Brian Buckner

It was a half-hour before twilight, late on a Saturday afternoon, as I made my way up Tres de Noviembre. I never trudge but I’ll tell you, the soles of my feet knew the irregular surface of every cobbled paver they had treaded that afternoon. Xavier, Santiago, Esteban, Rolando and myself had been spending our...

It was mid-afternoon as I walked west up Presidente Córdova under a mostly cloudy sky. Areas of blue opened on occasion, allowing some interesting light to filter through. I was with my ten mentorees, all successful applicants to an artists call earlier this spring. My exposition, “Decisive Moment,” has now been open in Cuenca’s Museo...

El Fantasma slid to a stop in the loose gravel of the parched clay roadway. His engine idled down to a steady throb as I hit the window switch to get a better look at the scene before me. More fine dust settled on the dash adding to the steadily building layer. It was a...

Editor’s note: Brian Buckner will discuss his photography and his project of mentoring Cuenca photographers, Thursday, July 19 at the Museo de la Ciudad, corner of Gran Colombia and Benigno Malo in El Centro. Free exhibition catalogs will be available showing his work and that of his students. With curiosity, I checked in with Cambridge,...

According to Noah Webster, a plan is a detailed proposal for doing or achieving something. As a verb it describes the action of making said detailed proposal. Suffice it to say, I have been deeply involved in the “planning process” since October of 2017. The process of planning what, you ask. Well, the posters are...

Editor’s note: A photography exhibition by Brian Buckner, titled Momento Decisivo, Joyas Ocultas de los Andes, opens Thursday, June 28 at 7 p.m. at the Museo de la Ciudad, corner of Gran Colombia and Benigno Malo, in El Centro. The exhibit continues to July 31. How did it happen? What got things started? Did anyone...

Greetings Friends! I have been involved with the City of Cuenca, Province of Azuay, Country of Ecuador since October of 2017 planning an art exposition. This process is not new to me. I partnered with my home city in Louisiana to create many similar events. I was not surprised to find that the world of...

The whip fell with a resounding snap, momentarily lifting a snatch of fur along the steer’s rump. Bellowing at his tormentor, the steer obeyed the whip as its sting caused his hooves to bite deep in the dry, alkaline ground. The plow jerked ahead a foot or so. Roberto’s calloused hands deftly manipulated the swiveling...

It was late in the afternoon on a rainy yet sultry September day along Ecuador’s northern coast. Edie and I had already wrapped the better part of a twelve-day trip to recon the Pacific Ocean along Ecuador’s shores. From Cuenca to Guayaquil and then Salinas, we had driven. Navigating north from there, I had taken...

Most people don’t get to see Volcán Tungurahua the way I did. The geographical location is often shrouded in Andean mists. But, surprisingly, there it loomed in all its grandeur on an early October morning. Encircled by a ring of cumulus clouds, it seemed unreal to me, like it was its own weather generator. There...

The shrill whistle of the majorette signaled the resumption of the energizing rhythm after a measure’s rest. The drum major, drum-line and band were working together, switching between the drum cadence and a marching roll-off. Up front, the baton had been wielded vertically with the large head on top, confirming the whistle’s command. It reminded...

Exploring. I do lot of it. On foot in the high mists or behind the wheel of my truck taking on some rock-strewn and rutted clay road, I’m out there in it all the time. I am living in, performing photography and writing about Ecuador. This is a portion of my grand scheme for an...