Page 60 - NyghtVision Magazine Volume 3 #4

INTERVIEW BY FRANCOIS DEWYNTER

It seems so simple.

Get on a plane and go to some exotic location, stay in a luxury hotel and create beautiful
images. Isn't it that simple?

Falcon: Yeah. It is that simple. Only in your dreams! (laughing)
Francois: So, what is it really like? I have heard stories about some of your trips. I've been told the last
trip to Honduras was particularly challenging. True?
Falcon: True. Almost every trip has its moments, but, the trip to Trujillo was the most difficult we have
ever had.
Francois: From what little I know, that seems to have been the case. So, I guess the questions are:
What made it difficult? And, how were you able to get such incredible photographs despite every-
thing that you had to face?
Falcon: Well, in response to your first question, traveling isn't what it was twenty years ago. The
planes are packed tighter. There are no "frills" and at every turn someone has a hand out looking to
score another dollar or two. To make matters worse, whenever you leave the country, any semblance
of order quickly disappears. That is less true in Europe and much more the case in the Third World.
Francois: Please explain.
Falcon: Well, every culture has its own sense of order and rule of law. Some may have rule and
order but their culture holds both in disregard. I am not saying Honduras is one of those places,
however, things more or less just happen in their own time. Also, given the nature of life in Hondu-
ras at the moment, there is more than a little disorder.
Francois: Because?
Falcon: I am not sure I know all the reasons, however, some are obvious: The difference between
rich and poor is significant. Political corruption. I assume some measure of drug trade and the cor-
ruption that brings. But beyond that, in the end, Honduras is a Third World country and that in
itself is indicative of all kinds of social and political problems.
Francois: So what happened?
Falcon: We couldn't even get out of the States without a delay and when we arrived in San Pedro
Sulla, we had to wait almost twelve hours to connect with our client. We were fortunate to be be-
friended by an American sales person who was going to stay at the Intercontinental Hotel.
When it came time to return to the airport to meet our client, he called the car service he used. He
didn't have to tell us - though he did several times - that no one was really safe and he had come to
trust this specific driver he always used. Except that driver didn't show up. Another one - his friend -
did. So, we got in the car. Leaving the hotel, he turned to the right. The airport was to the left. I was
extremely concerned. I began examining our options in case we had to take extreme action. Fortu-
nately, at the end of the street there was a rotary and he proceeded to use it to turn around and head
for the airport.
Francois: Wow. What would you have done if he hadn't turned around?
Falcon: I don't know. But the entire trip followed suite. One problem after another. Vans stuck in
streams, power outages at the hotel.....
Francois: But from what I heard that wasn't the worst of it.
Falcon: No. Not at all.
Francois: So, you were on your way to a waterfall - you were supposed to photograph it for potential
development?
Falcon: Precisely. We had been told it was about fifteen minutes from the hotel. It was well over

60 | Behind the Scenes: An Interview