal, northern portugal, peneda, PNPG, ponta da barca, serra amerela, serra do soajoComment

MOROCCO PART 3: CHEFCHAOUEN

MOROCCO PART 3: CHEFCHAOUEN

After three days in the Sahara, it was time to head back north to Chefchaouen, a small town in the Rif Mountains, in the north of Morocco. It was going to be a long journey, and we'd decided to break it at the Roman ruins of Volubilis, near the city of Meknes.

Even so, the drive was still a marathon. On our last day in the Sahara we awoke in a berber tent in the middle of the dunes, got up to photograph sunrise, then had the hour long camel ride back to the kasbah we'd used as our base. A quick shower, change and breakfast, then we hit the road back north across the middle Atlas mountains. We'd been so blown away by the changes in scenery on our way down, that we thought it would be a nice idea to film it using the video recorder on the D90. So at various points of the journey, we filmed the passing scenery, towns and people, with the idea that I could edit all the short clips together to make a brief film that shows the changing of the landscape and culture across the length of Morocco. We kept the idea up all the way until the port in Tanger, and at some point when I have time, I'd like to sit down and get to work on cutting it together.

Morocco, Street Photography, TravelAndy MumfordApril 22, 2011chefchaouen, rif mountains, morocco, africa, blue town, street, street shooting, travelComment

MOROCCO PART 2: THE SAHARA

MOROCCO PART 2: THE SAHARA

Fes was fantastic, but when the germ of the idea of coming to Morocco first took root in my head, it was to photograph sand dunes in the Sahara. Looking at the map, it seemed perfectly feasible, over to Morocco, a couple of hours down to Fes, and then it was just another 500 or so kilometers to Erg Chebbi, where the Sahara starts. How hard could it be?

As it turned out, it wasn't particularly difficult, but it was long. Driving 500km in Morocco takes a long time. The roads are generally pretty good, there's not that much traffic on them and contrary to my expectations, people on the roads were cautious and completely unaggressive. It was rare to see someone breaking the speed limit.
No, it takes a long time because what little traffic there is on the road, is generally slow moving trucks, and the road up into the middle Atlas, across the plateau at the top, and then down again on the other side at Errachidia, is often relatively winding
Like the Amazon, it's size and age, and the fact that humans are utterly insignificant in the face of it, barely scratching it's surface, leaves a deep impression

Morocco, Street Photography, Landscapes, TravelAndy MumfordApril 18, 2011africa, travel, street, desert, sunrise, dunes, sahara, landscape, paisagems, moroccoComment

MOROCCO PART 1: FES

MOROCCO PART 1: FES

Well we're back from Morocco. A few thousand kilometers later, the car has collected all kinds of dust and sand, as well as a strange knocking noise which first appeared when driving across the stone desert near Merzouga, but it got us to where we wanted to go, and it got us back again.

It's been a fantastic trip, one that's really pushed us both physically and mentally. Photographically it's been really challenging and a lot of fun as it demanded so many different approaches. From patient tripod vigils in the dunes, to handheld shooting in the low light and narrow confines of the medinas of Fes and Chefchaouen. Portraiture, landscapes, street shooting, panning, architecture, details etc etc...I can't remember a trip where there's been so much variety.

Morocco, Travel, Street PhotographyAndy MumfordApril 17, 2011africa, sahara, morocco, dunes, travel, souks, medina, fes, street shootingComment

HEADING SOUTH TO THE SAHARA

HEADING SOUTH TO THE SAHARA

There are certain places, certain names, that just have a resonance and conjure up all kinds of images in our heads, associations with stories of far away places that we've carried with us all our lives. The Amazon. The Himalayas. Patagonia. The Sahara.
Whilst I'm lucky enough to have spent time in and photographed the Amazon, there are still many other evocative places on my list of trips I want to make, so I'm really excited to be visiting one of those places, one of those names, next week.

We've packed up the car, and tomorrow morning we'll set off on a 3300km round trip to the edge of the Sahara and back. First through Portugal to southern Spain, then across the mouth of the Mediterranean, and into Morocco

Travel, MoroccoAndy MumfordApril 10, 2011Atlas mountains Chefchaouen desert dunes Erg Chebbi Fez marrakech medinas Merzouga Morocco Sahara souks street shooting travel photographyComment