The road to Jalpan

While in Mexico we made a trip up through the beautiful Sierra Gorda Mountains in the state of Queretaro to hike to some waterfalls, and photograph the small mountain villages and the people. Our destination was the small town of Jalpan to spend a few days. When we reached the village of Pinal de Amoles we stopped to walked around and find a place to eat. We enjoy going to the small family restaurantes or food stands along the streets. We have never had a bad meal while in Mexico. We don't drink the water or use ice in our drinks. A soda or a beer is the recommended beverage with a meal. While we were having lunch we sat across from this elderly lady. The light from the open store front was reflecting on her and I had to put my taco down and pick up my camera to capture the scene. One thing we have noticed in Mexico is that the small restaurantes will offer a plate of food to elderly women. We saw this many times in the little villages we stopped to eat in.

Jalpan                 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jalpan_de_Serra
Pinal de Amoles - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinal_de_Amoles

What's up with all of the color?

I have been primarily a Black and White photographer for most of my life. I got started into photography with an old Kodak 8x10 all metal view camera with a hugh Majestic tripod and gradually moved down to 4x5 and medium format cameras. When I started with digital it was with a Canon Elph 1.3 mega pixel camera and then moved up. I have gotten caught in the technology web of photography that I never really spent much time in before. My many years of using my Linhof Technika was more about photography and less about technology. I was more concerned about evaluating the light and interrupting the subject  matter than I was about program modes and auto focus points, etc.  The view camera was just a box without batteries and sophisticated programs. The camera really couldn't tell me anything, it was just a manual tool.  I controlled the camera, setting the focus, and determining the proper exposure with a hand held light meter. Photography for me has been pretty much intuitive with the numerous years working with film and a view camera. I am terrible with discussions about techniques and technical stuff concerning photography. I would best describe it as; I know how to tie my shoes but if I had to write a detailed description about it I would mess it up for sure. I went film-less  two years ago when we sold our home and went full time RVing. I do miss my darkroom and the studio space that I enjoyed for so many years. It was my island where I could tune out the noise and concentrate just on my work. The image above shows how the new technology can improve your chances of recording an image that maybe film couldn't. This is HDR (high dynamic range) image of about 7 or 8 different exposures combined into one using the Photomatix Pro software . I am not a big fan of the HDR look because it can appear a bit phony with the bright colors and the overall softness of the image. I was happy to be able to make this image of the small church in this remote Mexican village, and it was with the help of the new technology that provided me this opportunity. I need to keep looking forward and bring the past along with me.

Linhof  - http://www.linhof.com/master_technika_classic_e.html
Photomatix Pro - http://www.hdrsoft.com/

San Juan del Rio'

One of our favorite places in Mexico to do street photography is San Juan del Rio' in the state of Queretaro.  It is a vibrant city with colorful streets that are full people. The old historic district is fascinating with its numerous jardins and Gothic churches. It was an easy drive from the nearby town we were staying and we enjoyed spending the day walking the streets and being part of the hustle and bustle. This image of the old woman with a cane would have been missed if Linda had not yelled and wave frantically at me to stop what I was doing. I hurried up the street and immediately saw what she was excited about.  I composed the scene and quickly made the exposure just as the woman was passing the painted image of an old woman on the wall. The trick to street photography is to always have your equipment ready and your eyes open to the movement around you. Things move quickly and the opportunity for making an exciting image is limited.

San Juan del Rio' - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Juan_del_R%C3%ADo

We Choppin ?

While traveling in Mexico we would look for remote locations in search of interesting people, towns, and nature sites to photograph. One town we liked was located in the state of Hidalgo called, Huichapan ( it sounds like saying"we choppin"). This is a clean and brightly colored town full of town's people in the local jardin.  We had learned, while in town, that there were Indian cave paintings and petroglyphs nearby. These were made by the Toltec Indians. We wrote down the best directions we could, interpretting them from Spanish, and headed out to locate the caves near a canyon lake. We traveled some dusty roads and came into a small village of just a couple of homes. We parked our car and started in search of the caves in the rocks near the lake. As we stumbled around the boulders a lady came running and waving with a big smile on her face. We didn't know a word she was saying but she knew we wanted to find the caves and took us there.  They were located in a difficult place and we had to scramble over rocks and through the catcus. We spent the afternon there and made some interesting photographs. Little did I know my best images of the day would come when we were returning back up the dirt road in our car. We came across a farmer sitting with his dog and cows. I couldn't resist this setting and parked a short distance away and walked down to his home. He was a quiet and humble man who sat patiently while I took his photograph. The image where he was sitting with his dog and cows, I feel, best represents the man and his life.

