surfacing at sunset…
The grand finale in the “People Series”!!! Once again, a shot of my lovely sister. Everything just sort of lined up perfectly in this shot…her pushing out of the water, the sunset, the sliver of sunlight highlighting the edges of her silhouette, and (my favorite) the sun glinting in the small drops of water falling from her arm. This was taken about 200 feet out in the water at Playa Norte, Isla Mujeres, Mexico (see previous Isla posts for me going on and on and on about the gorgeous water there and how you can walk out about 300 feet…uh oh…I’m going on and on again…).
I don’t think there’s much to say about this photo, except that I think my sister should scrap her career and become a model. Perk of this: she could visit locales such as Isla Mujeres more often. Perk of this for me: perhaps I’d be able to tag along for a vacation when my brain is totally fried from my clinical rotations!! 
I hope everyone enjoyed the People Series. I’ll post more shots of people as they come along, but until then, back to random photo posting!
Oh, yes. I almost forgot. The picture was taken with the amazing Canon G7. Contrast fixed in Photoshop CS3. That’s it. No airbrushing needed on this model!
gone fishing…
He’s a man with a mission: to catch his fill of fish! And second to last photo in the “People Series”!! I took this shot down in Puerto Morelos, Mexico while admiring the view from the dock. It was quite a site to see. It was a bit after lunch and many of the fishermen were headed back out to sea for the afternoon catch. One minute all the boats were lined up along the shore, the next, they were zooming off into the distance. I like this photo because its very tranquil with the gradations of blue in the water, but also because I think it shows off just how small people are compared with the vast sea. Whenever I look at this photo, I get a sense of serene isolation and a refreshing dose of perspective.
Of course, the photo was taken with the Canon G7. I adjusted the contrast in Photoshop and also converted the image to an HDR image. Enjoy!!
solo soccer…
Fourth photo in the people series! Este niño jugó fútbol en la arena del campo de juegos, acerca la playa del Puerto Morelos.
Okay, sometimes I just feel the urge to write descriptions of the photos I’ve taken in Mexico in Spanish. C’mon! Its fun!! Anyhoo, for those who think that previous sentence is all Greek to them: “This young boy was playing soccer in the sand of the playground near Puerto Morelos’ beach.”
No, I wasn’t being creepy and watching this kid playing soccer and taking photos. In fact, my sister and I were enjoying the seesaw that was more or less right behind where I was standing to take the picture. Has anyone tried, as an adult, to get on a seesaw? We couldn’t do it! We’d try to keep the thing at a height so we could both get on, but, wow! A lot harder when you’re 3 feet and an undisclosed number of pounds larger than when you first learned to mount that contraption. Anyways, I was taking photos of the brightly painted playground and the kid got in my way. Then I figured, heck, he might be the superstar of the FIFA World Cup in a decade or so, so I’ll take his picture now! Actually, I wish that was what I was thinking. The fact of the matter is, the kid got in my way when I was taking pictures and when I finally looked at them on the computer, they looked nice with a live human in them. Thus, Niño Boy was not cropped into oblivion. Kind of creepy that you can just make people disappear *poof* with the modern photography. Gotta love it, especially when you’re taking a great group shot of your friends at a restaurant and there is inevitably the jerk that has to crash the photo behind the group. Be gone, Photo Dude. *Poof* You’re no longer in existence.
The photo was taken with my Canon Powershot G7. Processed in Adobe Photoshop CS3 to fix the contrast that so easily gets out of whack in bright Mexican sun and to mute the colors a little for the feeling that I seem to apparently be trying to evoke with this photo series. What is that feeling? Emotion. Nostalgia. Innocence. Slight surreality. Take your pick.
playing on the “playa”…
Second in my series of people photography!! Now, I know I said that the Mexico series was done with, but, surprise! More Puerto Morelos pics! Were these strategically saved for this series or did I just forget to put them with the other series? You’ll never know. Anyhoo, its fun to photograph kids doing their kid-ly things. They always seem so completely absorbed in what they are doing and bring such a fun, carefree-because-they-don’t-have-bills-to-pay feeling to the photo. I find that looking at pictures like this always makes me remember how much I liked to do (blank) when I was (blank) years old, long before medical school sort of owned my soul.
