são roque's humidity, weird numbers, and street tacos: a photographer's sleep-deprived diary
i'm on my third coffee of the day, sitting in a cramped internet cafe in são roque, trying to upload my latest batch of shots before the power flickers again. the humidity's a beast, and my lens fogged up the second i stepped outside. just checked the weather app - it's sitting at 20.57°C, feels like 21.14, and the humidity's at a sticky 94%. hope that's your jam. the city feels like it's stuck between eras; old colonial bones with neon signs bleeding into the alleys.
if you get bored, sorocaba's a short drive away, and you can even swing over to itapetininga for a weekend festival. i've heard the road gets muddy after rain, but my beat-up civic handles it fine. speaking of rain, the forecast says clear tonight, but that humidity says otherwise.
i grabbed a cheap lunch at the corner lanchonete, spent r$34.48 and the receipt printed a weird code 1076621665. later, i saw graffiti on an old water tower that just said "3448300" in dripping paint. maybe it's the wifi password? i tried it at the cafe-nope, just a broken connection.
here's the spot i've been wandering:
i'm here chasing that golden hour that makes the pastel walls glow like film. the light here is tricky; it bounces off the tile roofs and creates harsh shadows that make my models squint. i've been using a 35mm f/1.4, mostly because i can't afford the new 50mm, but honestly the vintage glass gives a grain that the clients eat up. i'm shooting mostly street portraits-the old guy selling coixinha from a cart, the kids playing soccer in the plaza, the lady with the bright orange scarf that somehow matches the sunset. every click feels like a tiny rebellion against the monotony of corporate gigs i used to take.
someone told me that the best caipirinha in town is at bar do zé, but i heard from a drunk tourist that it's actually just cheap cachaça and sugar. i went anyway, and the bartender gave me a side eye that could kill. still, the photo i took of his hands shaking while mixing was gold. by the way, if you're looking for a place to eat, check out TripAdvisor's top picks or see what Yelp says about Bar do Zé. i also read that a local food critic said the feijoada at restaurante são paulo is "a heart attack on a plate," but i guess that's a compliment? (just don't eat it before a shoot.)
i overheard two canadians at the hostel whisper about a "piscina natural" up in the hills. they said it's a hidden lagoon that only appears after heavy rain, and the path is full of loose stones. i thought about going, but my boots are already caked in mud from yesterday's shoot. maybe tomorrow.
the São Roque community board lists a farmers market on saturdays, but i've been told it's crowded with tourists-still good for shots. i've also been using Lightroom presets from this site to speed up editing, but i'm still learning how to make them my own.
i've been up for 36 hours straight editing, my eyes feel like sandpaper. the neon sign across the street flickers like a broken pulse. i keep thinking about the numbers 3448300 and 1076621665-maybe they're coordinates to some secret spot? i typed them into google maps and got nothing, but i'm sleepy enough to try again in the morning.
anyway, if you find yourself in são roque, get lost in the backstreets, taste the overly sweet coffee, and don't forget to backup your files before the power goes out. the humidity will fog your lens, but the streets will give you stories. i'm out.
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