“You were once wild here. Don’t let them tame you.” - Isadora Duncan

Luisa # 3

(at New York, New York)

When all else fails, dance.

Luisa # 2

(at New York, New York)

| urban exploration |

Luisa # 1



(at New York, New York)

“Let the waters settle and you will see the moon and the stars mirrored in your own being.” - Rumi

Zanzibar actually has decent, untouched surf. We took a boat to the outer reefs and were pleasantly surprised.

2 of 2 for @topodesigns
#bigcatsplayball

(at Zanzibar, Tanzania)

Exploring the picturesque wine country of Stellenbosch, South Africa en route to Kilimanjaro.

1 of 2 for @topodesigns

#bigcatsplayball

(at South Africa)

| 10:41 PM |

Mik, Camping Master

Antarctica

#antarcticaordie

(at Antarctica)

Learning about coffee from Don Juan, 78 years old, Costa Rican coffee plantation owner

#makeportraits #puravida

(at Costa Rica)

Carla, filmmaker

Antarctica 2015

#makeportraits #antarcticaordie

One rite of passage from boyhood to the status of junior warrior is a painful circumcision ceremony, which is performed without anaesthetic. These young Masaai warriors have been recently circumcised.

#bigcatsplayball

(at Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)

Maasai and their cattle on the way to the Serengeti. Sometimes the Maasai have to defend their cattle from lion attacks using their spears.

#bigcatsplayball

(at Serengeti National Park, Tanzania)

Kakesu Maasai village of Baraka, Tanzania

The Maasai are a semi-nomadic people that live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They still continue their age old customs despite pressure to become modernized.

#bigcatsplayball

(at Tanzania)

This upcoming November and December I’m excited to head back to Argentina and Antarctica.

Here’s a street photo I snapped in La Boca, Buenos Aires, Argentina earlier this year.

#antarcticaordie

(at Buenos Aires Argentina)

| THE MOMENT LIGHT BEGINS |

I started a new exciting project with @andrewmklein that entailed multiple 5 am call times to catch that magic morning light.

When you’re not a morning person but you’re willing to wake up at 4 am several days in a row for a project, something must be right.

We look forward to sharing more as we get geared up to tell unexpected stories in Africa this summer!

#morningslikethese

(at New York City)

| HOW WAS ANTARCTICA? |

When people ask me, “How was Antarctica?” I usually struggle to find words to describe my experience. I do know that my experience in Antarctica transformed and forever changed me. Never in my entire life have I ever been in such close proximity to so much wildlife and such raw, untouched beauty. Penguins walked up to me and bit my fingers and my camera. Fur seals charged at me to the point where I would have to throw blows to fend them off (they were actually much more aggressive than the bulls I ran with in Pamplona, Spain). There was magic everywhere and so many choices when it came down to deciding what to photograph. Antarctica humbled me, taught me so much, gave me a better appreciation for our planet, and is truly unlike any other place on earth.

I’ve always dreamed of going to Antarctica ever since I was in 4th grade, and Antarctica made me feel like a kid in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, enthralled and captivated by pretty much everything I saw, felt, and experienced. Our expedition leader told me that I found my wings.

Thank you for following along and for allowing me to share some of my images and stories. I’m forever grateful to be able to share these stories and I hope I have inspired you in one way or another.
I will leave you with a quote about Antarctica that resonated with me:

“Take the rockies, the alps, and Mount Washington, cover them with thick, crusted snow that, like frosting spread by a giant’s hand, has spilled down over the land, to end in a jagged, uneven boarder where it meets the sea.

Imagine yourself on a spaceship in another world - a world that for 10 million years has been locked away behind ramparts of ice and where escape is blocked in all directions by a cruel, cold ocean.

Take all the adjectives in Mr. Roget’s thesaurus and you still haven’t got it, not even Mr. Roget’s best can convey one’s first impression of that vast, mysterious immensity of ice. It’s a lesson in humility, an unforgettable reminder of man’s immortality, and it is like no other place on earth.”

- Jenny Darlington

#antarcticaordie

(at Antarctica)

\ I FOUND THE MILKY WAY \

I think these images will be a defining moment in my career, not just because of the images themselves but for the process, determination, tenacity, hard work, patience, courage, and luck it took to make them a reality and bring them to life.

I specifically came to the Atacama Desert with the sole purpose of seeing the Milky Way and capturing these images. Foolishly, I did not research the phases of the moon and arrived at the worst time. It was a hard lesson to learn but an important one. So I was a bit sad after I arrived and felt defeated. I decided to wait around for the new moon, passing the time here with yoga, reading, and mountain biking with friends.

The past 4 nights I’ve woken up (or in some cases didn’t sleep at all) at 3 am, and rode a bike, in true expedition fashion, several kilometers out into the desert alone to capture this image and many others like it. It’s a bit scary riding out into the pitch black desert alone, but it’s absolutely worth it. I learned some constellations and used the southern cross to guide me. I was lucky because the past 4 night have been totally clear, unlike last week. I can’t begin to describe the feeling of lying down beneath the clear, dark, moonless sky of the Atacama Desert with not a single soul or light in sight other than the Milky Way and the stars above me. It is totally peaceful, serene, magical, beyond beautiful, humbling, and absolutely mind blowing/breathtaking. I’ve never felt such a strong feeling of fulfillment and joy seeing the Milky Way bulge rise, and taking in all of the stars surrounding me. Not to mention, the shooting stars (meteors) are so numerous out here and are like none I have ever seen before. We truly live in an extraordinary galaxy and all the stars seem to align perfectly.

I must thank astrophotographers @nicholasbuer and Dr. José Francisco Salgado for guiding me from halfway across the world. These images would not have been possible without their help and guidance.

I hope this image inspires you in one way or another.

All My Best,
Reuben

#antarcticaordie #milkywaygalaxy

(at Atacama Desert, Northern Chile)

Gearing up for another Mars adventure with the Chileans. I can’t wait to share some images of the Milky Way coming soon!! #antarcticaordie

(at Atacama Desert, Northern Chile)

I made some Chilean friends and then we went to the edge of Mars.

On a serious note, I’m learning some hard lessons out here in the desert while I continue to search for the Milky Way…

#antarcticaordie #searchingforthemilkyway

(at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile)

\ BBOYING IN BOLIVIA \

Air baby rainbow freeze at the edge of a cliff. This goes out to my bboy and bgirl community back in NYC!

#antarcticaordie #dontwalkdance (at Bolivia)

Creativity is absolutely necessary when attempting to exercise in the Bolivian salt flats. Here’s my first attempt at a Superman, inspired by @rockadeezy

#antarcticaordie #ibelieveicanfly (at Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia)

Happy Friday! I just arrived at the Atacama Desert in northern Chile, which is allegedly the driest place on earth, but it’s pouring rain right now!

So over the next few days I will be posting some photos of Bolivia, which absolutely captivated me. I truly felt humbled by the heartwarming and kind Bolivians, and also by the majestic landscapes and mountains that surrounded us in the wild. We even went up to 5,000 meters (16,404 ft) and my head felt like it was about to explode.

This is Josefina, our talented chef, Bolivian mother, friend, and partner in crime. We felt such a genuine connection to Josefina and she truly took such great care of us. This is hardly a surprise coming from a mother of 10 kids. She’s usually smiling ear to ear, contrary to this photo, but perhaps she got a bit annoyed that we asked her to sit on the salt flats while we walked across her braids, especially after waking up at 3 am to bake us a cake. Pedro would have been really proud.

#antarcticaordie

(at Salar De Uyuni, Bolivia)