Jorge Quinteros

Defeated Path in Cozumel

Owning a fisheye lens is almost comparable to purchasing a fully pimped out Mac computer in that you’re paying a pretty penny for the frill of having it but if the type of work you do doesn’t coincide with what you can get from it, is it really worth spending all that money? If all you do is write emails, listen to music and surf the web, perhaps a $2,000 laptop is not warranted. Whether I’m traveling or not, the majority of my photographs are comprised of street work involving either people or locations and for content like that, having a lens like a fisheye that potentially limits you to just one of the two is not helpful.

I had rented the Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8 fisheye lens from Borrowlenses.com for a vacation a couple years ago and throughout the trip, my wife was very perceptive in noticing how fascinated I had been with photographing with it. To a point where she had offered to purchase the lens for me as a holiday gift and as much as I appreciated her supporting my lust for anything photography, I was unwilling to have her spend $800 on a lens I might use as oppose to one that I would use all the time. From a creative perspective, it’s fun to shoot with the fisheye but to avoid being consumed with the feeling that you need every lens out there, you always have ask yourself “how often will I really use this?” In my case, not very often but if I ever crave for it again, I’m more than willing to pay to rent it rather than pay full price for it.

Mayan Souvenir

In comparison to the cold, dark and lengthy days of being in New York during the holidays, Cozumel is a heaven that can be reached in 6 hours to experience the complete opposite. It’s a beautiful place with gentile people, colorful culture, appetizing food and not to mention a feast for your camera. Photographs seems to come easy in the sense that the overwhelming feeling of newness is too much to prevent you from not wanting to document everything.

I’m always attracted to the beautiful settings of a place as much as I am about the people in it. Particularly in Mexico, it’s interesting in seeing the residents being part of a culture fighting to keep their delicate balance of rich Mayan heritage of the past with all the commercialism of the present. Mementos of their ancestry were unquestionably encountered every in Cozumel and I would be remiss in not bringing back a portion of it after having enjoyed so much the stay in this beautiful country.

Abandoned Shack

Costa Maya, Mexico was 1 of 4 destinations that we visited during our cruise vacation. Once we disembarked and looked pass the recently spruced up privately own facilities with swim bars, duty free shops and vibrant people that welcomed all passengers, that’s when we really establish a sense of what lied beyond the fascade that you see when you first arrive.

Back in 2007, the port was set to receive up to almost 1 million passengers traveling on cruise lines alone but after the category 5 devastation that resulted from hurricane Dean, anything that looked promising then still appeared bleak 2 years after.

Like anywhere else, the local vendors that constantly approached us wanting make a sale of their hand-made products were just trying to make a living, raise a family and get through an ordeal that is more than noticable when we toured the town. Abandoned shacks like these were numerous but a decent portion has been rebuilt to keep the fact alive that the Costa Maya still offers that refreshed and unique experience that travelers seek.

Speaking Spanish came in more than useful to me and when you have a connection with the people, the news you hear about the place even after you’ve left becomes somewhat personal.