So, this boy and girl were playing in the sand on the shore by the Puerto Morelos pier in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. They are in front of the original lighthouse that was transformed into the Leaning Lighthouse of Puerto by Hurricane Wilma. Since it’s more or less non-functional now, there is a new lighthouse a bit further back from the shore. It is much taller and, personally, if I were a sailor, I’d be glad Wilma killed the old short lighthouse so that I could guide myself home with the more modern upgraded model.
The photo was taken with the Canon Powershot G7. I used Adobe Photoshop CS3 to adjust the contrast a bit and to bring out the slightly sepia tones in the picture to help create a more nostalgic feel and to highlight the angle of the sun.
mermaid…
Well, here’s a change of pace. I usually photograph things, places, and my cats…but….omigosh! Its a person!!! My sister and I were having a bit of fun in Playa del Carmen, Mexico a couple of years ago by staging a teensy “America’s Next Top Model”-esque photo shoot out in the water. Naturally, she looked gorgeous. And she’s ready for her close-up now…or at least to have her photo on my blog! You go, pretty sister!
Taken with an Olympus Stylus 820. The photo was played with a bit in Adobe Photoshop CS3 to add a glow, fix contrast, and create a sepia tone. It was then converted into an HDR photo. Enjoy!!!!
hasta luego, mexico…
Well, I do believe that this is the last photo I’ll be posting from Mexico…time to move on (until it is the dark, cold, middle of winter and I find it imperative to post something warm and sunny). This photo is a shot of Playa Norte’s crystal clear water at sunset (hence the yummy pink cast on the sand!). Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico is such a gorgeous place–truly what comes to my mind when I picture a tropical paradise. I hope you have enjoyed traveling to Mexico with me through my photos. Stay tuned!
Why, of course it was taken with the Canon Powershot G7. Contrast was fixed using Adobe Photoshop CS3.
tempting tranquility…
So this little slice of heaven was taken at Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Have I mentioned how much I loooooove Isla?? I did? Oh, yes. That’s right. I found it impossible to drink in all of the serene shades of blue so I snapped tons of photos to help me in that quest at a later time.
I love the blue gradient in this photo…from the turquoise of the water all the way up to the sky’s blue hue, with an interspersing of fluffy white clouds!
To help you slip into this tranquil moment, picture the breeze gently blowing, waves softly crashing on the soft white sand, and the bathtub-temperature water enveloping your increasingly relaxed body. Ah, there you go. Now you’re there.
Yup. Taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7.
radiance…
Alright. I’m not going to say much about this photo, except that it is one of my favorite shots from my trip to Mexico this summer. It was sunrise at our hotel (Ocean Coral and Turquesa) and the sheer serenity of the world in front of me was breathtaking. Luckily, the (amazing) Canon G7 has a fun little feature that lets you select only one color in your photo to show through the black and white. Well, I found the perfect shade of sunrise and photographed away!!! This shot is pretty much straight from the camera!!! Only needed a smidge of contrast fixing. I recommend using this picture for a 5 minute mental vacation…it definitely works for me!! Enjoy and bon voyage!!
bunches of boats…
“Twelve little boats, sitting in a row
Each colorful one with a rope in tow.
Docked for the day and dark starry night
Ready to depart at dawn’s first golden light.”
Okay, okay, perhaps its a cheesy little poem, but whatever. I’m in an artsy mood. I even arranged “Streets of Philadelphia” for SATB a cappella on Sunday with the boyfriend. Photos and poems and songs, oh my!!
Anyhoo, this photo was taken with the amazing Canon G7 next to the fishing pier in Puerto Morelos, Mexico (right in front of the old lighthouse). All of the boats were moored for the night and I was stunned by how much colorful character they all had. That translated to a boat photoshoot! To help you create a better mental image of the Puerto Morelos fishing pier, if you faced the pier (looking out to the ocean), these boats were to the left and the previously-posted pelican was to the right! Alright, here’s the pier:
The boat photo was cropped to remove the gargantuan dead fish that was on the beach and was then post-processed to an HDR photo! Enjoy!!!!!!
