Hey - if you want to keep up with what I am doing over the next couple of months, you are welcome to visit our TravelVirgins website at:

www.asifweknow.com


Anne and I are in beautiful La Garita Costa Rica for the next 2 months - hopefully will be back longer later this year. I will be shooting and posting lots of stock photography and video footage on our Travel Virgins website and Anne is posting regular tidbits and valuable info we come across, on the custom Journal that I built her on the main page. We are not going for a vacation, but to live for part of the year and to get into the culture of the cities, towns and highlands where we will be staying.

I will still be checking in here and posting new stuff as well as maintaining by businesses from our apartment in Costa Rica. The beauty of the web is that everything carries on as normal - so all of those on this forum who are hosting their websites on my professional web server or who have purchased phpCrazySites from me and need support from time to time - - - will still be able to access me and get all the help they need. I'll be sure to post some scenery and people shots in this thread.

A few shots from our apartment during the first days:









Anne posting in the http://asifweknow.com journal:



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For the next 2 months while I am away from home, I have to get used to a quite different approach to editing my images as I do not have Photoshop on my Macbook. I was hoping that Lightroom (which I have installed on the Mac) would do what I wanted, but that is not the case - - - and so I am attempting to get used to the Open Source Software GIMP and it's functioning. Most of the PS tools are there - some aren't - - - but the difficulty of switching from a familiarity and comfort level I have with Photoshop from hours a day working with it, is proving to be the same challenge that I had when I moved from years of using Corel Photopaint, to Adobe Photoshop a couple of years ago. Oh well - I am of the opinion that being put in difficult situations many times expands our abilities. Probably more than anything I am missing my handy and efficient specialty Windows programs like Irfanview, Porta, etc along with the custom PS actions I have created - that I use on a daily basis for fast conversion, layout and manipulation of images for web use.

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Great shots Rob, hope all goes well down there! Good luck with your tools, and you are right, challenge to figure out new ways to do stuff just makes us better!

Being I am unable to converse in Spanish yet and am very shy about approaching people and intruding on them, I finally got the nerve up and simply held my camera up and smiled and nodded my head to the natives I came across today - as if to ask if I could take a picture. They nodded back letting me know it was OK, posed (which I will work around in the future) and then chuckled when I showed them the picture on my camera screen. For the mot part everyone was cooperative in letting me take my pictures without having to sneak them or use a long lens so they wouldn't see what I was doing. I found that my Olympus E-510 with 12-60mm f2.8 is a perfect companion to this type of street shooting - providing wider angle, faster operating, dead accurate focus where I wanted it, and a fast zoom for increased light capture.


These 2 young men were sitting at the bus stop with their crates of eggs and were pleased to have me take their picture - - - as were the different food vendors in the Central Market. The man with the bananas, actually grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously with a huge smile after I showed him what I had taken. I wish I had a photo printer here so that I can take them back a copy - I may have to check into getting one or finding a place to print them for me:

















I PREFER PEOPLE TO SCENERY

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beautiful, I love the one up into the palm tree

NOT 106 Flavors - but 108 Flavors of Chicken Wings














All pictures in this series taken with Olympus E-510 and 12-60mm f2.8/4 Zuiko lens ISO 200 to 800 handheld - processed in Adobe Lightroom

A Morning in Atenas - Mercado Central

1 - Butcher



2 - Municipal Worker - as Anne and I were walking by he pointed to my camera and indicated that we may want to take his picture. He set himself up with his broom and wheelbarrow and so I took that shot - - - I followed up with a quick closeup, showed him his picture on the screen and he smiled and shook my hand. Even though there was no place to get out of the sun, the facial character came through





3 - Reading paper at Bus Terminal



4 - Shredding Cabbage - I implied that I wanted to take a picture, she hesitated and turned and asked her husband who nodded positively. The fellow in the blue shirt (looked like Engelbert Humperdinck) was encouraging her and directing her where she should stand so that everything could be seen





5 - Vegetable Vendor - I saw this cute young woman attaching bags of beens to a string when I first approached her - - - asked if I could take her picture which she obliged - - - then after getting a couple of shots of her looking at me, I waited for a few seconds for her to go back to her business so I could get the shot I really wanted



