Poptun, Guatemala

This image was taken at the Finca Ixobel Hotel in Poptun, Guatemala. We had, only 2 days prior, left Flores and were now only hours away from striking out on the road again, this time heading to Livingston by way of the Rio Dulce. World traveler, writer, and photographer Heather Rae, of InSearchofSquid.com, is a seasoned traveler and my job was to document her escapades as she toured through Guatemala and Belize. This month-long expedition resulted in more than 2000 images and 50 or so video clips. I'm a portraitist at heart and Heather Rae's attitude and spirit seems to lend itself very well to my purposes. Apart from the documentary focus, every now and then I like to play with depth of field and make some artwork. So I slapped on my trusty 50mm 1.4 set to max aperture on my Nikon D800e. And play, we did.

In this particular shot, Heather Rae had just finished lunch and we are lounging around on the covered patio outside. I chose to use her empty club soda bottle as a prop and make various adjustments to my focus points. Sometimes the focus was on her hands, but the bottle was most always the main feature. This is one of many shots I took that long July afternoon. 2012 was my year of liberation and I look forward to documenting more travelers and acquiring more travel assignments. I plan to head back to Central America this summer for an even longer stay. Next to photography, travel is my thing.

- This postcard comes to us from MatadorU student Terrell Neasley, a Las Vegas, Nevada-based freelance photographer. More of this series, as well as images from their trip, can be found in the gallery Travel - Central America (via the "Portfolio" tab) on his website, www.PhotoAnthems.com. Or you can visit his blog and type "Central America" in the search bar to read about their escapades: www.PhotoAnthems.blogspot.com.