Trinidad + jPhone

During my stay in Trinidad earlier this month I used both my Canon 5D MkII and my jPhone to capture the beauty that is Trinidad. Below are images solely captured with my phone as those are the easier images to upload at this time.


This is me on the road to Macqueripe

During my photo walk I found some beautiful plant life

This bamboo pathway was amazing.

The beach at Macqueripe (really feeling this postcard look)

The beach up close

I found this little building view on the side of the road

Chaguaramas

I climbed on top of an abandoned building to get this shot

Portrait: Trini Chillin'

PORTRAITURE

With all the gorgeous portraits of Darcel I have already posted, I thought it would be great to post a humorous one.

With the water and sky behind me, I had Darcel lean up against one of the caves at Las Cuevas. She struck a b-boy pose and I got this cute portrait.

Point & Shoot Thursdays

POINTING & SHOOTING

I want to show you what you can accomplish with a Point & Shoot camera. You do not need the most expensive camera to take amazing pictures. Every photo here was taken with the Canon G12, a Point & Shoot camera.

Yes, this is the last Point & Shoot of Trinidad mostly because I ran out of pictures...lol.

En route to the beaches on the north coast there is a nice look-out point where you can also find some lovely trini treats to munch on. I prefer the coconut fudge.

Here is Macqueripe with Venezuela in the far horizon.

Here is a lovely view of Maracas.

Yes even in Tobago there is bootleg material available.

The beaches in Tobago are lovely and clean. Ahhhh!

Okay next week we will have photos from my DC trip.

Laters!

Strictly Darcel Portrait

PORTRAITURE

I captured so many great images of Darcel wearing her shades during this photo shoot at Las Cuevas, Trinidad. After some time, I was able to get the woman behind the shades. This smile is quintessential Darcel. She is fun, loving, and lovely.

Point & Shoot Thursdays

POINTING & SHOOTING

I want to show you what you can accomplish with a Point & Shoot camera. You do not need the most expensive camera to take amazing pictures. Every photo here was taken with the Canon G12, a Point & Shoot camera.

Okay so this is probably the last installment of Trinidad photos unless I get inspired. Whether it's Trinidad, NY, Tampa, or the Bronx, every Thursday will have Travel photos.

Yes Las Cuevas Beach on the north coast is so lovely. I wanted you to get up close to it in this photo.

Out west you can see the mainland of Venezuela deep in the horizon here. Trinidad is the closest Caribbean country to Venezuela.

Trinidad acknowledging God in front of Parliament in downtown Port of Spain

Road of Bamboos (golden filter added)

Sky in St. James, Port of Spain

Laters!

SPECtacular Darcel

PORTRAITURE

The model in Darcel lit up when she put on the shades. The timidness went away and the glamour girl showed up on the scene. It definitely helped at this point we were right by the water. I used the cave as her background with all its beautiful shadings.

Seeing the blue sky and the beach in her shades is a lovely thing. With her hair blowing about in the wind I just really like the mood of this portrait.

Point & Shoot Thursdays

POINTING & SHOOTING

I want to show you what you can accomplish with a Point & Shoot camera. You do not need the most expensive camera to take amazing pictures. Every photo here was taken with the Canon G12, a Point & Shoot camera.

I like this Point & Shoot Thursday blog concept. This is especially helpful when it comes to travel. Walking around with a point and shoot camera is so much easier, and safer.

So I was intentional about sharing a variety of images from Trinidad. This first image is of a house way up on the north coast of Trinidad. On this section of the road there were maybe four homes and this was one of them.

Driving off road (or on beach) is essential when you need to get to certain places. Notice dude is driving while talking on cell phone.

This pit stop in the mountains en route to Maracas Bay provides a gorgeous landscape of the north coast.

Back in the west you can find quaint scenery right through the doorway.

And of course a peaceful resting place is always important. (A special filter was placed on this photo)

Yes I will be providing more Trinidad photos next Thursday. Stay tuned.

Urban Fine Art Fave - "Darcel Dreaming"

PORTRAITURE

Darcel is a beautiful Trinidadian woman. So the original version of this portrait is gorgeous. It definitely has that caribbean flavoring to it with the greenery and the beach lighting. But of course since this is Tuesday, I had to make an urban fine art version.

I rarely start with a goal in mind. Truly I start from scratch when I make an urban fine art portrait. A desire I had was to layer and texture the portrait so that it had thickness to it. I wanted Darcel's hair to be very defined and her eyes to pop out.

After achieving that through many layers, I found this lovely copper tone which dramatically enhanced both Darcel and the background. The cave behind her suddenly had depth and a little punch which had not been there in the original version.

After a little tweaking, out came this lovely portrait which I call, "Darcel Dreaming"

Caribbean Beauty - Darcel

PORTRAITURE

So I had my first photo shoot in Trinidad and it was on the beach. Yes!

Of course I had the lovely Darcel before my camera. She is really cool people so it was a joy to hang with her.