At the local Super Market on the way back to La Garita I captured these 2 shots - - - with their permission of course. First is the man supplying our meat and next is the young fellow weighing, pricing and bagging our vegetables and fruits.
(Now I just have to find a One Hour lab so I can print up a few 5x7's to take back to them all)

I have found that my skills at getting people to relax and forget about me quickly, which I have developed with my style of wedding work - - - has benefited me with this street type of documentary photography also. My normal approach however had to be altered a little as I have to ask my subject (really it's imply to them, being I don't speak Spanish) if I can take the picture - which takes a little bit away from the spontaneity of the moment - - - but has still resulted in some nice captures for me. An advantage too is that being many ticos have high speed internet access, I can provide them with the link to our www.asifweknow.com website. We know some have checked in to the site, as they have sent us messages via the "Contact Us" page - a few complimenting how friendly we were and how people like us are welcome in their country. Makes us feel good - - - like we aren't imposing on them (which was one of my biggest concerns in taking street pictures).

Sugar Cane Harvest

While winding through the mountainside roads, high in Costa Rica yesterday I was fortunate to come across workers hand cutting the sugar cane with their machetes. Although the road was very narrow with treacherous curves, and busy with large trucks, buses and cars all vying for their space on the road, we managed to turn around and pull off the road enough so that I could approach these workers and ask to take a few shots of them. After I did, a friendly handshake and pat on the shoulder ensued.








The modes of transporting the cane through the mountainside was first by tractor from the fields and then by transport truck to the destinations around the country. Traditionally done with OxCarts.

JUST ANOTHER PRETTY FACE - high up in the Jungle trees

Very productive day today

I engaged some conversation at the bus stop with locals that spoke a little English. Was able to get some beautiful expressions on the children:





Standing in line in Alejuela, this little boy was being held by his mother - beautiful lighting under the overhang:



I figure that I will run in to them again and have some prints for the parents

Friendly Market Vendors:



As soon as we walked in to the very busy indoor market in downtown Alejuela, these fellows hollered at me to take their picture (not sure if the word had gotten around from when I was in a week or so ago). Everyone is getting used to me and calling me the "guy with the camera"






This time I delivered prints to the vendors that I had taken pictures of last time I was there. They were laughing like crazy and thanking me. At one butcher shop, the father (who is the owner) refused to take our money for the 4 smoked Pork Chops that we purchased. I tried to get him to accept - but he wouldn't. I said "I'd be back" and the one son said "we know you will". It was so nice of them and not expected at all.

Always warm freshly made potato chips from this vendor. Will have a hard time going back to our favorite Lays when we get back:



Street vendors hamming it up for the camera:

HAVING PRINTS MADE

I was having a terrible time getting decent print results from the One Hour labs in the Alejuela area. It was recommended that I try a Professional Photography Studio located in the heart of the city - right across from Central Park and the large church.

It ended up that they had a Kodak system that provided me with prints within seconds - and very good quality from my Mac processed files.

Here are a couple of shots of the Studio's interior where huge enlargements line the walls of this large space:





Anne took this back shot of me attempting to explain in English and sign language - what I wanted done with the CD files I presented the young man behind the counter:




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So far I have a bit over 2000 shots that I have to edit and get posted in the "snapshots" section of the "Travel Virgins" website. The few that are posted there now are from the first couple of days in Costa Rica.

I realized that my OnePageGallery script that I adapted for this website that I built several months before leaving, is not ideal as it places the newest images at the end of the list and does not allow for notes made by me about the shot and its location. So I haven't bothered updating that section with new images in some time. Today I am going to start working on the code for that particular page - so that I don't end up too far behind.

Just got back from a long day busing through the hairpin turns of the mountains, to visit some of the small towns there. We were up around 2500 feet above our normal 3500 foot elevation here in La Garita.

Waiting at the bus stop has provided me with different photographic opportunities during this excursion. This morning was no different.