Who can? PELI-CAN!!!…
This little photo was taken from the Puerto Morelos (Mexico) pier. Apparently there is ALWAYS a pelican on that specific pole. Seriously. I’ve heard this mentioned on numerous travel blogs…he (she?) even shows up in lots of pictures in Google!! My theory is that he’s (she’s?) just a bird trying to catch his (her?) big beak…er…break… in these hard times. You know, just trying to get his (her?) picture out there and hopefully be scouted by a top bird modeling agency. I mean, look at those wings!! And that arch in his (her?) neck! So perfect!
Now, in all seriousness…oh, heck. How can one be serious when making a post devoted to pelicans? Is it just me, or do you find yourself a bit giggly when you think about those birds? Okay, maybe its just me. Anyhoo, I played around with the tint in Photoshop and decided that sepia (rather than color) suited the photo quite well. Precisely the feel I was aiming for. And I think it brings out his (her?) features wonderfully and thus increases his (her?) chances of getting that big break. C’mon America’s Next Top Pelican, this is your bird. Oh…yes…of course it was taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7!!
tequila sunrise…
This seaside sunrise panoramic was the fruit of my efforts to arise before sunrise after a week of fun in the sun in Mexico (no small feat, especially when bedtime was 2am!!! Darn DeGrassi reruns in Mexico that hooked my entire family!!). I can’t truly convey with words how tranquil and silent the sunrise was…no vacationers on the beach yet, no playing in the pool…just the sun, sea, and the lapping waves. Simply stunning.
This photo was taken at the beach of the Ocean Coral and Turquesa Resort in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. I merged two sequential photos into one panoramic image using Adobe Photoshop CS3. The panel was originally 7 photos long, but that caused a large curvature in the image…plus one of the images contained a gentleman strolling the beach in a Speedo, with all his glory bathed in morning rays. Yup. The panorama was reduced to the two panels that I thought came the closest to doing the sunrise justice. Obviously, taken with the Canon Powershot G7. Contrast and color saturation enhanced in Photoshop to make the photos look as much like the original sunrise as possible!! Enjoy!!
on a distant sandy shore…
Ahhh…yes. You can almost hear the gentle waves lapping on the sand. The beach in front of our resort (Ocean Coral and Turquesa) was simply gorgeous. The only bad thing about the beach was that the red flag was flying everyday…i.e. swim at your own risk. I came, I swam, I learned why the flag was red. There was…stuff…in the water. The bits of seaweed? Nah, I could look past those. The biting, stinging things in the seaweed? OUCH. Lets just say that I don’t particularly enjoy the simultaneous feelings of fire and tiny knives in my legs. Naturally, this was a very unfortunate situation for this self-proclaimed beach bum/water baby. This was precisely the reason for repeat treks to the idyllic waters of Isla Mujeres. No problems there, other than it being so gorgeous that I never wanted to leave.
Water complaints aside, the beach was still beautiful. The palapas provided ample shade and the chaise lounges were oh-so-comfy. It pays to upgrade to VIP status at this place. Did I mention that this stretch of beach was completely reserved for VIP guests only? Oh, I didn’t? It was heaven. The beach was the perfect setting for water-gazing, people watching, and sunrise photography. So, stay tuned for more photos of my trip to Mexico!
Almost forgot! Taken with the handy-dandy Canon Powershot G7. But you already guessed that, didn’t you? I used the awesome color-select setting on the camera to capture a bit of the sand color to add some interest to the black and white. Contrast fixed and enhanced using a touch of pseudo-HDR in the Dynamic-Photo HDR program.
sailing…
“…Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free
It’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me
Sailing
Takes me away
To where I’ve always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free”
Yup, couldn’t resist. Just had to throw in those lyrics with this picture! So, this sunset shot was taken, well, at sunset, on Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Have I mentioned before how gorgeous that island is? Yes? Oh, ok.
