Friday Favourite - The Girls of San Juan la Laguna

Friday Favourite - The Girls of San Juan la Laguna

24 Apr 2009

In 2007 I took 3 months off work to travel and to work on my website. I began my travels in Canada where I attended an International Physiotherapy Congress before flying down to Mexico. I joined a 3 week GAP trip around Guatemala, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula. I travelled at the height of summer in June/July and boy was Mexico hot!



The image of the 3 girls was taken in the small village of San Juan La Laguna. Some of my friends commented how lucky I was to find the three girls running down the street but I admit to setting up the shot. Speaking no Spanish I used sign language and a few actions to get the girls to run towards me. They probably thought I was a crazy lady but they ran for me regardless. I was using my digital camera on that trip and when I showed the images to the girls they burst out laughing. They left arm in arm on their way to the ice cream seller, their original destination.

For those interested I was using my Nikon D-70S, 18-70mm lens, shot at f9,1/320 secs ISO 200.

Jillian

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Paris in black and white

Paris in black and white

27 Sept 2008

Paris is a beautiful city and I think it looks best in black and white.

I thought I'd take more photos of Paris in black and white but it rained the first day or two and was so dreary I didn't want to waste my film.

The sun came out on the third day so I raced around trying to retrace my steps, so I could get some photos of Paris in sunshine.

I went a bit market mad so the next blog will feature Borough Markets in London, some more images from the St Antoni Markets in Barcelona and the Mercado do Bolhau in Porto.



I'll leave you with some of my favourite Paris scenes.



In black and white, naturally.



See you all again soon.



Jillian

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Black and White Film

Black and White Film

I took 3 rolls of black and white film with me on my holiday all carefully packaged in a lead lined case. The lead lined case always attracts attention at security checkpoints, so I just accept that my bag will get searched. Eventually I figured out if I put the lead bag directly into the scanner on a tray, I didn't get stopped. That was a eureka moment.



I collected the black and white film and scans on Friday night and I've been busy sorting through the images. There's no instant feedback with film, so you have to have confidence in what you're doing and with your camera.



In fact 6 weeks have passed since I took the first images in London. I shoot differently when using film. Film is expensive ($49 to buy, develop and scan 1 roll of black and white film) so I think and prepare before I shoot. I photograph interesting faces, street scenes and architectural details.



In general I'm really happy with the results and wish I'd taken more rolls of film with me and taken more photos than I did but there'll always be a next time.



I'd like to give a big thank-you to Ian Lever who processed the film for me. He did a great job with the negatives.



I'll split the images into a few posts because I don't want you to get bored!



A few photos from Lisbon, London, Cordoba and Barcelona follow. Next post will feature Paris,









Bye for now,

Jillian

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Lisbon

Lisbon

19 Sept 2008

Lisbon was quite a different Portuguese experience from Porto - much larger, more polished and grand and filled with Danish visitors swathed in red and white. We'd arrived just in time for a football game between Denmark and Portugal.



Our hotel was in the heart of the theatre district and close to the main shopping areas. Vivien and I bought day passes and travelled around Lisbon on their cute yellow trams and elevators, buses and the metro. 



We visited the Cathedral, the Castle san Jorge, the Baixa Chiado district, had grilled sardines for lunch, went to Belem, visited the Jeronimos Monastery and bought custard tarts for afternoon tea. I tried custard tarts from 4 locations and the tarts from the Antiga Confeitaria de Belém were outstanding.



We had a final GAP dinner at a faded but grand palace then the the following day I moved into the Lisbon Sofitel on the Avenida Liberdade. 






















I loved Portugal and can't wait to go back again some day,

Jillian

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Porto

Porto

15 Sept 2008

I flew home this morning from Hong Kong, 9 hours later than planned and without my luggage but safe and sound. Today in between sleeping, I managed to put together a few images from Porto. I really don't know when I'm going to get the time to go through all the images and prepare them properly. I think it will be quite some time before an album ever sees the light of day.




The Portuguese people were so friendly, generally spoke English and were helpful. I had done some reading on Porto but nothing had prepared me for the large numbers of other European visitors - large numbers of Dutch, German, French and British travellers. 



Highlights of Porto were the beautiful tiled buildings, the narrow winding streets and the colourful shabbiness of the place.



It's where I tried my first bacalau fritters down by the river, enjoyed true Portuguese chicken with great fries (no piri piri sauce served here though) and crossed the Dom Luis I bridge to do some port tasting at Sandeman's.



I did a tour there with fellow GAP travellers Adam and Vanessa (thanks to Vanessa who took the photo of me) and enjoyed walking through the lovely old winery.



We took the funicular up the hill and yes, the funicular song was going through my head the whole journey.



I walked my poor calves silly wandering around the town especially on our second day there.



I started at the famous Majestic Cafe, walked to the markets, located the heart of the shopping district, walked down to the Ribeira district to get my laundry done and back again and walked there again later in the evening for dinner and some night photos of the Duoro river.



Whilst the other girls on the trip managed to buy lots of nice things for themselves, apart from some fruit from the markets, I came home empty handed.



After 2 days in Porto we caught a train to Lisbon. I haven't had a chance to look at these photos yet but will try to blog them during the weekend. I think this week will be about returning to work and the gym and recovering from jetlag.

Jillian

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Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela

13 Sept 2008

I knew nothing about St James, whose remains are reportedly buried in the cathedral at Santiago de Compostela. I knew nothing about the camina, a pilgrimage that snakes it's way from France to Santiago de Compostela.



I knew nothing about the pilgrims who make their way on foot or on bike carrying a scallop shell and a special passport that's been stamped along the route.



I knew nothing about the special incense ceremony that occurs after the end of mass that we witnessed one Sunday. I was probably the only one who knew nothing because there were thousands of tourists in Santiago de Compostela and they were all there for a reason.



The cathedral is located opposite the town hall and a beautiful square made of granite.



I woke early one day to catch some sunrise photos and went to the square with some of the other GAP travellers late at night after one of our many late finishing meals to take some night time shots.



We found a group of troubadours playing in the square one night well after midnight. Our hotel faced a small square adjacent to the cathedral and the drinking and partying in the town went on into the wee small hours.



I'm not too sure if the pilgrims were doing the partying or the rest of the tourists. I've attached some photos of our 2 days there.




I'm on my return journey to Sydney - one flight down and just 3 to go! When I get home I'll post photos from the 2 Portuguese cities that we visited - Porto and Lisbon. Compared to Northern Spain both cities were a riot of colour .

Jillian

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San Sebastian

San Sebastian

11 Sept 2008

San Sebastian was the second stop on our GAP worldwind tour of Spain and Portugal. We'd hoped to spend some time on the beach but the weather was a bit too grey and dreary for that. We soon discovered San Sebastian has great shops all conveniently located. I bought a tote whilst some of the others bought up big in Zara, a Spanish fashion house a bit like Witchery but much bigger.




We had a lovely dinner at the Hotel de Londres on our first night. I had brandade for my first course, duck for second course and flan, a bit like creme caramel for dessert. The second night we went into the old town for pintxos, washed down with sangria. The next day it was back in the bus for the long journey to the Asturias to Cangas de Onis.









See you all again soon,

Jillian

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