Colombian image wins silver at WAPPA 2013

I wonder how many pro photographers submitted entries this week taken on compact cameras? Well, I'm coming clean. One of my entries was taken on my Fuji X100 and it ended being awarded a Silver Award in the Travel Section.

I liked the Fuji X100 (recently superseded by Fuji's X100s) right from the moment I first picked it up a year or two back. Since that first meeting I've grown to enjoy this remarkable little camera. But its not for everyone. I think you need to have an individual, old-school philosophy to develop a meaningful relationship with the X100, especially with the fixed, 23mm wide-angle lens.

However, I'm yet to find another compact that can match the sensor quality and high-ISO performance of this retro-styled camera.

The shot was taken earlier this year in Cartagene, Colombia. I wandered into the town square before breakfast one morning and spotted a local lovingly polishing his favourite statue. (For the technical buffs I shot the image on 1.500@f4 using 800ISO.)

Footnote: The Colombia tour was a photographic tour led my Peter Lambert and myself. Our next tour is in Feb 2014 on roads less travelled in Southern India and beyond. If you'd like a copy of the itinerary and prices for Images of India please email India@wildheart.com.au

Viva Colombia! Viva Australia!

How many times have you been on tour and something doesn't turn out quite as well as you anticipated? Then, there are the times when something happens that exceeds your expectations.

When our Colombian guide Julio announced that the next day we were going to visit the Valley of the Palms, my mind went into a secret 'ho hum' mode. I thought. 'You've seen one palm, you've seen them all' (a bit like temples). Even Julio's explanation that the palm's were among the world's rarest only raised my pulse by a smidge.

But two things happened to change my mind. One affected my stomach .... the other my heart. 

At 2140 meters we walked the Valley of the Palms, crossed a waterfall on a swing bridge and photographed some eye-catching flora.

In the early afternoon we called into a mountain-top restaurant for lunch.  Like many South American countries trout featured prominently on the menu; garlic trout, lemon trout; grilled trout, fried trout, baked trout, drowned trout, trout drowned in sesame oil, trout downed in tomatoes, trout with beetroot and trout without beetroot.

How could I order anything else but trout? I ordered garlic trout. I'm still a great believer in the antibiotic properties of garlic. The others ordered a variety of trout dishes. Twenty minutes later plates of golden pan-fried trout arrived. Size does count! These were the biggest trout I had ever seen. Each was served on a crisp corn arepa - a bit like the grand-daddy of corn crisps.  The trout looked mouth-watering - and they tasted even better. The best fish I've tasted in years.

Following lunch our guide invited us to a palm planting ceremony on the slopes of the mountain just below the restaurant. Once again, I was anticipating a yawn session. Juan, a joyful, robust Colombian of sensible years told us about his passion for joining with tourists in palm-planting for future generations. He spoke of mother earth, the need for respect and love  mother earth and each other. I liked this larger than life guy!

Three of our group volunteered to plant palms with Juan. They dug in the rich, black volcanic soil and dirtied their hands together. One at a time they planted a palm with Juan. Juan's passion and reverence was contagious. Each planter joined with Juan in throwing their arms in the air to thank the spirits. Juan enthusiastically embraced all the planters.

For the finale we formed a circle, locked arms and Juan led the chorus of Via Colombia! Viva Australia!

I was really moved by this simple ceremony. The sense of love. sharing and goodwill that emanated from such a simple gesture made me think deep and hard. Viva Colombia! Viva Juan!


The tour of Colombia was co-led by Peter Lambert and Dale Neill. Their next tour 'Images of India' is in February 2014. For details email India@wildheart.com.au

Statement Doorways

Doors and entrances have long been a favourite subject for photographers. In Greece, Peru and Colombia the entry portals are a great source of pride. Intense, saturated colours, layers of flaking colours set off by ornate door knockers tell us something about the owners.

I'm a bit averse to shooting doors because I rate them a bit like a bird on a  stick, a centred red rose or a sunset. They are static and just a bit too easy. But every now and then I weaken and seek out a good door followed by two slices of pizza.

I remember visiting East Berlin before the wall came down and was intrigued and saddened by the long lines of dismal, grey, dusty doors. The only texture was provided by occasional bullet holes pock marks still unrepaired after WW2.

Think of our own doorways and entrances in Australia. Most smack of conservativism; perhaps reflecting a fear to express ourselves.

I found the Colombian people to be warm, friendly and helpful. They are rejoicing their new found freedom since the curtailment of 'the violence' when the drug lords ruled the country. The coffee shops are filled with people enjoying the world's best coffee and arguing about football, politics and women. At least we've got that in common with Colombians. But we still have a bit of catching up to do to get coffee for $2. I suspect I may get an azure blue front door before I get a  $2 coffee.

