Peak Performance
Jose Mostajo makes a push for the summits of Latin America with his trio of Tamron lenses.
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By Jenn Gidman
Images by Jose Mostajo
Adventure photographer Jose Mostajo has traveled all over the world, but he heads back for visits to his native Peru as often as he can. Last year, Jose had the chance to not only visit his home country, but also other rugged terrains throughout Latin America, including in Mexico, Argentina, and Ecuador.
“I’ve definitely shifted my concentration recently from landscape photography to adventure photography,” Jose says. “Mountains and climbing have been my main focus for the past year or so. I love capturing moments that will never be repeated, in locations that are constantly changing, all while experiencing the thrill of reaching mountain summits.”
Integral to Mostajo's expeditions are his Tamron lenses. With the Tamron 17-28mm F/2.8 Di III RXD and 20-40mm F/2.8 Di III VXD wide-angle lenses, as well as his 28-200mm Di III RXD all-in-one zoom, all for his Sony mirrorless camera system, Jose had the top-notch tools he needed to transport viewers to the same dizzying heights and remote outposts that he witnessed.
“The combination of the 17-28mm and 28-200mm is unbeatable, especially because they’re both so compact and lightweight, and their range gives me all the coverage I need,” he says. “I’ve also been impressed with my newer 20-40mm as well. For mountaineering, I try to keep my kit light, and this lens has become the one I bring on my summit pushes. The F2.8 aperture means I can still shoot in low light, and the range starting at 20mm gives me the flexibility that a 24mm starting point wouldn’t. Plus, the ability to shoot in Super 35mm mode while recording video means you can achieve the equivalent of 60mm.”
JOSE’S QUICK TIPS
Visualize beforehand.
During mountaineering expeditions, there are no do-overs. I’m usually on a strict timeline to reach some of these places and don’t have the opportunity to backtrack or redo a pose. If I miss a shot or it’s blurry, that moment is gone. That’s why I often try to think through what I hope to capture before I get there, so I can work quickly and maximize the time I have.
Seek optimal light.
It’s hard to beat the colors of golden hour. I enjoy sunrises most, like when I took an early morning trek along Iztaccihuatl, a dormant Mexican volcano. It had snowed the night before, so there was a cool dusting that stuck around. I wanted to play with the wide end of the Tamron 20-40mm lens for this shot and create leading lines to my friend, with another volcano as the backdrop.
20-40mm (20mm), F4, 1/250 sec., ISO 100
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Sunsets are also gorgeous, though clouds can pose difficulties. They were the trickiest part of my photo here in Patagonia. A friend and I arrived at camp, and all of the peaks were covered. I positioned my tripod, then played the waiting game. The positive was that, once the clouds did actually break, it offered me an awesomely dramatic scene.
28-200mm (36mm), F9, 1/125 sec., ISO 200
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The same thing happened for my sunset photo at Chimborazo, another inactive volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. It was snowing when we set up the tent, and while we were inside sheltering, a friend noticed that colors had started to infuse the sky. We ran out and took as many photos as possible, handheld, with no time for the tripod. I had to stay pretty steady, because it was dark already.
28-200mm (36mm), F6.3, 1/250 sec., ISO 500
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Find the right balance.
For the scene at sunset shown here overlooking the Argentine village of El Chaltén, my challenge was figuring out how to compose the shot so that the natural world and cityscape below would be in harmony. I got here early, so I had time to play around. I kept repositioning my tripod until I was happy with what I saw in my frame, which captures the essence of both worlds.
17-28mm (21mm), F10, 1/30 sec., ISO 250
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Add a human touch.
It’s sometimes difficult to show how vast some of these scenes are, so a person in my photo serves as a good gauge of scale. These are also experiences I’m living, so I want to show myself or my friends in the context of the scene. I’m not traveling to places to capture specific photos—I’m going on adventures, then sharing what I see.
20-40mm (29mm), F4.5, 1/250 sec., ISO 100
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Stick around till dark.
I went on a backpacking trip with my friends to check out the Milky Way over the Peruvian mountain of Tocllaraju. Clouds came and went throughout the night, but there was enough of a break in them for me to finally capture the Milky Way. I always bring a tripod for my astrophotography, but it was very windy that night, so I weighed the tripod down with rocks. I ended up taking multiple exposures, for both the glowing tent and the night sky.
20-40mm (20mm), F2.8, 30 sec., ISO 8000
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To see more of Jose Mostajo’s work, check out his website, YouTube, and Instagram.
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