This is my newborn niece, Layla. I had the privilege of spending a week with her after she was born. All she wanted to do was sleep. I especially liked how her legs seemed spring loaded and always coiled back towards her body in a womb like position. Newborns are fun to photograph, they don’t complain! I hope you enjoy these creative and artistic portraits as much as I do.
I’ve had a lot of really great adventures lately. But this one to the Laguna Miramar was definitely a little taste of paradise.
Swimming in the crystal clear waters of the Laguna Miramar.
I wanted to experience something unique in my adventure to Chiapas so I found the most remote lake in Mexico, the Laguna Miramar. The lake has beautiful crystal clear waters, caves, islands, and it’s surrounded by amazing vegetation. You have to hike an hour and a half through the jungle to get to it. It’s definitely amazing. But it really wasn’t the lake that left the biggest impression on me, it was the journey to the lake that really shaped me. If you don’t want to feel like a tourist, the first thing to do is travel like the locals. So I asked around Ocosingo until I found the only pick up truck that runs to Emiliano Zapata. Fifteen of us piled into the back along with huge bags of oranges and others bags and boxes. The truck bumped and bounced along. A drunk man fell asleep and sprawled out. An elderly lady tried desperately not to fall off the large pile of everyone’s bags as it shifted with all the turns. We wound through beautiful mountain valleys everything as green as can be. As we passed villages the children would stop to look at us. A storm brooded on the horizon and I watched the lighting dancing in the clouds for hours. They told me the trip normally takes six hours, but it took us about ten because the truck broke down twice. I didn’t really mind it so much. The other passengers were fun to talk to and I found the most comfortable seat in the truck—on top! I felt so free with the sky stretched out before me and nothing separating me from the beautiful landscape. It’s definitely not an easy trek, but for the adventurous it will give you an experience you won’t soon forget.
How to get there:
From Ocosingo ask around at the Tianguis Campesino for the trucks for Emiliano Zapata, the closest village to the lake. They normally leave at 9am, 10:30am, noon and 2pm.
Once you are at Emiliano Zapata ask for the Presidente or the Oficina de Turismo, the President or the Tourism Office. They rent cabins, hammocks, mosquito nets, and kayaks. You will have to hire a guide to take you to the lake (about 100 Mexican pesos/day). You can stay in the cabins in Emiliano Zapata or you can camp down by the lake. But shop for groceries in Ocosingo, the few little stores that Emiliano are very scarcely stocked. There’s a fee to enter the lake and/or stay overnight (about 40 pesos).
It's not an easy journey, but it's a good adventure.
In 2005 and 2006 I lived in Oaxaca. Now I am returning to discover afresh this wonderful place and reconnect with my many friends here.
This year I enjoyed working alongside an active team to put together the very successful Habor Art Show: Visions from a Perfected City. We had over 30 entries from more than 20 artists and the event itself was packed all evening. I can’t wait for the next one.
A view of the show from the balcony.
I had the privilege of staying a week in Tijuana and getting to know some of the beautiful people that live there.
Dog lovers of all sizes turned out for Lowe’s fourth annual surf dog competition in Imperial Beach, San Diego. There were three categories: small dogs, large dogs, and tandem dog and humans surfing together. It really was a great event to shoot. Scott Chandler along with daughter, step daughter, and Zoey the surf dog, took first place in the tandem category and really made the event worth watching.
I love competing in shootouts! Last night was the annual ASMP shootout. This year the shootout was at the San Diego Fair. They gave all the participants two objects (sunglasses and a lei) and we had two hours to create the most interesting shots we could. I love the pressure to be creative within such a short time, walking the fairgrounds to find interesting things, trying to do something unique and artistic with sunglasses and a lei. I was invited to ride the swings, made friends to help me with my task, and I ended up winning first place. Thanks ASMP for another great shootout.
Games are a huge part of any fair. These ducks roam around a pool of water waiting for people to toss rings around their necks.
I had the privilege of taking a ballet class this past semester at City College along side some really amazing dancers like my friend Ashley. She’s been dancing for 16 years and she’s amazing. She agreed to let me shoot her and this is what we came up with. And a special thanks to the extras who happened upon our shoot and joined in.
Scott Chandler is a surfer, but he decided that surfing was more fun if he could share it with his family. He not only got his ten year old daughter Tyler Chandler to surf tandem with him, he also taught the family dog, Zoey. Last year they won the surf dog competition in Coronado. And now they are training Baby, the chihuahua, as well. These guys were so much fun to shoot.
I’m an artist, not just a photographer. I like to paint. Here’s the invitation to my art show in Escondido.
Studio 10, Distinctions
317 E. Grand
Escondido, CA 92025
The show will be up through May 29th. Gallery hours are Thursday May 14th to Saturday May 16th 12 to 5pm or by appointment.
Heather Fuqua Photography Blog 