Stopped at the Super Market across from the bus canopy to get a bottle of water and saw this good looking young man:



Across the street sitting alongside the soccer field were these two young fellows sharing a set of earbuds as they listened to American music on their mp3 player:



After I took the shot so that they wouldn't notice and destroy the mood, I approached them and showed them the shot then asked for this shot:




This fellow came up and started talking and pointing. The only word I recognized was OLYMPUS as he pointed to my camera. After getting nowhere with the conversation, he pulled his Pentax DSLR out of his backpack and tried to tell me more - - - but I didn't understand. Just as I was leaving on the bus, he quickly pulled some cards out of his pack and handed them to me. When I was settled on the bus, I read them and learned that he was a professional photographer in Turrucares - a small town about 6 KM from us.It has his phone number and address, so I'll have to check in to it - - - - and give him a print of this shot with him proudly holding his Pentax:



This little cutey pie and her handsome brother were enjoying the trip into Alajuela on the bus:



In Grecia, we had some wonderful and inexpensive native food in the indoor market. The place was packed so we figured there must be a reason for that. I got this shot of the women working in the kitchen. Most turned their back when I took the shots. OF course when I went around to show them what I got, they all flocked over to me and couldn't miss the moment - - - laughing and giving me a thumbs up:



The owner came over to look too and asked why he wasn't in the shot. I obliged as he pulled a woman close to him, telling me that she was his:



Anne took this shot of me on the way home, sitting on the curb (hauling bags of fresh fruit from the local vendors) with the natives - - - waiting for the bus to arrive:




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Thanks for sharing - those are awesome!!!!!!!!!!

I am sharpening in LightRoom. I have had to learn a new set of skills with this program, but it had to be done eventually anyway. I did not understand the sharpening method at all for the first couple of weeks as they do not relate to the complex and effective PS Unsharp Mask or my preferred Smart Sharpen tools. I searched the web and did find a video or two that help me understand. Even though I do now, I do not find the LR sharpen as controllable or effective as that of PS - - - but it is doing the job for me. One tool I have come to rely on is the "Clarity" setting which effectively gives the appearance of sharpening as a result of it's edge contrast enhancement - - - which is really what the "sharpen" tools are doing anyway.

I am so used the standard Radius/Amount/Threshold sharpen settings and they do not directly translate to LR Sharpen. The general settings that I have been using are:

for portraits - "Radius" almost always 1.0 - "Amount" in the 50-75 setting - "Detail" at the default 25 setting

for landscape and textures I will quite often go a little higher with the "Amount" but never over 100 - - - and will sharpen the details by moving the "Detail" slider anywhere between 50 and 100

In the small town of Turrucares (sounds like "too - roo - car - res")

We traveled by bus down to this small town where we had heard that a rickedy old train passes through on weekends to pick up passengers between the main city of San Jose and the oceanside beach area of Puntarenas. We just wanted to get familiar with what it looks like as we are thinking that the train would be an interesting way to head across the mountainous terrain in order that we can get to the Pacific side of the country. We found the tracks and station in a setting almost out of an old broken down movie set - people walking along the tracks, children riding bikes on the tracks, and homes off the distance perched alongside the tracks:









Young man cooking his pork product on the street in front of his shop:


A local butcher (on the right) and his friend standing in front of his shop:


Father and daughter team inside their small produce shop:


School was out and the students were cramming on the buses to get home. The young girls tended to all gather at the back of the bus. This fellow in charge of making sure all were on the bus safely, got a "charge" out of picking up small pebbles and tossing them in an open window at the back of the bus, from a position where the girls could not see him. He could hardly contain himself with his giggles of mischief:


Finally a few of the girls clued in to what was going on and poked their heads out a small window in the back of the bus to let him know, and tease him:


This was the view out the bus window on the way back to our home:

Anne and I decided to have a local treat for lunch today, and so headed to the food court at the Mall International in Alajuela. TACO BELL - with one of the combos being the "Mexican Pizza" which I used to love before it was taken off the menu in Canada many years ago. I asked the young fellow who took the order if I could take his picture. He turned back toward the kitchen and then proceeded to gather everyone that was working there, so that I could have a group shot of them all (that is our lunch served up in the foreground):



A small roadside vendor along the street on the walk back to town:



We bought some fresh beens, cucumbers, cabbage and carrots from this cubby hole on a Calle (street) in Alajuela. When we first arrived we were told that all of the vendors like this were inspected regularly and that you could trust their produce:



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In front of the indoor central market, this strapping fellow hoisted heavy bags of flour on to his shoulder and delivered them to the vendors in side:





A couple of times I have walked past this motorcycle repair shop and witnessed the man in the wheelchair working on a bike while a few others hover over him. I kept track of where the shop was located and was prepared to take a picture of that today - however there was no such action going on. Nevertheless, the character of this setting struck my fancy and so I asked if I could take a shot:



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Thanks Robert,
I'm really enjoying seeing your images from Costa Rica and reading your entries....

