San Juan, a lot to see and do

Having a great time in San Juan, so much to see and do.  Not used to all this walking in this heat but we are making the best of it.  History abounds here, cobblestone streets, castles, beautiful architecture.  I am anxious to begin processing my images, I believe I have some nice shots.  Old San Juan has some great buildings and details.

Narrow cobblestone streets in Old San Juan

The two castles are magnificent, it would take a day to properly see each one.  The history is fascinating.  I like this shot with the play on colors and the amazing cemetery in front of the imposing castle El Morro.

Cemetery Maria Magdalena de Pazzis in front of El Morro castle

Tomorrow we head to the Camuy caves and the Aricebo Observatory.  Hope to get some nice shots in the caves.

Until next time, keep shooting.

Welcome to San Juan, Puerto Rico

After a grueling 17 minute flight from St. Thomas we made our way to the San Juan Ritz Carlton for the second week of our vacation.

Not much new on the photographic front to report, the Nikon AW100 is definitely dead.  I have not had a chance to take many other images but we will have our chances as we go to the El Yunque rainforest tomorrow and we visit the Camuy caves Wednesday.

Looking forward to getting my D700 out into the rainforest, caves and especially Old San Juan.  Here is  one from our new beach

Isla Verde beach

Having a great time, my equipment not so much

Just wanted to update everyone on my new photo gear and how it is doing on vacation.

The Benro tripod A2197 is great.  Small, lightweight and very portable.  It is a big plus to have a tripod that packs flat.  Highly recommended.

My Zeiss 35mm 1.4 lens.  Fantastic quality, superior finish and mechanics.  I am sure I am not good enough yet to squeeze images out of this lens that wow me, but I will work on it.

This shot is with my Nikon D700 and the Zeiss 35mm 1.4

My Nikon AW100, spent two days in the water with some stunning shots.  On the third day I do not know if I was swimming too aggressively but I got water inside it.  Not sure if it is able to come alive again but I am disappointed to say the least.

Update to add, the AW100 is dead.  I suspect that a small nylon strap that I have to connect the camera to a float strap, may have become lodged in the battery door when I closed it there by letting water in.

My fault, I like the camera and will replace it.

Here is a shot before it stopped working.  Thanks for reading, I will update from Puerto Rico in a few days.

Vacation once again

I have been absent from my photography and my blog for far too long.  It has been a difficult year for my family but we are slowly getting back to normal and this vacation could not have come at a better time.

Back in St. Thomas, USVI for a week and then we will be spending the next week in San Juan, Puerto Rico.  New camera equipment is traveling with me as well, a Nikon AW100 underwater camera, a new Benro travel tripod and a Zeiss 35mm lens.  I am looking forward to testing all of them in the coming days.

Getting some air

The Skim Slam 2012 competition was held on Saturday, June 16th and I managed to get a few shots.  Check out www.skimcaribbean.com for the results and more images.

Ft. Christian

The fences have come down but the fort is still not open.  The detail is very interesting, I intend to go back and shoot more images of the sides that are now in view.  Hopefully someday this structure will be open again.

Till the next time, I'll be posting events from our trip for all to see.