Travel Virgins - Nicaraugua 2011

[Robert Watcher]

A few street shots from this morning. I set my Olympus E-PL1 to Shutter Priority at 1/250'th second - Auto ISO - and Manual Focus at about 10 feet. Actually I found that the narrow focus ring (focus-by-wire) set to the front of the lens, aided in it staying put and not shifting focus or my hand or fingers accidentally moving it.

1 ) Men Gather in Central Park in the morning

2 ) A busy Intersection

3 ) Dark Shaded side of the street - this girl was an aggressive seller, so was keenly aware of my camera

 

[Robert Watcher]

4 ) I was so close I could have reached out and touched these people as I walked past

5 ) This woman did not take her eyes off of my camera - even though it was being held around waist high

6 ) A common sight - women and children walking with huge and sometimes heavy items on their heads - hands free

7 ) I just about walked into these boys

 

[Robert Watcher]

Today was a very busy day (what one isn't though). I started out early this morning seeing my neighbor Juan having a couch delivered (by hand 2 men walking down the street) to his yard from a local hotel, so that he could make a few cordobas redoing the caning that supports the cushions.

When I noticed that he was busy cutting out all the old caning for a fresh start, I approached him and asked if I could photograph the process (he speaks no English and I speak little Spanish). After I grabbed a few shots, I asked when he would be done - tomorrow - next week? He told me "hoy" (today).

After heading downtown and grabbing my street shots that I posted earlier, I went by his place to find that he had progressed quite far. He had the diagonal strips completed and when he saw that I was shooting, grabbed his chisel and cut off a couple of short pieces of reed and started feeding them through the other diagonal just to show what it would look like competed.

Anne and I then headed out to Kathy's Waffle House for lunch and after that headed to the Museum of Culture to do our story for that - - - and once done walked by Juan's house, noticing that he had completed the caning on the one side. I grabbed my shots of the completed process.

Upon returning home this evening in the dark, Juan's outside area where he was working is lit up - and he is completing the job into the night. He'll have it completed today as he stated. He told me that this caning will last 14 to 15 years before needing replacing again.

 

[Robert Watcher]

MY FAVORITE SUBJECTS

Beautiful Children holding a little chick

I also took this nice portrait of the oldest girl as she leaned with her arms on a wall. Even though it was taken in harsh midday lighting, the overhang allowed the light to come in and light her eyes with large window-like reflections.

All taken with Olympus E-3 and 12-60mm f2.8/4 SWD lens

 

[Robert Watcher]

I came across this man cleaning up some fish in his yard. As well, right beside him was an open wood burning stove - and so it was obvious that he was making himself lunch from a catch of the day. Asked if I could grab a few shots of the process. He smiled, probably wondered "What For?" but agreed.

1 ) Cleaning, Scaling and Making Ready

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[Robert Watcher]

Once the fish were ready, he started the fire on the cooking area, poured some oil in an old pan and brought out a bag of seasoning to coat the fish with. While traditional rural use salt, this man used a cornmeal mixture.

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6 ) He gave us one of the fish to include with what we had. We got to enjoy some incredibly tasty morsels of this crusty, smoke flavoured treat.

 

[Robert Watcher]

Me and My E-PL1

Little Boy Sitting on a Rock

Olympus E-PL1 - f9 @ 1/200'th : 200 ISO - camera held at my side

Family Getting Ready
(Unfortunately I didn't have my long lens reach when I made the decision to travel light in this remote area)

Olympus E-PL1 - f8 @ 1/200'th : 200 ISO

Horses in Water

Olympus E-PL1 - f8 @ 1/200'th : 200 ISO

 

[Robert Watcher]

Distant Cloud Covered Volcano on Ometepe Island

Dramatic Backdrops

 

[Robert Watcher]

More STREET PHOTOGRAPHY

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[Robert Watcher]

5 )Money Exchangers on every corner, flashing huge wads of Cordobas if your face

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7 ) Typical Busy Downtown Streets

8 ) Little boy playing the whistles his parents sell in the park

 

[Robert Watcher]

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[Robert Watcher]

Video Crew Shooting Skateboarder

Walking down Calle Cisne in Granada to pick up some prints from the lab - - - I came across a pretty serious video crew that included a half dozen stills photographers firing off remote Lumedyne flashes - - - to record a skateboarder doing a serious trick.