Denise

A fantastic opportunity for me today, being I am a people photographer and far enjoy including humans and their personalities in my shots - to just shooting scenery or static subjects.

I was informed by one of the local merchants, that a school in the area would be having a Snakes of Costa Rica and the Americas - presentation today - - - and I was asked if I wanted to go for some photo opportunities. I accepted even though I had no idea whether there be any real opportunities for great animal pictures or not.

Well it turns out that the snake part was of minimal value to me, but the "kid opportunity" was of much value. Many of the small children were making comments (reported to me through an interpreter) about how they knew me from the bus. One young 6 or 7 year old student came up me and shook my hand firmly as he has done previously - at a bus stop a mile down the mountainside when he came biking up to me from his home - and one evening at a soccer game after I noticed a few young boys huddled up and looking at me and egging or daring the young fellow to approach me and shake my hand.

I love it - - - that is one of the interactions that I regret that I do not have the same freedom to enjoy in Canada and the US. I'm always concerned that parents will have a major problem with my approaching, talking to and taking a picture of their child. I have even been confronted by officials when my wife and I have taken our grandchildren to a local fair and I was in the distance using a telephoto lens for for a unique perspective of them on some of the rides. I totally dislike losing that freedom to practice my craft in a way that pleases me.

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BACK TO THE SCHOOL

This school has been the home of these children, their parents and grandparents and possibly several generations before that. It is an "old school" I was told. I stood back initially and watched as the "snake guy" educated this class about how to identify dangerous and non-dangerous snakes - and the value of them - - - - being they are being killed off for no reason other than that they are snakes and could be dangerous. So I stood back and grabbed a few setup shots:

1) Entry fee was c500 ($1)

Nikon D40 f3.5 @ 1/60'th 200ISO bounced flash

2) Instruction to one of the classes before entering the Snake Room

Olympus E-510 f6.3 @ 1/200'th 400ISO

3) Love this shot

Olympus E-510 f4 @1/160'th 800ISO

4) These boys were proud that they "knew me" - because they had seen me on the bus (I am becoming known as the man with the camera - as virtually noone has one in these parts)

Olympus E-510 f5 @ 1/125'th 400ISO

5) Inside it turned out that the room was dark and boxes holding the snakes were small and uninteresting from a photographic standpoint - but I had the kids

Olympus E-510 f3.1 @ 1/125'th 1600ISO

6) I have come to love the close focusing accuracy of my Olympus 12-60 f2.8/4 lens and so used it as best I could by holding it against the glass and focusing on the eye and skin of a few of the snakes - at least I had the snake shots for the record

Olympus E-510 f4 @ 1/50'th 1600ISO

7)

Nikon D40 f3.8 @ 1/60'th 200ISO bounced flash

8)

Olympus E-510 f4 @ 1/50'th 1600ISO

9)

Olympus E-510 f2.8 @ 1/30'th 1600ISO

10)

Olympus E-510 f3.0 @ 1/25'th 1600ISO

11) As we were leaving we came across this open door classroom - where I was invited to quickly take a picture

Nikon D40 f3.5 @ 1/60'th 200ISO

that's great!!!! Do they all speak spanish??

Yes - none of them spoke English - I speak no Spanish

-------]

Dentistry is of a high quality in Costa Rica - - - and pretty inexpensive (for those who do not have dental plans such as self employed people like me). We had heard stories of how many Americans pay for their vacation to Costa Rica with the savings - - - some simply fly down just to get their teeth fixed.

