farc-ing in Costa Rica

When the Discovery Channel decided to create a documentary about Tom Hargrove’s epic flight from the hands of the FARC militia in Colombia, they made the smart call and filmed the episode in peaceful Costa Rica. The FARC is a bit of a painful and recent memory for the people of Colombia, and parading a film crew and actors dressed as FARC paramilitary in the jungle would be something like dressing up like Klan members for a shoot in Alabama, simply imprudent and possibly hazardous. The production company Cineflix recreated this epic saga of kidnapping and escape, and brought all of the appropriate props, from the AK-47′s to the militant armbands and  enlisted the director Roger Pike for his brilliant eye with the camera and sense of tension. They also hired me to shoot production stills during the filming.

Roger Pike, Director

Tom’s story is pretty well known. The film “Proof of Life” was loosely based on his saga, and Cineflix was to do it justice with an accurate description of what went down during a year in captivity and his eventual escape.

“In September 1994, I was kidnapped on my way to work when I drove into a roadblock manned by FARC–the Armed Revolutionary Forces of Colombia, or the “narco-guerrillas.” FARC initially demanded a $6 million ransom, and kept me in isolated camps high in the northern Andes Mountains.I spent days locked in a dark cell where I could stand, barely, but couldn`t move around. I spent 2.5 months in chains, and endless days, then months, hoarding scraps of food, building campfires to keep warm, and trying to stay sane. I always harbored an empty hope: that another hostage would be brought in, so I`d have a friend (I learned, after my release, that three other hostages were being held in other parts two of the camps). During 334 days of captivity, I never saw a road, a wheel, a window with glass. I never spoke English, and knew nothing of world events outside the FARC camps.”

-Tom Hargrove

Working as a stills photographer on a set is equal parts boring and amazing.  The crew brought into the Costa Rican jungle a silent generator, enough lighting to ignite a house, a full kitchen, trucks of cameras and gear, a reflector that must have been 5×5 meters, and all of the actors and support crew. The director taught me the best trick for shooting in the jungle- use a polarizer. It cuts the glare off the leaves and makes everything look more lush.

You really have no idea when you watch something on television, how much manpower goes into an hour long program. Watching a kidnapping, even a staged one is eerie, and the actor (the one with the gun on the top of the page) was a brilliant and chill Tico guy that morphed into a raging psychopath as soon as the scene began.

Having hiked in the Colombian jungle for a week a couple of years ago ( another story ) I can understand completely the impossibility of survival there. It is a harsh and formidable place where creation seems unfinished and barbaric. For Tom to manage a year of the deep Colombian jungle in hostile captivity is a testament to human survival through pure will.

The shoot was a blast and I gained a lot of respect for the men and women of the film industry, they really work hard and theirs is a labor of love.

Ferenc and István Ivanics in Costa Rica

Ferenc and István Ivanics walk the Earth like Cain from Kung Fu (but without the violence), and three years into their epic 6 year 9000 mile journey they drifted into Costa Rica. I spotted them while I was driving in Villareal and almost wrecked my car rubbernecking, trying to figure out if they were missionaries from a strange cult that tracked UFO’s into the jungle or perhaps something more sinister and bizarre. These are a couple of guys that really stand out, tall, with matching clothes, ZZ- Top beards and homemade digeradoos – and even in an odd place like Tamarindo they definately do not look like our run of the mill tourists or dropout freaks. The next day I approached them on the street and asked them what they were up to. It turns out that they are really warm and funny guys from Hungary that feel compelled to walk, and learn about humanity, life,  and cultures from the road on a mission of peace.  They told me about camping in a desert in Africa that consisted entirely of snail shells as far as the eyes can see, and asked if I knew a local Hungarian woman named Kata. Their blog is a blast, and should definitely be checked out for the humor and open candor about such diverse topics as diarrhea from a three meal a day diet of tacos, random drunken Mexican gunplay, sleeping in a vegetarian insane asylum with the patients, and banking Catch 22′s in Europe. They were booted from Honduras for public begging, and thought to be terrorists by some local Mexicans, although it turns out that looking like a terrorist is better than being a Gringo in parts of rural Mexico. They manage to do this journey with no money (an impressive accomplishment), and they always seem to need new shoes.  I talked them into letting me photograph them in the streets of Tamarindo, and sitting on a broken Jeep next to the beach (irony). When a photographer like me encounters subjects as compelling as these guys, the camera must get involved no matter what, it is just how I interface with the world.

Check out their blog here: http://www.worldwalk-peacetour.blogspot.com/

If any publication wants to do a story on them and needs some decent photos, I will be more than happy to provide high resolution copies for free, whatever helps them on their mission.

When the Ivanics brothers come to your town, give them a place to stay, some food, money, whatever they need and whatever you can spare. Sometimes it seems that with the conquering of space and the climbing of the highest mountains being commonplace these days that there is nothing left to explore, no adventure untapped. Think again. Strip away the transportation of the modern world, regular money, jobs, food, and walk for a few thousand miles with only your wit, balls, and a belief in the decency of humanity, and you will find real adventure. I am happy to have met the brothers Ivanic, thrilled to have photographed them, and envious that I can’t do the same thing. I just can’t imagine what life would be like after such a trip. What can possibly follow that?  Accounting?  Factory work? An office? I think not.  I hope that they become teachers or write a bestselling book.

Good luck Ferenc and István. See you on the other side.

-Sean

Camera: D3 shot RAW

Lens: Zeiss 100mm Zf.2 and Sigma 15-30

Lighting: Broncolor Mobil, Pulso Head & P45 Reflector

On the street in Tamarindo

Relaxing on an abandoned Jeep on the beach

Backpacks in 2 languages

]]> http://seandavisphotographic.com/blog/world-walk-peace-tour/feed/ 2 http://seandavisphotographic.com/blog/fisheye-life-portrait/ http://seandavisphotographic.com/blog/fisheye-life-portrait/#comments Thu, 17 Dec 2009 03:40:55 +0000 admin http://seandavisphotographic.com/blog/?p=403

A young campesina girl studies English with a coloring book at her simple home in Costa Rica. The house, considered old at about 50 years, is a simple wooden structure without windows and with garden fence covering as room dividers. The photo is composed in the style of Emmit Gowin series that was shot in the early ’70s depicting home life in Danville Virginia that he shot with an 8×10 camera with a 4×5 lens that gave a strong fisheye effect. Lighting was natural for this photograph, and the girl was unaware that I was shooting her as the camera was pointed in the center of the room. She looks so calm, and it is easy to imagine her in any setting no matter how modern or urban. The house is located very far off the beaten path on a mountain near Playa Negra, and the family commutes primarily on horseback. These people are truly the salt of the earth, and possess a morality and simplicity that is graceful and lacking in our modern connected world. Studying English is the best way for her to insure a prosperous future with the strong demands of multicultural tourism just miles away. That being said, the photo depicts a subject and setting that is universal, despite the simple and impoverished surroundings.