Click here to learn more about Huichapan. -  http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=es&u=http://www.turismoenmexico.com.mx/hidalgo/huichapan/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhuichapan%2Bmexico%26start%3D20%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1600%26bih%3D806
Toltec Indians - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hidalgo_(state)

One image of the petroglyphs we located.

A face with character

When I am out doing street photography I always keep an eye out for a person whose face has a lot of character. I came across this women on the streets of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. I sat down on the door stoop and talked with her as best as I could with my limited foreign language skills. She was a delightful woman and I could instantly see she had a quality of wisdom in her eyes. I asked her if I could take her picture and she was honored by the request. Later in the week I returned to her location and gave her copy of this picture. She is one of the many people of the streets that you will find in a town like San Miguel. Here is a link if you would like more information on the city and the culture. http://www.visitmexico.com/en/san-miguel-de-allende

The Train of Death

While photographing an abandoned train station I stumbled onto the the "train of death" in Mexico. The depot has been closed for many years and the old rusted locomotive engine sitting on a short piece of track next to the building was interesting. I heard a train coming and positioned myself to photograph it expecting it to pass the depot. Instead it stopped at this abandoned train station and sat idle on the tracks.  All was quiet as I stared at the motionless train. Suddenly I noticed some movement in an open car and I investigated who was there. As I climbed up the ladder and peered into the coal car I saw two extremely poor looking individuals staring back at me. They had intense fear in their eyes as they looked at me. I said, "Hola" and offered them my water and a couple of power bars I was carrying. They sheepishly accepted as I climbed in with them. I asked them in my poor Spanish if I could take their picture. They nodded in agreement and I climbed up the and positioned myself on the pile of material that was in the car. I asked where they were from and where they were going. The young one spoke some English and I was able to find out they were from Central America and were hoping to get to America. I took what Pesos I had in my pocket and gave it to them. In their eyes were the look that I have seen in a starved and abused animal. I shook their hands and said, "adios". I had never heard of the train of death at the time I took this photo. (later when working on the image I noticed the hand of the of guy on the left was pulled up in his sleeve, possibly hiding a weapon). It was only when I got back home a few months later that I saw this video about it. Open this link to watch video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7UZk6Hg-Xo

It is sad that the people of the world can't live with the basic human needs.  It is usually the corruption of governments that starve their own people. We who live in the U.S. are blessed and should be thankful for everyday we live in a land of abundance. We as a nation can not harbor all the needy of the world. We should protect our borders and demand that immigration is carried out in a lawful and orderly process.

This dog understands Spanish

Taking chances and considering the risk; I was walking with friends in the mountain town of San Joaquin Mx. We were shopping and looking for a nice restaurante to have something to eat. As my wife and friends walked along as I was straggling behind making some images of the streets and people. Rarely do I make any meaningful images while out with others sightseeing and enjoying the day. This particular image was made at the spur of the moment without much thought as to my personal saftey. I came around a corner and saw this young man with his dog in an alcove and realized the reflected light and the scene was interesting and asked him permission to take his picture. The only Spanish I know is "Puedo tomar su fotografia por favor" (may I take your picture please). I hardly ever take a photo of someone without their permission. The young man nodded in agreement and I dropped to one knee and made one exposure and quickly stepped back and said "por favor" and moved away. After looking at the image days later I realized that this was probably a risky move on my part in making this image. The dog certainly has the look of attack in his eyes and I figure he understood Spanish and he didn't give me permission to take his picture. A risk yes, but making a meaningful or powerful image sometime puts you ar risk.

San Joaquin - http://www.tourbymexico.com/quere/joaquin/joaquin.htm