This post is very serious (I’m not not joking at all). Guatemala is worldwide known as the “Land of eternal spring” and also “the land of beautiful landscapes”.

Here you can find amazing views like as you drive and travel around.

So yes, become a landscape photographer in 3 easy steps.

Trust me on this one (too):

1. Prepare your camera

   ALWAYS take a camera with you while traveling around Guatemala. The best route is to the west where you will find beautiful views anytime.Any camera will do the job. If you look for a special moment like this one, use a camera that allows low light condition pictures (allowing asa 400 to 800) or just bring a tripod.

2. Organize your schedule

   The best time for landscape photography is from 6:00AM to 10:30AM in the morning and from 16:00PM to 18:30PM in the afternoon. Making sure you are at the right time is a key for this kind of pictures. There are scenarios like this all around Guatemala, but yet again, remember, the west route has the better ones visible right from the road.The area close to Quetzaltenango (like 35 minutes before reaching Xela via CA1) has many spots with amazing views. The whole area of Tecpàn as lots of places too. Sololá (the land of Atitlán) has its own share of beautiful spots, speciall from the lookouts around Lake Atitlán.And don’t forget to visit San Marcos (also to the west) where you can find the best (best!!!) landscapes ever!!!. You can visit Huehuetenango too to find some more.

3. Bring somebody with you

   I’m not kidding with this one. Pretty often you will find people having a hard time to believe pictures like this one being taken without any filters. No, this picture is not “photoshopped”. Besides, it is a valuable view to share with somebody.

It is also advisable:

• Always keep the camera close to you so you can capture any special moment, even on the road.
• Avoid parking too close to the road as you might get caught on the moment and make a dangerous mistake of walking backwards as you prepare to shoot your picture.
• Keep your emergency lights on.
• While on the road, try to take advantage of the police spots parking near them, say “hi” and enjoy the safety of being around the cops. They usually choose strategic spots from where you can get a nice picture of several areas (from above).
• Keep your windows closed.
• Pay attention to the road. Pretty often you might find beautiful volcano views that will easily distract you.
• Keep in mind, here in Guate you can shoot pictures like this one right before the night falls down. You will have from 2 to 6 minutes of spectacular light and colors (the peak of the moment).

Don’t believe me? all of the pictures posted on this site have zero filters and zero photoshop. I believe myself and others who have been around this site: many pictures deserve being framed.

Enjoy your travel!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Sharing the pictures. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.