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!!
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.
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!).
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, 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.
