‘Love and Cartagena’ for The New York Times
I’ve always dreamed of becoming a jet-setting travel photographer commissioned to explore the world displaying my work in publications and galleries. And every-so-often the stars line up and I brush up against that dream. My most recent example starts with a little hustle and luck.
I was on the phone with my awesome photo editor over at the New York Times Travel desk soon after the earthquake in Chile. A separate client of mine had just reached out and was in need of a photographer in Chile to take a portrait and he’d love if he could hire me, but unfortunately his budget couldn’t cover the costs of physically getting me there (the pricey plane tickets, hotels, etc.), which is understandable considering the distance.
Thinking I might be able to kill two birds with one stone, I called the NY Times to see if they happened to need anything shot in the Chile, which would enable me to get down south. She took a look at her planner and informed me that there was nothing in South America slated for publication anytime in the near future, except for a few assignments in Colombia.
“I’ll take it!” I said, which resulted in laughter from both of us…then a bit of silence… “No, seriously…” I encouraged.
After chatting a while longer, I was able to arrange the timeline and budget to make it work and I was tasked with two separate assignments in Colombia slated to be shot April 5-11.
The first assignment I shot was Bogotá 36 Hours, a weekly Travel column that gives travelers ideas of places to see during a quick visit to random destination cities around the world. I recently shot one of those in Palm Beach, Fla. But, I’ll talk more about that one after the NY Times publishes the article….
After bouncing around Bogotá three days shooting my first assignment, I hopped an hour-long flight to the coastal Caribbean city of Cartagena. Cartagena’s Old City is completely surrounded with a mammoth cannon-studded fortress wall and a massive castle that once protected the Spanish port city from English pirate attacks in the mid-1600s.
My job was to illustrate a story about famed author Gabriel García Márquez who wrote many fictional novels, one of which won him a Nobel Prize. Nearly all of his novels took place in a cities heavily inspired by Cartagena, a city in which Márquez still lives. Cartagena is a truly beautiful city, has stunning architecture, vibrant colors, amazing people, and stellar flavors…a place certainly pleasing to all of the senses.
I must admit my favorite stop, though ever-so-short was to the Basurto Market that was mentioned in the article…it was a complete contrast to the tourist vibe in the old city and was a winding path of stalls that sold produce, meats, fish, grain, food, booze, and more.
I was fortunate to have a wonderful fixer, Dayro Reyes, who helped me along the way arranging transportation and my entire schedule so I’d be able to get to all the places mentioned in both articles. I tip my hat to you, Dayro. Thank you.
I had a total of 35 hours on the ground in Cartagena before I had to catch a red-eye flight back to Bogotá and sleep overnight in the airport to catch my early AM flight back to NYC.
What a great trip. I hope you enjoy my pictures!
Check out the NY Times story ‘Love and Cartagena‘ as written by Anand Giridharadas.
You can see more photos of Cartagena in my archives. Below is a slideshow with a much broader take!
Cartagena, Colombia – Images by Robert Caplin
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lovely photos, robert.
any chance you could respond to a question about what kind of gear you take with you on a shoot like this?
2 bodies plus zooms, primes? how do you manage to carry it all?
thx
i’m guessing 24 1.4 and 135 f2 based on metadata.
anything else?
Hi DH,
Yes, I use a range of lenses varying from 24 1.4, 50 1.2, 85 1.2, and the 135 f2. That’s my typical travel kit I keep in a the extra small Domke bag. When I’m on a major assignment like this, i’ll typically shoot with two Canon 5D Mark II bodies and that’s it. In New York I have use the same setup except I typically only walk around with a single body and a 50 1.2 or 24 1.4….and cary the bag if I’m on assignment.
I rarely carry a flash, but I do use strobes and lighting rigs for higher-end portraits. I’m a stickler for natural light, especially with my travel photography.
Warmly,
Robert
Hi Robert,
Great images. I loved hearing the story behind your assignment. What happened in the end with the Chile assignment. My thoughts were that you were trying to get to Chile in addition to Colombia. Did you not get to Chile?
AK,
Nope, Chile trip didn’t happen. I really wish I could’ve made it, but the costs were just too high and I would have wound up far in the red for the trip. I hope to make it someday when I can line a few things up!
I am in love with your photos Robert! I first saw them in the NYTimes article and I just had to find out more about you and then I found this really cool blog here. Great stuff! I plan on being a travel writer someday so if you want to join in on the adventure, then be my guest!
Joseph Chaparro
thanks for answering my question a couple of days ago, robert, much appreciated.
i’m a location photographer, too, and am tired of carrying heavy stuff. those 1.2 lenses weigh a ton — have you considered 50 1.4 ad 85 1.8?
the 135f2 is glorious, though, and i’m tempted to violate my own law and pick up a 24 1.4 to replace a lens i love, the 28 1.8. not an L, of course, but sharp, small, and easy to schlep.
dh
What spectacular photographs. I read the article in the NY Times when it came out, and admired your images. It’s great to be able to see more of your work.
Thank you! I love your story. Found your link on the Frugal Traveler’s Q & A. It works!
Feather
Such great photos are posted here, especially those with the sun dawn at the seashore. Cartagena is amazing and enchants with it’s culture.
wow great imagery… way to take advantage of a unique setting
Nice work!
Really loved the colors and the time you spent on the sea wall. Awesome! Light done right!!
Hi Robert,
I really love these pics of Cartagena. I agree it’s such a beautiful city and I’m lucky enough to be living only one hours drive in Barranquilla. I would love to dig a bit deeper into the city and was wondering if you had the contact details of your fixer Dayro Reyes and does he speak english?
Hope to hear back from you.
Cheers MB
I am Dayro Reyes and was the fixer of Mr. Caplin for his assignments in Colombia (Bogotá and Cartagena). Also I am a Philanthropist, Consultant, Lecturer on Human Rights, Free Trade Agreements, Development and Integration, Education, Corporate Social Responsibility, among others. I work to promote my country and its people. Whoever wants to be in contact with me, please feel free to write to djreyesa@yahoo.com or tweet me to @djreyesa / I would be so glad to assist you whatever you might be interested about Colombia.