Sunsets from Playa Norte are simply stunning. One of the few places in the Mayan Riviera that you can see the sun set over the ocean. Beautiful.
Taken with the trusty Canon Powershot G7! Stay tuned for more glimpses of Mexico (just bear with me with this period of scanty posting…med school’s a bit crazy!)
colorful cemetery…
Death never looked so…colorful! People are just dying to get into this place! Ok, ok, I rest my case. This cemetery was undoubtedly one seriously full house and had a lot of…character. And there’s nothing quite like a massive set of transformers to top off a cemetery skyline!
Just posting this picture since I was describing this place so much in the previous post. The picture isn’t particularly pretty, but the place sure is unique, so I figured I’d share…until you’re able to visit it yourself!
Taken with the G7. Duh.
heaven on earth…
Okay, folks! Back again! I have to apologize for my scanty postings…second year of med school is crazy!!! But, I’m ready to make up for lost time.
This photo is from my trip to Mexico this summer. My family and I visited Isla Mujeres (everyone must go there! GORGEOUS!) mainly for the white sand beaches (will post beach shots soon!), but we found the town was simply amazing to wander around in. A cemetery on Calle Lopez Mateos was particularly eye-catching. I can’t even begin to describe the intense colors of the monuments and how densely they were packed in there (hmmm…perhaps I’ll just have to post visual evidence). However, there was one monument that towered above many others and that was this particular angel. To my luck, when I looked at the photo I had taken, I noticed that the flare of the sun combined with the angel looked just like a tiny glimpse of heaven! How…divine!
As usual, the picture was taken with the Canon Powershot G7 (oh, what fun we had in Mexico!). I then cross-balanced the image in Photoshop CS3. Enjoy and stay tuned! More photos to come, I promise!
from my point of view…
Okay, folks! I know you have been waiting with bated breath, but alas! The wait is over! Here is one of my photos from my trip to Puerto Morelos, Mexico. It is a small, sleepy fishing village nestled on the Mayan Riviera coast of the Yucatan Peninsula between Cancun and Playa del Carmen. It hasn’t been overrun or completely adulterated by tourists yet and retains its cultural charm. It sure made for one amazing trip to Mexico!
The hotel my family and I stayed at was the Ocean Coral and Turquesa Resort…basically a small slice of heaven on the shore. This picture was the result of me enjoying being both sneaky and creative while taking pictures on my last day. It really is fun taking snapshots from angles and places that you don’t necessarily notice at first. I can tell you that I only saw the “pool view” through this tiny arch on my last day…after 7 days of countless trips past it! This was taken shortly after sunrise (hence the perfect lighting and strange lack of pool-goers). I just love the yellow of the wall contrasted against the blue water and hotel (& reflection). More sunrise photos and Mexico photos to come! And, obviously, taken with the G7!
And feel free to ask any questions you may have about Puerto Morelos (or Playa del Carmen or Isla Mujeres, for that matter)…I’d be more than happy to answer them (especially if you think you want to visit yourself!).
new york city, we have lift-off…
Okay, okay. I know I promised photos of Mexico soon, but I realized that I haven’t finished my New York City series yet. That and the fact that I just started my second year of med school last week and holy cow! Second year is crazy already! Thus, not much time for uploading and perfecting my week-long photoshoot down the Mayan Riviera coast.
So, here we have a heron in Central Park taking off for what I can only imagine is a giant birdfeeder in the sky. The funny thing about this heron was that as soon as he made his entrance in the pond, people with cameras flocked out of places that I didn’t know existed to snap pictures of him (her?). Everyone was acting as if they had never seen a bird before, let alone a heron. This seriously must now be the best-documented heron in history. Yes, I was one of those shutterbugs, but at least I had already been taking pictures of the adorable bridge and the pond…and the 3 cute turtles on a rock. Then the bird arrived, and I merely shifted my attention to it. I didn’t run to it.
Then again, why am I poking fun at all the people who kept snapping bird pictures? I may not have many bird pictures, but I have about 35 of turtles. Hmm. I’ve never seen turtles before. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it.
