Defying the Sand Thieves or How Not to Get Robbed Photographing on Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A composite of images of Maisa Soares Silva modeling on Copacabana & Ipanema Beach
 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo: copyright Jerome Shaw / http://www.JeromeShaw.com

A photo composite of some of my favorite images of Maisa on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. She is a very natural model as well as a lovely person. The background image is of the sunrise in a grove of palm trees just off the boardwalk in the center of Copacabana Beach.

But for the personal relationship we made with one of the beach chair and umbrella vendors this photo shoot might not have turned out so well.  As I was making these photographs early one morning I heard Gustavo calling out to me from yards down the beach – he was excitedly waving his arms and gesturing.  I thought it a bit odd that he was so friendly at that time of the morning. He surely knew we were not in the market for beach chairs and beer.  I put down to him being friendly and went on photographing.

Maisa Soares Silva on Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro,
 Brazil. Photo: copyright Jerome Shaw / http://www.JeromeShaw.com

It was not until some time later when we were in the market for beach chairs that the full scope of the event became apparent to me. Gustavo had spied a group of well known (well known at least to him) “sand thieves” that work Copacabana beach robbing tourists of their possessions. He called out to us not so much to wish us a good morning as to alert the “sand thieves” that we were one of his friends/customers and that he was watching and watching out for us. Unbeknownst to us we were under his protective custody while we were on ‘his’ beach.

All I can say is – it pays to make friends when you are traveling.  I make it a priority to find a coffee shop, a bar, a restaurant, and in this case a beach chair guy when I get to new destination.  For the most part I just like developing a familiar place in the midst of so many unfamiliar surroundings.  It is nice to see a smile of recognition when you walk into the bakery each morning to buy your coconut bread or in the corner shop when the clerk helps you with the word for pasts (massa) because he remembered that the last time you were in you couldn’t remember it either.

In this case developing a go to guy on the beach helped me keep my camera equipment.


These photos was taken with Nikon F100 & FG film cameras using Nikkor lenses from 20mm to 400mm. The film used for this image is Fujicolor Superia 200, the exposures vary. The photos were taken in early morning light.

Inti Raymi Fireworks Celebration - Urabamba, Peru

Celebrating the winter solstice during the Incan festival of Inti Raymi in the village of Urubamba, Peru.
Photograph by Jerome Shaw

Fireworks Urabamba, Peru

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This was one of the wildest scenes I have ever encountered in all my travels. I was in this small village along the Urabamba River in Peru and as part of the Inti Raymi celebration (Winter Solstice/Return of the Sun) the town had a fireworks display. There was a log tower built in the center of the square,  Attached to the tower were all types of fireworks.

The crowd gathered as dusk fell. I found my position on a rock wall, well back from the display but high enough to get a good view. I had hired a minder to keep an eye on things for me while I concentrated on setting up the photo. He was none to happy to have me up on the wall with several other locals as he was certain my equipment would begin to disappear into the crowd and there would be very little we could do about it.

Though, the real danger was to come from another source. Prior to the lighting of the tower of fireworks you see in these photos there were numerous smaller displays. One of the highlights was men dressed in papier mache horse heads and fore flanks that danced around in the square. The hooves of the horses fired roman candle shells out at random intervals as they ran and pranced in the center of the square.

What a wild scene it was in the village of Urubamba, Peru. We were celebrating the winter solstice during the Incan festival of Inti Raymi. You'd never get insurance for a fireworks display like this in the United States.   Photograph by Jerome Shaw

As I photographed,  the horse men continues to strut around the square. Then a shell fired out in my general direction. The fiery missile hit a man in the chest several yards down the wall from me, knocking him off the wall down to the ground. His friends jumped down patted out the fire on his chest, dusted him off and hoisted him back up on the wall, all the while laughing. His friends joked and gave him many congratulatory pats on the back. He had become a celebrity and even though his shirt still smoldered from the roman candle strike that knocked him from his perch, he seemed to be enjoying his new found celebrity.

All the while I watch I was thinking you'll never see this kind of fireworks display in the United States. You'd never get insured.

These images are copyrighted and may not be used, re-posted or reproduced without direct written permission. For usage information please contact jeromeshaw17@msn.com

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Inti Raymi Fireworks Celebration - Urabamba, Peru