We took photographs at Las Cuevas which is on the north coast of Trinidad. It just so happens to be my favorite beach in Trinidad so I had locations in mind of where I wanted to photograph.

Since this was the first time I had my main camera and my lenses in Trinidad, I made use of them. Enjoy a few of the fun images we created.

Point & Shoot Thursdays

POINTING & SHOOTING

I want to show you what you can accomplish with a Point & Shoot camera. You do not need the most expensive camera to take amazing pictures. Every photo here was taken with the Canon G12, a Point & Shoot camera.

Okay so I am in Trinidad for work and vacation. I intentionally purchased a point and shoot camera so I can take pictures of Trinidad while walking and driving around. Let me show you a little of the beauty of Trinidad.

These are homes in the capital city, Port of Spain.

If you want really good roti, you have to go to Hott Shoppe. Their rotis are unbelievably delicious.

On the north coast there are numerous beaches. My favorite is Las Cuevas.

This granddad got out his wheelchair to take a dip in the water.

Yeah the north coast skies are ridiculously beautiful.

Okay so those are my photos for today. Stay tuned for next Thursday's point & shoot sharing.

Point & Shoot: Trinidad

POINT & SHOOT

Instead of walking the beaches and streets of Trinidad with a camera and lens valued at $4000, I thought it was important to acquire my first Point & Shoot camera. Yes my iPhone is lovely but I needed a robust P&S that also shot HD Video.

So I purchased the Canon G12.

This camera is a beast. It has all the DSLR handling a pro is used to all stuffed neatly into a $400 treasure.

The structure is tight and sturdy. The swivel screen is beautiful. And the 10 megapixel images are sweet. This all fits in your back pocket, with a bulge of course. It is not razor thin like most P&S cameras.

As a companion to the G12, I purchased the Jolby Gorillapod ($65) to help stabilize my photography and video work.

Just yesterday I placed the camera with the Gorillapod on the dashboard to record video while I was driving. The legs on the Gorillapod are bendable providing various means of stabilization.

So for the next few weeks I will be posting photos on the JDP blog on Thursdays as part of the "Point & Shoot: Trinidad" segment.

Urban Fine Art Fave - "T&T Out of Africa"

PHOTOGRAPHY

I frequent Trinidad often. Last year I was there during Carnival and it was the first time I took Carnival photos with my own camera. Every other time I borrowed my friend's camera. Needless to say I took loads of photos.

Today I decided to review these Carnival photos, many of which I had never looked at on my computer. When I saw the photo of this woman, I knew I wanted to edit it. She was playing mas with Mac Farlanes' "Out of Africa".

Urban Fine Art Fave

Tropical Paradise

Las Cuevas Bay truly is a tropical paradise for me. Enjoy this beach photo of Trinidad taken with my jPhone.

Tales From The Caribbean Hood - "We Entrepreneurs"

Welcome to a special Tales From The Caribbean Hood. This episode is called "We Entrepreneurs". Let us listen in as West Indian Mike breaks it down...

"These days business is very high-tech. And you know we West Indians are highly entrepreneurial. To the naked eye this image looks like an upside down shopping cart. However, this is actually a Mobile Chicken Coop. Yes, you can mind your chickens anywhere you'd like now.

We like to call this our "Sidewalk Special". It has improved our customer's productivity by 33%. Don't delay, buy one now."

iPhone Urban Fine Art Fave - "The Way"

"The Way"

As I was doing location scouting for a photo shoot in Trinidad, I saw this frame of an abandonded chapel which I found very interesting. I took this photo from the inside looking out. I call it "The Way".

Although narrow, it leads toward illumination. I see the tree (of life) ahead. I ackowledge the door broken off to the side as if access was granted to me by an incredible force. I see the top of the doorway is divided from the top down.

When I look at this I can't help but think about God and what He has done in my life. He makes a way because Jesus is "The Way".

Sunshine

It's a little gloomy and rainy in the NYC today as I head to church. So I thought I would share a lil sunshine.

Steel Pan

The steel pan is the only acoustic (non-electric) instrument invented in the twentieth century. It was invented on the island of Trinidad

It is the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, and is still strongly associated with Calypso and other Caribbean music styles.

Urban Fine Art Fave - "Brushed"

PHOTOGRAPHY

Brushed - It is dry season in Trinidad right now. With the lack of rain, much of the vegetation is dry. This can lead to brush fires.

For each of the ten days I was in Trinidad, I either smelled the ash from a brush fire, saw the smoke of a brush fire, or actually witnessed the actual flames from a brush fire.

This landscape was taken en route to the north coast.

Urban Fine Art

Macqueripe

Macqueripe is a lovely place in Trinidad. This is one of the spots I go to for relaxation in the salt water.

If you look in the deep horizon you can see the coastline of Venezuela.

Journeys From Trinidad

VIDEOGRAPHY

So I am in Trinidad enjoying myself. I thought it would be great to share with you my favorite beach, "Las Cuevas".

Las Cuevas Beach from Joseph D. Martinez on Vimeo.

On the north coast of Trinidad.