“The People & Landscape of Peru” – an exhibition by Dan Hartford at Stevenson House

The People of Peru

In 2013 I made my first trip to South America where I visited Peru. Although my ultimate destination was the famous Inca ruins at Machu Pichu, I also visited many other cities, towns and villages. In these locations I was drawn to the local people and their brightly colored and distinctive clothing. I chose these images as a representative sample that shows the Peruvian people, mostly just being themselves.

The clothing worn by the adults and children in these images were handmade within their family units. In areas such as Peru, each region has a distinctive “style” which is most evident in the type of hat they wear. But beyond that, each extended family also has its own style, colors of choice, and weaving patterns that form the base of all the textiles they make for their own use.

Although I made most of these images in areas where the people shown were in one way or another making money from the booming tourist trade – usually making and selling woven goods – a large percentage of the general population dresses in a similar manner.

In my images, I try to show not only the clothing worn by each individual but also I try to capture something more intimate about the person. What sort of life have they led? What is their mood? What sort of personality do they have? By doing this I hope the viewer of the image gains a sense of connection with the person represented in the photograph.

About the Photographer

Dan began photographing in the early 1970's shooting mostly vacation and family. He got his first SLR in the mid 80's and started to approach photography more as creative art rather than documentation of a vacation. During his development (no pun intended) as a photographer he has honed his aesthetic and technical skills to produce images that talk to him and convey a sense of-the time and place he had when he was there. Of course this process never ends as he continue to discover new ways to look at things and develops new perspectives and techniques on how to capture them in the camera.

Dan’s style is clean and rich. He loves scenes with vibrant colors and rich tones that capture the glory of the subject. While mostly a landscape photographer, he also photographs “people on the street” images that evoke a sense of daily life – or are just too cute to resist.

Most of Dan’s subjects are “as he finds them” and are taken from easily accessible locations. Unlike some photographers he does not tend to trek up mountains, hire private guides or people to carry gear to all those wonderful places. He does take short hikes to get away from crowds and to find different viewpoints and perspectives. Dan says, “It's amazing how little a distance is adequate to find yourself alone on a trail - even in the heart of places like Yosemite and Yellowstone. A ten-minute walk from the parking lot and you have the world to yourself.”

Dan@DanHartfordPhoto.com
www.danhartfordphoto.com

Date and Place

Saturday, August 16th 2014 - 7:30 PM

Stevenson House 455 E. Charleston Road | PaloAlto, CA 94306 | (650) 494-1944 (ample parking is available in the Unitarian Church just east of Stevenson House).

Past Exhibits
Learn about PACC Community Exhibits at Stevenson House.