boiling river
Three summers in the Peruvian Amazon as a field engineer and photographic assistant for the National Geographic Boiling River Project. The river runs over 200°F; the science is on what makes it that way.
Three summers in the Peruvian Amazon, working as a photographic assistant and field engineer for the National Geographic Boiling River Project — documenting the Shanay-timpishka (el Río Hirviente) and the Jaguar Shaman culture of the native Asháninka and Quechua tribes.
the work
I joined Andrés Ruzo's team — National Geographic Explorer, TED Fellow, and founder of the Boiling River Project — as a photographic assistant to Steve Winter, the legendary National Geographic photographer who in many ways is the inspiration behind Sean Penn's character in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
The title was "Photographic Assistant", but I took it on myself to design and prototype an open-source temperature probe that would transmit data via Iridium satellite to a server in the States. Andrés had mentioned that one of his long-term goals was to collect data over months while he was away during the wet season, and I hoped to show my value to the members of the team more focused on the river itself.
That proactive leap brought me back the following two summers. Andrés asked for a new set of probes: floating units that could ride the river and send water-quality data back to shore via LoRa radio. The river — no joke — reaches well above 200°F in places. Designing for that thermal envelope, with electronics that needed to float and transmit, was a different kind of constraint problem.
Each probe took roughly two months to develop. They streamed two simultaneous data channels via an Arduino Feather and a Raspberry Pi acting as a local Wi-Fi access point, viewable from a phone on the shore. I used Atlas Scientific industrial sensors — they could withstand the temperatures at a reasonable cost.
the place
A compact Toyota pickup, two hours past the last cellular signal, the driver crossing himself and honking the horn before every blind bend. Huayruro seeds on his keys for good fortune. Maestro Juan, the shaman of Mayantuyacu, our home deep in the jungle. My legs covered in mosquito bites no amount of prayer could stop.
Three summers there opened my eyes to the relationship between documentation and scientific research — and pushed me as a designer, engineer, and artist. It's foundational to the path that brought me to where I am now.
references
- Andrés Ruzo, The Boiling River of the Amazon (TED)
- boilingriver.org
- Steve Winter Photography
credits
- Years: 2016–2018 (three summers)
- Role: field engineer + photographic assistant
- Sensors: Atlas Scientific industrial-grade
- Comms: Iridium satellite (year 1), LoRa radio (years 2–3)
- Hardware: Arduino Feather, Raspberry Pi