Unique Guanacaste Travel Guide
One of the big
keys to being a successful nature photographer is patience: the light needs to
be correct or the clouds are not in the right place today, for example. Of
course, you still need talent and ideas and good equipment, but without
patience, the end result most times would not look as good. Luciano Capelli has
proven that he is a patient man. Sr. Capelli is one of the four founders of
Papaya Music, Costa Rica’s
premiere recording label. Among his other duties with Papaya, Luciano has
always been at the helm of the Visual Images department. His wife and
co-founder Yazmin Ross handles the written word. Together, they recently
released “Guanacaste – Travel Routes”, a photographic journal of this province,
accompanied with written captions for the photos and introductions to each of
the seven sections.
The images in the
book are stunning. In a recent exclusive interview, Luciano explained to me
that he took approximately five thousand photos over a period of more than two
years as base for the three hundred photos that ultimately made the final cut
into this book. In most cases, Sr. Capelli was using three cameras: a panoramic
120, a panoramic 35mm, and his trusty hand-held digital. The patience needed
for this kind of selection and editing process speaks for itself. It is not
every day that a photographer can catch a school of manta rays leaping out of
the water, as if on cue… He also confided that he used a very high-resolution
printing process that helped produce the incredible results, along with
augmenting his own photos with about fifty others by Pablo Cambornero and
Simone Manzo in addition to the underwater photos of Diego Mejia.
The journey
really began in 2005, when Papaya recorded “Al Pie del Balcón”, a compilation
CD of historic serenades from Guanacaste. Luciano became infatuated with the
landscape of the area, and a new romance began. During the selection process
for the images Luciano would ultimately choose and while Yazmin was writing the
accompanying verbiage, the photos began to fall into distinct categories and a
theme for the book presented itself. The final result is seven chapters: Marine
Routes, Volcano Routes, Pre-Colombian Routes, Routes of Tradition, Ranch Route, Nature Route and
Summertime Route. There is an introductory passage titled “Routes to Get Lost
In”. I’ve never seen such a unique premise and presentation for a book on
travel routes. As always, Yazmin Ross’ descriptions are informative and
instructional, yet easily digestible at the same time. It’s a special writer
with a gift who can be interesting while informing their readers and Ms. Ross
has that gift.
The team has put
together an incredible virtual tour of the making of the book, complete with
video footage by Sr. Capelli, accompanied by another founder of Papaya Music,
Manuel Obregon, with his unmistakable piano work. To enjoy this presentation,
simply go to: http://www.ojalacomunicacion.org/guanacaste/rutas.htm
Once again,
Luciano and Yazmin have demonstrated where their hearts are: the first 2,200
copies have been donated to schools, public libraries and to the Ministries of
Culture and Conservation and other relevant outlets where the book will be
accessible to students, conservationists, and the general public. Playas de las Palmas, Fundación
Natura-Cultura and Banco Nacional backed the project and Capelli and Ross
extend their gratitude to Alessandro del Bello for his contributions to make
their idea a reality.
Luciano is
overflowing with anecdotes that occurred while working on this project. Perhaps
their next book should be “The Making of Rutas de Viaje”. I would read it!
In Tamarindo, Quepos and Nuevo Arenal, this book is
available at Jaime Peligro book shops. Jaimepeligro123@hotmail.com
All comments concerning thhis article are gladly welcomed.
All comments concerning thhis article are gladly welcomed.
