June 19, 2015 | Old San Juan

My first trip through San Juan was in 2011, at the tail end of my first cruise. It was a cool visit, but it was done in sort of a whirlwind of a tour. When I went back last November, I realized how close together everything we toured was the first time. I had no idea we could have pretty much walked between all the spots we stopped on the first tour (because we did walk between them all, and from the ship, in November). I really liked seeing some of the same places, but with a little different perspective this time. Here's part one of my photo tour of Old San Juan, comparing my 2011 shots to my 2014.


Plaza de Colón
In 2011, this plaza was deserted, and there were a lot of pigeons. In 2014 there was a sort of craft market all around the perimeter, and there were people everywhere. Still lots of pigeons.
2011:


2014:







Old San Juan Food Court
I had no idea what this place was called, and was so thrilled to stumble on it again in 2014. Let's see how it's changed.. Well, the fan is surprisingly the same. The weather was still hot. The beer is still cheap, but we went for the Piña coladas (advertised as the best in the universe), which were delicious (best in the universe is debatable though)!

2011:


2014:





Street
Between the food court and the Plaza was a road. I took a couple shots there both times, including an attempt at recreating the sewer drain shot of 2011. Honestly, I like the 2011 photo better.


2011:


2014:

June 8, 2015

I'm going to try something new. Each week I'll make a post here, which will feature a series of photos shared exclusively here. One or two may be on Flickr, to link back here, but the majority will be blog-only. I tend to post all my photos to Flickr, and this blog doesn't get the love it needs, so I'll try this out for a while and see how it goes. To start it off, some photos from last night. We were hanging out out front before a run, so I used it as an opportunity to test out my new OM-FX converter. I wasn't sure what to expect. I've used legacy Nikon lenses on my Fujifilm X-E2, with only limited success, so I didn't have the highest hopes. I mounted my beloved Zuiko 50/1.8, which is pretty much the only lens I used on my Olympus OM-2n, and got to work. The more I shot, the more fun I had with it.

I bought the Fujinon 18/2.0 (~28mm full frame) lens to use with my X-E2 originally because I wanted to try out a wider angle as my walk-around lens. It's taking some getting used to, but I'm finally getting the hang of it. When I mounted the 50/1.8, it was like a whole different world. This is the focal length I've been shooting for years, and I'm pretty sure it's the focal length I'm meant to shoot (except for ultra-wide, of course). I'm going to keep working on the 18mm, but I may have to seriously consider the Fujinon 35/1.4, or even the 56mm (though that's extremely pricey) to get me back into my wheelhouse.

Anyway, back to last night. One of the things I miss about shooting this focal length is the bokeh. I killed the bokeh last night. I did everything I could to get the most bokeh out of that old Zuiko, and I think it worked. I don't know if it was just me being used to shooting with that lens or what, but I hit the focus almost every shot I took, and without the digital split-frame (which helps in manual, but still isn't great). Checking the photos last night in Photoshop, I was amazed how sharp these are. With the limited Nikon success, I was worried maybe these old lenses just couldn't cut it mixed with this newfangled digital sensor. Thankfully, I was wrong. I'd been reluctant to mount the Zuiko on my X-E2, only because I didn't want to discourage myself from shooting my Olympus, but I just loved the results. Whenever I don't want to bring my Fujifilm and Olympus, I'll know with certainty I'll have a good combo bringing at least this lens.

Wichita - By Fisheye

I've always wanted a fisheye lens, and with a beach vacation coming up I figured I might as well go ahead and try one out. Technically, I have a fisheye camera, the Lomography Fisheye, but that one is circular, so it doesn't fill the whole frame. I got this Samyang 8mm f/2.8 right before a quick trip down to Wichita for my step-mom's birthday party, so I had a little time to play around with it there. I'm really looking forward to having some fun with it on the beach!








This one would have been a lot prettier if the flowers had been in bloom already!




I finally sold my old car and moved into the modern world of automobiles! I love it!

Stragglers

Just a few more pictures from our Breckenridge trip. These hiking trails were so nice, and were accessible via a short walk from our condo.

Base of Eight

In Breckenridge you can take their gondola from the base up to the base of lift 8, which will get you up to the skiing. In the summer the base of 8 is a small amusement park. There is a roller coaster type thing, climbing wall, giant maze, and a variety of other kids activities to separate you from your money. We went up to have a look around and ended up just hanging out up there all afternoon.

UP (in black and white)

I've been doing some experimenting with my new cameras black and white features, and I really like the results. Continuing my minor obsession with varieties on the views from the last post, only in black and white. There is something about shooting the scene in black and white, rather than converting it in Photoshop that appeals to me; it's more of a film experience because there's no going back. Expect more black and whites to come!

UP (in color)

Looking through my photos from Colorado, it looks like I got a little obsessed with looking up through the trees. Not that there is anything wrong with that; I thought it was a cool view. Not having woods like these in Kansas City, it was novel to me. I thought I'd collect them all here for you to enjoy.