Year End Wrap Up, 2012

What a year it’s been!

In 2012, I was able to visit 6 more towns I had not seen.  Those included Hatillo, Camuy, Quebradillas, Isabella, Toa Baja and Dorado.  I revisited San Juan (several times), Ponce, Salinas, Coamo and Cataño.  At this point, I’ve photographed about half the plazas of Puerto Rico.  I’ll bump that number up for 2013.

We still need to visit the 4 or 5, outer islands of Puerto Rico.

Coffin island and Gilligan’s island are high on my hit list.  Mona, Vieques and Culebra require a little more planning, but they will happen.

Then there are a few photo subjects that have eluded me…

The very rare Puerto Rican parrot, the runaway monkeys in the southwest, nesting sea turtles and whales off the northwest corner.

Then there is the most elusive of all… El Chupacabra.  I may have to fake that one.

There are still plenty of ruins to shoot.

I don’t think I’ve visited but about 1/4 of those.  Caves off the ‘beaten path’ will be investigated.  I’ll never be a dedicated spelunker, but there are a few caves I can easily access.

Puerto Rico is a photographer’s dream come true.

Of Special Note- I scored my Puerto Rican Driver’s License AND my Voter ID Card this year.   I voted in the last election!  Now I’ve truly ‘burned my boat’.  This is home.

I’ll keep up the running narrative about what it’s like to live here.

I like it.  No, I love living in PR!  But it does have it’s issues at times.  Someday we might actually get to dependable Internet service.  Us ‘Americanos’ brush off these hassles as simply ‘Paradise Tax’.. the cost of living in such a marvelous place.  I do take off the rose colored glasses from time to time, just to keep us rooted in reality.

In this last year, I did not do much video.

I’ll be replacing my old Vado HD video cam with a new waterproof model in the next couple of weeks.  These relatively cheap ‘action cams’ have evolved quite nicely over the last couple of years.  YouTube is full of material done with them.  Ever watch Tosh.0?  This might be the year I fly down the zip-line in Orocovis.

Updates, Stuff and Things

The Hurricane Season, from the end of July through the middle of December is kind of a slack period.  Not much happens until you get close to Christmas.  Hence the lack of posts.  From the close of school for Christmas vacation, through 3 Kings Day in early January, it’s really just for family.  Many local businesses are closed.  The pace in PR is not as consumer driven as the mainland.  I like that.

The shot of the figurine depicts an old fashioned cock fight.

There is a whole series of Puerto Rican themed figurines on sale during the season.  Consumer fireworks show up during this time too.  It’s a good thing I like fountains as the legal stuff is of the ‘safe ‘n sane’ variety.  Come New Years Eve, the roar of fireworks cannot be ignored… safe ‘n sane?  I don’t think so.

I’ve used this ‘slack time’ to do minor updates to me Scurvy Blog as well as bring my Bamboo Site, back up to speed.   I’ll be doing a few more stories for it over the coming year.  I’ll also be doing more stories related to gardening as they seem to be very popular.  There are several more nurseries and farms to visit.

A New Site for Photographers

I’ve put together a brand new Web site- 24mmPOV.com (24mm Point of View) dedicated to the ‘passion of photography’.  It went on line a week ago so it will be a couple more months before I have it all fleshed out.

It is not about PR or my photography.

My ambition is to feature work by other creative types, not just my own.   A little later, I plan to open up a discussion on photography as an extension of self-expression and how others create works of art via the photographic process.  Yes, there will be plenty of discussion about cameras, lenses, and gear in general.  After all, I am a ‘gear head’.  I also want to hear from those who cobble together ‘stuff’ to solve a problem and how it was done.  I’ll kick that off with a few posts on what I’ve built to achieve a particular image.  Some are simple, some not so much.

I’ve been wanting to do a photo site since before I moved to PR.

In closing, I wish everyone a grand new year with good fortune for all.

The Scurvy Dog, Felicidades y Prosperidad en el Año Nuevo!