Well I went in last week and had a filling done at this recommended dentist (they are on just about every corner of every town). The service was wonderful with a feeling of Old School care and sensitivity - and excellent results, even if I had to pay the same price as back home - - - but I didn't as the filling cost me c15,000 or roughly $30 USD. I will be having a Root Canal and Crown on one of my teeth next year when I come back - - - with the price being $195 USD for the complete service.

Anne went in for a cleaning and checkup today (c15,000 or $30). I asked if he minded that I take a few pictures and he obliged. An opportunity I don't know if I'd get back home, without a bit of paperwork:


Olympus E-510 f2.8 @ 1/30'th 400ISO


Olympus E-510 f3.5 @ 1/50'th 800ISO


Olympus E-510 f4 @ 1/60'th 800ISO

MICHAEL'S HOME

This young entrepreneur that I have come to know, wanted to show me his house that he is preparing for himself and his future bride (getting married in a year or two when it is done-he said). It is on the family property in behind his mothers home and those homes of a few of his cousins.

I asked how long he had been working on it - and he stated that it had been a year. He doesn't have much money and so hires workers as he has some available. He was very excited about the potential and when asked about colors, he informed me that the outside would be yellow - but "not a bright yellow" - and the roof would be red.

I took a shot with one of the trademan working on the concrete walls (another was sawing on the roof) - and then asked Michael to lean against a ladder on the wall, and look out the window as the man worked in behind.


Nikon D40 f3.5 @ 1/200'th 200ISO


Olympus E-510 f5 @ 1/125'th 800ISO


Olympus E-510 f5.8 @ 1/100'th 400ISO

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Headed out to the North West part of the country by bus yesterday. The bus ride on the Auto Pista (Pan American highway) took 6 hours after we bused into San Jose early in the morning. Santa Cruz was a much different town than we expected with no tourists visible and a poorer road and bus structure than we are used to in the small towns where we are staying in the Central Valley Highlands. We were beat when we arrived and it was hot - so we looked for a place to stay for the might, first off. It was difficult finding hotels and so we pulled out our list of 3 places to stay that are included in an online bus schedule that we purchased. Unfortunately the recommendtaions were based on a fellow who is traveling single - and on the cheap.

We decided on a Hostel from his list - which ended up being a rather unnerving and different experience for Anne and I. Yes it was cheap at c3500 or $7 per person - - -but the room was more like a small prison cell with 2 small bunks (clean sheets though) and dirty walls, as well as the sink and bathroom being outdoors in a nearby building necessitating Anne to wake me up at 1:00 in the morning to follow her to the bathroom. At least we have experienced it - however I doubt that staying in one again will be a conscious choice that we would make in the future, regardless of how cheap it is.

Shortly after escorting Anne to the washroom, I took this setup shot of our sleeping conditions - using the cameras self timer:


This was the yard outside our door with the families outdoor kitchen still lit:





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This was a crazy sight. A bus pulled in to the station and out of the cargo area were unloaded this persons travel gear - including an engine, tank of gas and battery. I took the shot of this while the owner called someone who showed up shortly after with a small pickup truck and a young fellow to lift everything into the truck:



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Pottery in the traditional of their ancestors

Heading out a long tree covered road into the rural areas of the Guanacaste/Nicoya region of Costa Rica, lies the village of Guaitil (pronounced "way - teal") where artisans carry on the craft of producing their ceramic pottery by hand using the same traditions, tools and materials that have been passed down from generation to generation for 500 years.

Clays and colours are collected from the ground about 4KM from the town. While we were not able to see the firing of the pottery, Elma and Jennifer did create a small dish from start to finish so that we could see the process:

The pottery is spun by one hand while the other hand molds and shapes - many times using the vertical pole as a guide for measurement and accuracy




One of the essential tools is a corn cob for gouging out the excess clay and forming the shape


Unlike the way that we normally see a potter stretch the clay up to extend the shape and thin it out - this method uses sections of a rolled string of clay added to the top at regular intervals, that is then melded in using wet fingers.







