Featured: 'Streets of La Paz, Bolivia (Life at Altitude)' by Luckypenguin

Luckypenguin

Hall of Famer
Location
Brisbane, Australia
Name
Nic
As part of my travels last year I spent about four days in the Bolivian capital of La Paz which lies in the Andes at an (average) altitude of 3600m ASL. It was a chance to stop for a bit, relax and explore. Well, as relaxing as walking up and down steep streets at that altitude can be. The last time that I travelled overseas like this was to the Middle East in 2010 when I had a Canon 50D DSLR and a little Ricoh CX1 compact, and I had neither the experience nor the ability to try any genuine street photography and capture some of the local life that is a big part of the experience of travel. Additionally I didn't really have the equipment that I felt comfortable using in that role. Moving forwards to 2013 I have a camera like the Olympus E-M5 in which I feel that, with the right lens/es, is perfectly suited to this type of role. The following images were taken mostly with the 25mm f1.4 lens and a few with the 45mm f1.8, and hopefully give you an insight into everyday life in this corner of the world.



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OEM5-P8229212-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8229216-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8229218-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8229220-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239232-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239233-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239234-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239235-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239237-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239238-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239242-P Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239271-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239272-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239276-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239277-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239280-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239283-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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P8239288-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8239290-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249303-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249304-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249307-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249309-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249313-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249320-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249321-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249322-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249330-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249332-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249343-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249347-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249358-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249365-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr



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OEM5-P8249397-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia by Nic (Luckypenguin), on Flickr
 
Great Set, Nic

I would really like to visit S America

Clearly Herbie lives

For me, the B & W ones portray a totally different atmosphere to the vibrant colours
 
I like the photos of the produce sellers in traditional garb. I'm afraid they are the last of the line to wear those clothes. I'd wager if they have children who are also farmers, they wear modern work clothes or something similar.
 
A wonderful set! The one of the old lady selling -- shipping foam I quess -- (OEM5-P8239283-PR Olympus OM-D E-M5 La Paz Bolivia) is my favorite. Really a world class street portrait.
 
stand out shot for me is the bw of the woman at the hat shop (oh, agreeing with picto here, just read his comment)

and also agree with ^ amin. the colors are great!
 
I've been waiting until I could look at them properly on my iMac and not the iPad...... this they definitely deserve! Great selection of photos depicting the mixture of modern and traditional life here. Got to say I love the protest pictures and of course the b & w hat seller :)
 
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