December 2020 — El Chaltén, Patagonia, Argentina
By Carolina Del Castillo
I was lucky enough to be born in one of the places, which I recognize, is the most beautiful and wild in the world: Patagonia. To be more specific, a town called El Chaltén. Decades ago and until this day, the inhabitants of El Chaltén are gauchos, travelers, visionaries and climbers, like my father.
I am one of those people who tend to carry an analog camera everywhere. I know that the feel and result of analog is a worthwhile endeavor, regardless of weight, potential frustrations and the patience that it requires. My beloved Nikon FM2 was handed down to me by my father, Alberto. While his dance with analog was over, mine was just beginning. From that moment I first received this camera, I have recorded the most intimate times of my life, the most splendid and the most crazy in Patagonia.
I grew up seeing my father's photos everywhere, and started sifting through his archive just recently. To my surprise, what I thought would be an abysmal difference between his time and mine, was nothing more than a tacit and transparent line.
Year after year the Patagonian fauna and flora remain in constant evolution. I found the same spirit, intact, inherited in both my father’s photos and mine. That curiosity not only to find that comforting place that our hearts yearned for, but also a curiosity to the unknown.
In the light and in the shadow
day and night,
cold and hot.
To life itself
to Patagonia
and beyond.