From start to finish was about 1/2 an hour


The surface is painted with different colours of pulverized local rock and then etched by hand using simple tools - to reveal the colour underneath and create a pattern


Anne looking at a selection available from this artisan



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If you would like to see their work and some of the history and process, Elma Grijalba Grijalba who is the artisan who owns this store, does have a website:

http://tinajistasguaitil.110mb.com/


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Favourite Bus Driver

While he speaks no English, this bus driver has looked out for us since our first days visiting Alajuela. He guided us to the proper bus depot so that we could get home and when he has seen us around the country side, he has made sure the other bus drivers pick us up so that we can get to our destination. We only run into him a few times a week out the many times each day that we travel on the bus - - - but I wanted a shot of him before we leave next week, and so asked today if I could take his picture, even though he only had seconds to do so before heading off. I gestured for him to place his arm on the window. He gave me his most serious look for the first quick 3 shots in succession - and then I looked out at him from the bottom of my camera and gave him a funny look (same trick I always use to get a smile or laugh), and I got this shot that exemplifies his personality.



Everywhere we go, there are men walking around with large and sometimes heavy loads balanced on their shoulders. They seem comfortable doing so - in order to get their goods to the destination.



Some of the best ice cream we have ever experienced is in just about every venue in Costa Rica. Even their standard ice cream bars are of the caliber if a Hagendas or Ben and Jerrys - they never disappoint. Here we wanted to cool off with a cona in San Jose today - and so paid c600 ($1.20) for 2 scrumptious vanilla cones.



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CAMERA AT THE HIP (Olympus E-510 w/12-60)

San Jose central market. All shots Olympus E-510 w/12-60 lens at 1600ISO

Seller of Banana Palm Leaves - I asked if I could take a foto - he agreed and just carried on business as usual as I squatted low to the ground for a better angle


This fellow after finding out I was from Canada, raised his hands and shouted "viva canada"


Lots of imported leather products - probably from China

great images!!!

Not quite as appealing a view of the San Jose Central Market - from Avenida 1. An old traditional crowded and bustling indoor business center for the city:




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CHARACTER & CULTURE

I was asked to take a couple shots of this Tico father with his daughter:








A Costa Rican girl with her little pup (puppy love)




Hot Tamales

We were asked in to a Tico home and provided with freshly made Tamales (corn dough and beans wrapped in banana leaves) - along with Empanadas stuffed with the Chiverre fruit.




Tons of active and elusive hummingbirds up in the mountains. We were about 5000 feet up the Poas Mountain (9000 feet) this weekend and while I tried to get a decent shots of these darting 4 inch wonders by following by hand and using 1/1250 sec shutter speeds with a totally inadequate 450mm equiv lens - - - this is the only shot I got of the Rufous-Tailed Hummingbird after trying for several hours.

THE JEWELRY STORE

Early on in our adventure, I came across a little jewelry store in downtown Alajuela - noticing a pair of delicate "3 gold" earings in the shape of small butterflies, I decided to purchase them and surprise Anne with a little gift (which she loved and expressed her love to me nicely :wink:wink).

This morning after our dentist visit in Atenas, I phoned my mother and father. Mom asked if I could check around for 2 items that she had lost somehow. One was her engagement ring (from 52 years ago) and the other was a self winding watch that she loved (no batteries and no winding). I told her we would look into it this afternoon when we headed in to the city.

It ended up that our friendly jeweler had 2 "automatic" womens watches in stock - but not a ring as mom has described. I was heading out the door to go home and give mom the descriptions of the watches to see if they suited, when I got the idea that I should take a picture and email the pictures. Much smarter idea.

I asked the lady if she would allow me to do so. She agreed. When I showed her the image on the back of the camera, she said "wow - what a camera". Anne told her that I was a professional photographer and a bit about our Costa Rica project. She got excited and asked if I would take a picture of her mother and her with my "professional camera ". Of course I agreed.

Lighting was quite low with exposures being 1/15'th sec to 1/50'th of a second. She asked if I wanted them behind the counter or in front. I said that it might be nice having them in front - they obliged and came out from behind with their family dog. I took a shot with the dog first and then of the 2 alone. Then the hired watch maker came out from behind the store and so I also took a shot of him behind the counter.







The mother began to relax when I was done and I saw more beautiful smiles coming from her - - - so I turned the camera just on her while she talked (in spanish) for a couple of closeups. I did the same with the daughter. It was tough getting natural expressions without movement being that the exposure times for these 2 portraits were 1/15'th of a second at 800ISO.