It took the whole length of the block for him to get up to speed to run up the ramp and jump over the staircase and metal rail - landing about 12 feet below on the road. Miss after miss, he would land hard on the pavement and scrape up his hands and legs.

After he had attempted many jumps, he would get up off the ground and say that he couldn't do anymore. He was just too worn out, too sore and his hands were bleeding. But the crew would just carry on expecting him to try again until he finally landed it. Then it was all over - a beer for everyone - and off they went.

Unfortunately I did not have my big camera and long lens to capture some of the incredible arials - but I wasn't going to miss the action so pulled out my compact E-PL1, set it to Shutter Priority at 1/400'th second and Auto ISO and moved around shooting from different angles with my kit lens set at the maximum 42mm (84mm equivalent).

1 ) From the film crew position

2 ) Even though I shot from better angles, I love this shot because it gives perspective as to how high this guys was jumping before landing on the hard pavement

3 ) Frustration. Also I was amazed at how small the wheels were

 

[Robert Watcher]

4 ) I moved straight on the side to try and get some of the board action going on while in the air

5 ) And finally after tons of tries and almost giving up - it looks like a good run

6 ) And he lands it. That's a wrap

7 ) Most of the crew. A couple of stills photographers with long white lenses were to the side and shooting from the far end of the street

 

[Robert Watcher]

Photographing the Photographer

While at the local photo lab that I found recently, to get my prints made that I return as gifts of thanks to subjects that I have photographed - - - the lab technician knowing that I was a professional photographer, wanted to show me his room where he takes portraits.

We entered the small room that had 2 White Lightning Monolights set up on stands, firing into silver umbrellas (one on each side of the subject) - as well as a white cloth material hanging on the wall, with a stool directly in front of it. After showing me his Canon Rebel camera that he uses for his portrait sessions and telling me how much he likes the lens that he has on it, he plugs the flash PC connector in to the adapter on his hot shoe and fires off a shot while I was standing in front of the backdrop.

He then handed the flash wire to me and I plugged it into my Olympus E-3 PC contact - set the exposure mode to Manual at f4 @ 1/160'th at 200 ISO and fired a shot off with his setup (the one shown below). I started to move his light stands around to get a more dramatic lighting and eliminate the 2 highlight equadistant look - when I noticed him getting a little agetated - - - I wasn't even thinking that he had probably spent some time getting those lights in that perfect position where he knew the exposure for his camera, and so I stopped in my tracks and let them be.

Don't know that I ever taken a portrait with the 2 lights setup like this - displaying the 2 catch lights in the eyes, with the subject standing only 1 foot from the background - - - but I kind of like this shot and took the file back to him so he can do as he pleases with it. I was also quite pleased to find that with just a guess at the exposure, I nailed it first and only shot. Lens was my 12-60mm f2.8 SWD (24 to 120mm equivalent) - shot taken at 55mm setting.

 

[Robert Watcher]

THE KIDS ON THE BUS

All taken with Olympus E-3 and 12-60mm f2.8 SWD - Program Mode : Auto ISO

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[Robert Watcher]

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[Robert Watcher]

Bizarre Street Scene

For sure something I wasn't expecting. On our way home, Anne and I noticed this man carving a piece of wood in a shaded part of the street. As we passed by, we saw that it appeared to be a coffin. We were in a taxi, so I just had to keep a mental note of it and as soon as I got home I grabbed my camera and headed back to the location.

I had never really considered that the coffins that are sold in stores along different streets, were handmade and that all of the ornate work was accomplished by employees or owners of the store. Well I guess that it was just too hot inside and so this fellow set up the coffin to be worked on, on the other side of the street right under the entrance to a public library. I asked if I could take a couple of shots and he agreed:

 

[Asher Kelman]

Family Getting Ready
(Unfortunately I didn't have my long lens reach when I made the decision to travel light in this remote area)

Olympus E-PL1 - f8 @ 1/200'th : 200 ISO

Horses in Water

Olympus E-PL1 - f8 @ 1/200'th : 200 ISO

These two pictures provide an exceptionally pastoral sense to the world you visit there. I hope we can see more of these wider angle shots in color. A long lens would have ruined this view!!

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

These two pictures provide an exceptionally pastoral sense to the world you visit there. I hope we can see more of these wider angle shots in color. A long lens would have ruined this view!!

