Photographing Peru's Sacred Valley

Liz Huston captured the ruins and residents of one of the world's most transcendent regions with the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Images by Liz Huston

Photographer Liz Huston traveled to the region for two weeks around Peru's winter solstice, capturing everything from the vibrant Pisac marketplace and ancient grain storage houses of Ollantaytambo to the Maras salt mines and awe-inspiring relics of Machu Picchu itself. "It was perfect weather down there - I think I wore a sweater once," she says. "Between the people and places I saw, it was a truly amazing experience."

Accompanying Liz on her trip was the Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens. "This lens was on my camera nonstop," she says. "That F/2.8 maximum aperture was great, especially when I visited some of the ancient caves - I was able to handhold at 1/10th of a second and get really nice shots. The Vibration Compensation feature also helped ensure my images came out sharp and crisp. I was trying to travel light and not have to set up a tripod every second."

Two recommendations Liz offers to travelers who may be planning a Peruvian trip: Pack light and bring a polarizer. "Bring as little gear as you can," she says. "You're basically out there from sunrise to sunset checking out the sights. I brought two camera bodies, and I really didn't need to. The 24-70 allowed me to get most of the images I wanted to get. As for the polarizer, that was the one thing I didn't bring and wished I had. I was at an elevation of 12,000 feet or so for much of the trip, and the shadows were so harsh and the sun so hot at that altitude that a polarizer would have made it so I didn't have to choose between capturing the shadows or the details."

Liz tried to capture some of the most well-known ruins and landmarks on her trip during the most photographically appealing times of day. "I had looked at how other people had shot Machu Picchu before, the vacation-type angles that you'll see most people do in the middle of the day," she says. "I deliberately wanted to try something different. I went before sunrise and waited for the sun to come out. Machu Picchu is situated facing east, so when the sun came up, the whole area was just bathed in this gorgeous light."

On the hills surrounding Ollantaytambo, the Inca built grain storage houses in the high altitude, where the wind and lower temperatures would protect the product against decay. Liz waited till right before sunset to make her hike up to capture these houses. "What you're shooting is often so dependent on the light and what direction it's coming from," she says. "The light hitting these storehouses at that time of day was amazing. That vibrant, beautiful color saturation I was able to get is pretty much how it was in-camera."

Using the natural lines and curves of the landscape and ancient villages allows you to show a more dynamic representation of the places in front of your lens. "When I hiked up to look down over Pisac, I was struck by all the movement I saw in the spirals of the valley and the shadows and the clouds," Liz says. "The 24-70 was terrific for getting those type of images. If I didn't have that wide-angle capability, I wouldn't have been able to show everything I saw in those moments."

The mile-long route leading up to Inti Punku (or Sun Gate), an archaeological site that overlooks Machu Picchu, gave Liz even more of a chance to exercise her compositional skills. By using the steps to lead the viewer up the trail with her, she was able to compose a literally eye-catching image. "That shot was a moment in time that shows the sense of isolation and potential that lies beyond those steps," she says. "It was a reflection of the journey I was taking, and the viewer comes along with me because his eye is following those steps up."

Because the ruins and landscapes of Peru are so vast, it can help to place an element in the foreground for scale or focus on a more intimate subject - whether it's a flower, a person, or even a curious native creature. "I was near some of the ruins when this llama came up and became friends with me," Liz says. "We were hanging out for about 15 minutes, just getting to know each other, before I decided to take this picture. I shot it at F/2.8 to really blur out the background and focus on the llama, but you can still get a sense of what's going on behind it. It was a beautiful moment to capture - and the llama wasn't afraid at all!"

When incorporating people into her pictures, Liz always made sure to present a small offering to thank them for their time and generosity. "We spent a lot of time with the shamans from the Q'ero Nation, a people who consider themselves the last descendants of the Inca," she says. "They were such a kind, humble, gracious people. What I like to do is always offer a gift, whether it's something I'd made or something small I'd bought before the trip and wrapped up, like a little chocolate. One of the elders I spent a lot of time with was in her 90s. Because I was taking so many pictures of her and her husband, I served as her pack mule and carried her bags for her everywhere!"

When it was time to actually take the pictures, Liz made sure her camera angle was complimentary to her subjects. "They're a petite people, but their personalities are so big and generous, and their hearts really open, so I never took their picture by looking down at them," she explains. "The orientation of your camera tells the story and conveys a certain emotion. I felt such respect for these people that I either shot them straight on or looking up at them. I wanted to hold them in a place of high esteem that way."

Taking environmental pictures of the Peruvian residents in their day-to-day activities was one of the best ways Liz was able to capture a sense of place and personality. "In Chinchero, I was able to get some great environmental shots of the village women weaving textiles, which is what they're known for," she says. "Each of these women has an important job to do in creating these products: There's the woman who shaves the alpaca, the woman who gathers the berries for the dyes, the older women who make the fur into thread and do the actual weaving. It's fascinating to see the places they hold in their culture and to document that to tell a story."

To see more of Liz Huston's work, go to www.photomonium.net.