I have also tacked on one of the shots I took of the watch - to send to my mother for her approval. It turned out to be a far better idea than trying to describe by words.







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NOTHING LIKE HAVING PEOPLE ASK YOU TO TAKE THEIR PICTURE - - - it's something that I'm just not used to at home.

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3 Night & 4 Day Excursion

We headed up to Arenal Volcano & Monteverde early this week and I was able to photograph a different sort of native Costa Rican - ones who lived in areas that are heavily effected by tourism. Still friendly smiles - but a little more interested in making every buck they could from you while you were there. (I point out again though, that I have not paid anyone to take the pictures of them - - - and that held true in this area of the country also)

Walking down the street I noticed this butcher hauling large sides of meat around his shop and asked his wife if I could take a picture:


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 55mm | f4.8 @ 1/80'th | 1600ISO

Fortunately this steel worker maintained a sober look while I took his picture and then when I was done I waved to him and he returned a big smile and thumbs up:


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 65mm | f6.3 @ 1/640'th | 200ISO

This fellow was our guide for the night excursion through the jungle up to Arenal Volcano to witness the Lava Flow:


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 170mm | f5.6 @ 1/15'th | 1600ISO


Arenal Volcano shown behind the Bull Fighting Ring in La Fortuna (I had to shoot through chain link fence to get this):


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 32mm | f8 @ 1/250th | 200ISO

A taxi driver waiting to snag the tourists as the bus from San Jose arrives:


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 170mm | f5.6 @ 1/200th | 200ISO

These 2 old fellows met in the center of the street to carry on a conversation while traffic went around them:


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 120mm | f5.6 @ 1/250th | 200ISO


I saw this very young girl cleaning up the yard around the hotel property where we stayed the night in La Fortuna. I took a couple of shots without her noticing - - then she saw me and I got to witness your incredible smile - - as I normally am able to do with my digital camera, I showed her and then her mother (who proudly let me know that she was her daughter) - - I then asked the mother if I could take a picture of the 2 of them. This is part of the series:


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 120mm | f5.6 @ 1/125th | 250ISO


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 120mm | f5.6 @ 1/125th | 250ISO


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 70mm | f5 @ 1/125th | 1400ISO


I have had photographers contact me or post on threads I have made, asking how I am able to get people to be so relaxed and comfortable so quickly. Part of my approach is trusting the people which somehow seems to come across when I first point my camera at them or make a gesture implying I'd like to take their picture.

The trust even extends to letting young children handle my cameras and get the "thrill of their life" doing so. After I took the pictures of the young child above, while Anne and I were sitting waiting for our transportation to arrive, I took my camera to the little girl and handed it to her gesturing for her to our picture.

She raised the camera up and looked at the screen of course. I moved the camera eyepiece to her eye, helped her place her left hand UNDER the lens to support it, and her right hand on the shutter release. I went and sat down and directed her to push down on the release - which she had already done as the first picture indicates. For the real shot, I have no idea why I was bending down trying to make sure I was in the picture from the childs low angle - - - but I did. She was so proud of the picture she took and went running to tell her mother all about it - - - of course I had to show the mother, which resulted in a huge smile and hug for the little girl that only proud parent could provide:






FLAMENCO GUITAR PLAYER AT "THE TREE HOUSE" in Monteverde

Very low lighting - movement - 1600ISO and 3200ISO settings


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 18mm | f3.5 @ 1/10th | 3200ISO


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 50mm | f4.8 @ 1/2 sec | 1600ISO


Nikon D40 | 18-200VR @ 22mm | f3.8 @ 1/6 sec | 1600ISO

SO COOL

I had Richard (in Canada) make up a large print of this Eclipse Sequence that I shot while laying on the sidewalk at Norma's Villas ( http://normasvillas.com/ ) where we are living for our 2 month excursion. He printed it on an outdoor plastic so that it could be mounted outdoors if desired.

The print was delivered to me last week and I gave it to Rick (son of Norma) as a gift with a story directly related to our stay at their place. He and his mother greatly appreciated it.