You may be right Asher. My thinking especially with the people in the water, was that I could have isolated them more from the background - but the wider view and more defined background does give some context. I will keep that in mind for sure.

Meantime - here are a couple of other shots from the distant remote areas where I have only had my compact E-PL1 and limited zoom range with me:

 

[Robert Watcher]

A HUGE MARKET

Depending on which report you read, Nicaragua is either the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere or is in second place behind Haiti. But there is no doubt that it is among the poorest nations that you could visit. Average income is around $2.00 US per day and many make much less than that.

Yet people are busy, generally contented, industrious and active. When visiting the seemingly endless Masaya market yesterday to get an overview of it for later more specific content and stories - there was clear evidence of all of those aspects - - - from the outright poverty with living conditions to ambitious workers and vendors trying to eek out a meager existence to a market filled with locals, many who are bussed in from outlying areas.

While Anne and I were there for only an hour this time - and my intention was not to take many pictures without having themes to work with - - - I did grab some interesting shots:

1 ) This vendor just outside the gates sold everything from fruits and vegetables, to live chickens and rabbits.

2 ) This bread vendor was constantly swishing her wand to keep flies off of the food

3 ) The indoor market was packed with goods and food products and difficult for a tall guy like me to maneuver through with all of the things hanging from the ceilings to a height of maybe 5 1/2 feet. Large containers of rice, spices and essentials.

 

[Robert Watcher]

4 ) One of the entry ways into the indoor market. What caught my eye was the dog framed in the bottom center

5 ) A view of the main street by the gate

6 ) This location was obviously a depot for plantain selling and distribution. I wasn't sure whether the men in the background gathered around the basket dropping money on it - were buying and selling, or gambling - - - but I tried to discretely grab a shot as I passed by. Obviously I didn't go unnoticed

 

[Robert Watcher]

A few people that noticed my carrying a camera, hollered at me as I passed them by - and as I turned they indicated they wanted their picture taken.

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[Asher Kelman]

You may be right Asher. My thinking especially with the people in the water, was that I could have isolated them more from the background - but the wider view and more defined background does give some context. I will keep that in mind for sure.

Meantime - here are a couple of other shots from the distant remote areas where I have only had my compact E-PL1 and limited zoom range with me:

These are so much better with the color and context. I feel the connection to the countryside itself.

Try more color!

Asher

 

[Robert Watcher]

I took a lot of texture shots of walls and floors this morning while walking around the city. I also found several interesting patterns. Here are a few:

1 ) Small door in wall

2 ) 4 consecutive rooms appear like a repeating mirror

3 ) Cushions on the back of a chair

 

[Robert Watcher]

Some Black and White Images from the last couple days of Travel through Nicaragua

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[Robert Watcher]

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[Robert Watcher]

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[Atiqur R Sumon]

Awesome! excellent work & thanks a lot for sharing..

 

[Robert Watcher]

Just Walking Along the Countryside

Out in the rural mountain areas this week and while walking along this road, came across this typical scene of farmers moving their cows from one location to another.

On seeing them approaching, I pulled out my Olympus E-PL1 and decided to set the exposure mode to Shutter Priority with a fast enough shutter speed to stop any action as they went by. Also my ISO was set to Auto. I am finding this Shutter Priority and Auto ISO setup, a very useful way of shooting quickly changing spontaneous action shots that I frequently come across.

1 ) E-PL1 : 14-42mm kit lens @ 14mm : 1/320'th @ f10 : 250 ISO

2 ) E-PL1 : 14-42mm kit lens @ 14mm : 1/320'th @ f8 : 250 ISO

3 ) E-PL1 : 14-42mm kit lens @ 14mm : 1/320'th @ f10 : 250 ISO

 

[Robert Watcher]

Nicaraguan 4 x 4

1 ) E-PL1 : 14-42mm kit lens @ 16mm : 1/320'th @ f8 : 250 ISO

IT WAS THE CALIFORNIA PLATES THAT CAUGHT MY EYE FIRST
2 ) E-PL1 : 14-42mm kit lens @ 14mm : 1/320'th @ f5 : 250 ISO

Beasts of Burden

3 ) E-3 : 75-300mm @ 252mm : 1/1000'th @ f5.6 : 320 ISO