Forget your mates’ Bolivian Uyuni salt flat perspective shots on Facebook. We’ve seen them all, let’s be real. This is the real deal. From now until 12th June the Fototeca Latinoamericana (FoLa) is exhibiting an anthology of photographs by Hiram Bingham, Martín Chambi, Edward Ranney and Javier Silva: Machu Picchu, Incas y Fotógrafos.
Hiram Bingham
North American archaeologist and explorer Hiram Bingham was the first to start the Machu Picchuu snapshot trend when he discovered and exposed it to the outside world in 1911, thus heavily boosting the Peruvian tourism industry — which is the nation’s third largest industry. Bingham discovered the Incan citadel, which was built in the 15th century and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, with the help of local farmers over a century ago and immortalised his finding which was published by National Geographic in April 1913.
Martín Chambi
Chambi — the pioneer of indigenous Latin American photographers and a total babe — was a Peruvian photographer from Puno, in the south of the country. Born into a Quechua-speaking family in 1891, fate led him to the camera which turned him into the country’s photography giant. He was the first to commercialize his work into postcards in Peru. He captured unparalleled portraits and documented his country’s vast heritage like none other with unbeatable technical quality, precision, framing, lighting.
Edward Ranney
Chicago-born Ed Ranney jumped on board the black and white Peruvian landscape-snapping bandwagon a little later down the line. However this doesn’t exempt him from positioning himself as one of the greats when it comes to seizing the perfect image of some of Latin America’s most desired land. He has now been photographing pre-Colombian sites in Peru for half a decade. Armed with a Leica and a Rolleiflex, he went Cuzco 50 years ago on a post-graduate Fulbright fellowship, where he heavily took to photographing the ruins, the people and the landscapes that surrounded him.
Javier Silva
The most recent of the lot, Mr Silva is a Peruvian photographer currently living and working in Lima, considered to be the nation’s leading contemporary photographer. He is best known for his photographs, rich in light and contrast, documenting the spiritual and sacred lifestyle of Peru’s indigenous populations, paradoxically merging the modern and the aboriginal.
Where?
Fototeca Latinoamericana (Godoy Cruz 2620)
When?
Monday to Sunday (closed on Wednesdays) from 12PM to 8PM (until 12th June)
How Much?
General: AR$70
Students: AR$35
Under 12: Free