WELL SURPRISE OF SURPRISES TODAY. I find out that Rick and Norma had been considering what to call their new restaurant and bar area - - -and after receiving the Eclipse Print, decided to call it "Norma's ECLIPSE Restaurant and Bar". It officially opened tonight with the Panoramic Print I gave them, proudly mounted in a place visible to all. It feels so good to have been influential in the naming of this place - and the Eclipse theme is so appropriate with a story to boot.

Thank You All - - - it has been my pleasure posting my little stories and supporting pics. Anne and I have had an incredible time over the last 2 months. UNFORTUNATELY ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END. And we are winding down with only 3 more days left before flying back home early Tuesday morning.

Knowing that many were looking into my regular posts on the forum and some even following regularly and really enjoying our perspective, made the trip even more fun as there was purpose to what we were doing. We will be maintaining the TRAVEL VIRGINS WEBSITE at http://asifweknow.com online into the future for the purpose of any who might find tidbits of valuable information about Costa Rica. Anne and I are already planning for our return next January 2009 for a 3 month stay.

I am so far behind with the many things we have crammed in over the last week - - - and so I will likely have a few more stories and pics to add in the next few days before I complete this thread. But I do thank all who enjoyed and replied. I plan on using some of the replies of encouragement that I have received on this forum, on a special "COMMENTS" page on www.asifweknow.com. I hope nobody minds.

Well I had to take a picture of "Norma's Eclipse Bar and Grill" before leaving.

When I had the 10" x 48" Lunar Eclipse print made up and shipped down, I thought it would be plenty large enough - - - however it looks puny. Rick is quite happy with the size, but I will be printing a much bigger one that will fill the wood area (2'x8') when I get home, and ship that down to him to replace this one. It should be pretty cool. Anyway - Anne and I are pretty jazzed at them using the theme.



Simple opening day menu:


Whole seating area. Behind me is a huge covered area for playing darts, pool tables and ping pong tables:

Robert,


These are absolutely wonderful! I have been dying to visit Costa Rica, and now I feel like I've been there! Thank you so much!!!

Are you using any of these for stock, therefore making model releases a necessity? It seems like it would be tough with the language barrier. I'm going to have to brush up on my spanish again before I go, it's been a while since I've used it!!!

I will be using many of the images for stock. I will have to figure out what and where I can use the images that are taken in public places when I get back home. For the most part releases probably aren't needed.


THE FINAL GOODBYE


Anne and I are feeling a little emotional today. We both really have mixed feelings of not wanting to leave because we love the country and it suits our lifestyle so well - - - and on the other had we are both anxious to see our family and friends back home in Ontario Canada.

After packing our cloths early this morning, we decided that we wanted to take our last 1/2 hour bus ride into the city of Alajuela that we frequented so often and were we made so many friends as a result of my camera. We wanted to say goodbye to "Black Dog" who was always waiting at the bus depot for us and protectively followed as we walked up the street at nights - and even into local restaurants. We went through the downtown market and said goodbye to our butcher friends and vegetable vendor friends. We had our last Helado (ice cream) cones and Anne got to enjoy the gelatine, helado and fruita combination that she has longed for and never had. We also got to hand deliver our last photographic print to our "Favorite Bus Driver" - the man who though he speaks no English, has looked over us since the first day we bumped into him in Alajuela and asked him how we get our bus home. Such a satisfying walk around the city today.

Late last night we had our last meal at Magic's 108 Flavor Chicken Wing Place. Today we decided to eat American and go to Pizza Hut. I love the Costa Rican culture even in these places. Example . . .

. . . a whole slew of motorcycles out front of the restaurant for delivery of pizzas. The Costa Rican slant is the drivers doing all of their mechanical work on the bikes - right outside the front door:





All the employees working inside, gathered for a nice send off to us:




A Street Market Vendor wishes us well (Anne told me later that the 2 guys in behind were wanting a picture of themselves too - but I didn't notice) - with a pat on my back after I showed him the image on the back of my camera:



Fredrico who tried teaching me Spanish on the bus ride home (even though he speaks no English) - waves goodbye as Anne and I leave the bus. I told him that we were leaving tomorrow morning:



On our walk from the bus home, we bumped into these 2 Amigos just out of School heading to Maikol's Supermarket in La Garita:



Even the utilities guys doing repairs outside of Norma's Villas - had their say:






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