The following is a guest post. All words and pictures by Chris Davies.
The grey rocky peaks are starkly juxtaposed with lush green pastures where cattle graze. Crystal clear water spilling from crags glistens in the midday sunshine. The only noise is the tweeting of birds and the chiming of cow bells. It truly is an outdoor paradise.
Andorra, a small principality high up the Pyrenees Mountains sandwiched between France and Spain, is where Manuel Bustelo trains. Growing up in Mendoza at the foothills of the Andes, Manu was destined for a life of adventure. He is passionate about conservation and social responsibility, visions that be achieved by more people being in touch with nature; riding bikes, climbing mountains, diving the oceans.
We’re here after a chance meeting on social media site Instagram brought us together. Manu and I share a passion for the outdoors and his views on social responsibility are in tune with my love of shooting people enjoying the playground we call earth.
It’s a dream brief to be honest; spend a couple of days in beautiful mountains shooting a really relaxed and chilled out athlete as he trains for his next adventure. Stunning scenery was pretty easy to locate although technically the bright sun was a challenge which we overcame with carefully positioned off-camera flash. Manu was a complete professional and put up with my numerous calls of “just once more?” until we got the right shot.
The images have been sent off to sponsors and magazines but here are a select few to hopefully entice you to get out there and explore!
Chris is a freelance photographer shooting for commercial and editorial clients. You can see more of his work at www.chrisdaviesphotography.com and follow him @cmjdavies.
You can keep track of Manu’s adventures on his website http://www.manuelbustelo.com/
