Personalized Souvenirs: Iguazu Fall, 2001
During October 2001, the marvelous Iguazu Falls located between the borders of Argentina, and Brazil experienced a reduction on the number of visitors. This falls are a collection of 260 different falls with a height of more than 269 feet.
During October 2001, the marvelous Iguazu Falls located between the borders of Argentina, and Brazil experienced a reduction on the number of visitors. This falls are a collection of 260 different falls with a height of more than 269 feet. The park protected by UNESCO since 1984 it is always ready to receive tourist. The organizers organize a variety of activities to expand the experience of the visitors within specific sites in the park. One of these activities is the mini boat tours close to the waterfalls, as the most “exciting” activity it creates the perfect individualized souvenir. This tour included a video and photo shooting were your experience was filmed and photographed as a way to remember this experience.
Dan Heller in his Tutorial series “Photographing people on Location” explains different ways to obtain a good snapshot, and photograph including portraits of local people. This is deliver through a filter of specific ways of preventing any future reclaims of the persons being capture, so that the “desire photo” will not be interrupted. In the production of this personalized souvenir of Iguazu Falls the constraints and conflicting parts are presented in the effort and risk that the filmmaker undertakes as he working during this adventure while the tourist are posing for their souvenirs. In other words Heller describes different interaction that must take place when you ask someone to be part of a picture, but when you are paying for a souvenir it become less important the photographer and his struggle to obtain this filmed memory at the Falls.
In this example the person creating the souvenir is physically involve risking his life, while the tourist where having fun he had to deal with his own safety. Would the prices of souvenirs pay the physical investments of the producers? It seems that the importance of a souvenir or a photograph is reduced by the importance consuming a variety of souvenir, as well as the production of photographs. Is it s value as a regular photograph? And even more is it about the experience more than the souvenir? Perhaps it is just my ideal of a lock up back packer.