Taken, of course, with the fabulous G7. And at this time I am proud to announce that I have converted my sister and she just purchased a…G7 after months of ogling mine!!!
quick update…
Hello all! It has been a while since my last post…and that would be for a very good reason: I just returned home from MEXICO!!! Yay!!! Once my gazillions of photos from my trip have been uploaded from the marvelous G7 (which thoroughly enjoyed its foreign escapades) to my trusty laptop, I’ll get to posting some shots of Mexico!
Stay tuned!
put a lime in the coconut…
Now for a brief mental vacation!! This stately palm tree (complete with coconuts!!) was gently swaying in the breeze on one of Playa del Carmen’s beaches. Now for a little news update: I will be visiting Mexico once more this August, so stay tuned for new photos! WOOHOO!!!
The photo was taken with an Olympus Stylus 820 and was turned into a high dynamic range photograph when I got back to Pittsburgh . Can’t you just feel that Caribbean tradewind by looking at this picture?
la playa bella…
Esta fotografia fue sacada en Playa del Carmen este verano pasado con un Olympus Stylus 820 camera digital (no me gusta escribir sin los simbolos del acento!!).
Just trying to keep with the theme of the photo a little bit. This picture was taken this past summer while I was in Playa del Carmen, Mexico for one blissful week. I used an Olympus Stylus 820 digital camera. This church was in the town square (as is traditional in Mexico…and Latin American in general) and with the palms framing it and the bird on the cross, it was just begging to have its photo taken! I also absolutely love the color of the glass in the church…its remarkably similar to the hue of the Caribbean that was just a few feet away on the other side of the plaza.
And, for those interested in visiting Playa del Carmen (highly recommended…absolutely fantastic!), you must try the fruit from the “fruit ladies” in this plaza. It is some of the tastiest and freshest fruit you’ll find, and it provides a much-needed reprieve from the hot sun and humidity. My favorite is the mango. You get about 2 mangoes worth of deliciousness jammed into a plastic cup for the unbeatable price of 15 pesos (~$1.50).
So, since I’ve already wandered from the description of this photo, I’d like to make one more suggestion to anyone who plans to visit Playa. If you know Spanish, speak it. I ended up being my family’s translator for the duration of the trip. Not only is it terrific fun to be immersed more completely in another culture, but you are certain to get better deals if you can bargain in the native tongue. If you talk the talk, you’re less likely to pay too much for something. And the vendors live to bargain with you. The sheer quantity of bargaining I did was incredible and so much fun…and as a result I was able to purchase an obscene amount of goods on a very limited budget. If the extent of your Spanish is “si” “gracias” or just “Spanglish”, use what you know. A tiny “gracias” is much appreciated and will usually draw warm smiles from the kind folks of Playa.
I’ll be posting many more images from Playa del Carmen, so stay tuned. And if you are inspired to venture there on your own, feel free to post any questions you may have!
Tulum, HDR style!
This is the HDR version of a previously posted picture (yay alliteration!). For more information regarding HDR, please read the immediately previous post. For the original image of the Tulum cliff-scape, just scroll down the page. It is important to note that this is pseudo-HDR, produced from the original 8-bit image. This is what causes the slight graininess that is most noticeable in the sky. However, it is an excellent example of how HDRi enhances colors and detail while suppressing shadows. Enjoy!
Photographer’s note: I will be visiting Mexico once more this summer, so stay tuned for more great Tulum and Playa del Carmen shots in mid-July!
Tulum, Mexico
This image was taken while “misbehaving” in Tulum, Mexico. There is a rope near the edge of the cliff so that happy-go-lucky tourists don’t accidentally walk off the edge, because dead tourists don’t bring in much revenue. Crawling under the rope and dangling a leg over the edge of the cliff so as to support myself (think tripod) on a rock below, I took this shot with a plain ol’ 35mm camera and 400ISO film. The negative was then digitally scanned and the colors balanced using Adobe Photoshop.
*Photographer’s note: Tulum is an absolutely amazingly beautiful place! I highly recommend that anyone visiting Mexico venture out to the site to view the ruins and breathtaking vistas.