(Peter Lambert and I are leading a photography/wildlife tour to eastern India departing 15 Feb 2014. If you would like more details email Dale at India@wildheart.com.au)

Salt Caves

We spent most of yesterday 200 metres underground in disused Colombian salt mines. Sounds awful but in fact an amazing photographic (and somewhat religious) experience.

When Colombia stopped mining salt 20-30 years ago the government converted the mines to cathedrals, chapels and the Stations of the Cross. That may only mean something to you if you are Catholic (or ex Catholic). Anyway, for the first time in half a century I completed the Stations of the Cross with my camera.



Australia has a strong connection  here. All the internal struts supporting the mine are Australian Eucalypts, chosen because they absorb moisture, harden and set like steel!

Mr Bean visits Hacienda Venecia

My mornings back home always start with coffee. I like the coffee and like the coffee cafe scene. But I never really understood where the coffee comes from, how it is grown and the finesse required to produce the ultimate bean.

Juan Pablo Echeverri is the owner/manager of Venecia. He's a lover of life, Colombia and coffee and a great ambassador for his country and the coffee industry. We saw the baby coffee plants in the nursery, tasted the sweet pulp of the squashed beans and toured the factory and met the staff.

I also got a case of caffeine overdose drinking about eight cupos of the best coffee I've tasted in a while. 

But what was most interesting was how laid back and stress free ALL the staff are compared to Aussies. Colombians love life and take a relaxed attitude to life.

Carnaval de Barranquilla

Two hours drive from Cartagena is the commercial/industrial city of Barranquilla. It looks a lot like a North West mining town in Western Australia with dusty, dirty roads and prison-like buildings.

But for three days every year Barranquilla is transformed into  fantasy wonderland with music, parades and partying. And, oh boy, do Colombians know how to party!

I've been to a few parades and Mardi Gras in my life but nothing even comes close to the Carnaval. Seven kilometres of exotically (and occasionaly erotically) decorated South Americans, floats and musicians danced and pranced their way past our stand. We were lucky enough to have seats in teh police stand.

Colombians proud of their mixed heritage and their Carnaval, which originated when slaves were given a day off. They love life and they love people. We danced together in the stands, we hugged and photographed each other despite language barriers.

A Colombian lady charged up to me mid way through the parade and insisted we be photographed together. We had exchanged glances in ten stands earlier in the day and had photographed each other. Displays of human kindness and affection are everywhere.

One of the most inspirational sights was the large number of older Carnaval participants. Men and women in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s who had spent hours on their costumes and make-up to take part in the celebrations. This was not just for the young.

The other heart-warming feature of the Carnaval was the number of volunteers and supporters. The mothers and fathers who were there  with drinks to keep their kids hydrated in the 30+ temperatures. The police, emergency workers and firemen who gave their time for the parade.

When I enlarged many of my images on the screen I noticed a huge number of young people have braces on their teeth. Its a part of Colombia's free medical and dental program. They put a high price on smiling!

My Spanish is restricted to a couple of phrases and a few hello and thank you words. But saying Puedo tomarte una foto really works. Brigadier General Jose Segura, the Barranquilla Chief of Police and his wife arrived and stood behind me and posed for me.

It was a long, exhausting day. People had shutter fatigue; I had blisters on both feet and batteries were flat and memory cards full. It was one of those days on tour I will never forget.

Cartagena

Cartagena  has been described as the most romantic city in South America. I now know why. Its a step back in time to a Spanish mediaeval, walled city. There's a magnificently designed fort designed by a Dutch engineer, a series of interconnected islands boarded by the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans and a wondrous mixture of friendly locals.

Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Mick Jagger and Mel Gibson own homes in Cartagena. But you don't have to be a multi-millionaire to visit and enjoy this marvellous city. We dined at a popular local Italian styled cfae for lunch yesterday - $4.50 for the best soup I've had in ages, a rich local stew, fruit juice and a banana!

In 1984 Cartagena's colonial walled city and fortress were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It was a Godsend. Developers were stopped from knocking down the old buildings. Everywhere there is evidence of restoration in progress. Its expensive because some buildings are in a woeful state. Slowly but surely buildings are being restored to their former glory. We had dinner on the terrace at St Theresa's Convent - now a five star hotel. Our small hotel has photographs in the foyer showing what it was like before restoration. Cartegena is is in a state of rejuvenation and it looks and feels so good.