The Slow Boat from Guimaras Island

The Slow Boat from Guimaras Island
Originally uploaded by Sam Antonio Photography

I’m really slow.

So was the lens I used to shoot this photograph.

First things first.

It’s been exactly a year since my trip to the Philippines and I’m just beginning to upload the majority of my photos.

So call me slow.

I did put together a travel portrait gallery entitled: Everyone has a Story: The Faces of the Philippines. You can view that HERE.

What’s even slower is the Tamron AF 18-270mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC LD Aspherical (IF) MACRO Lens (say that twenty times and see if that doesn’t slow you down).

With the f/stop range of 3.5-6.3 and knowing that Tamron lens are slow to focus, I still felt compelled to buy this lens for my Philippines trip. I would be shooting in hot, dusty and crowded places so I opted for the all in one Tamron super zoom lens rather than bringing three different lenses. After all, Tamron hailed it as “The Ultimate All-In-One Zoom: Longest, Steadiest Lens On Earth.” With a claim like that how could you not hand over your credit card number to Tamron?

While the lens did its job in helping me capture some great moments, its slow focusing system left me frustrated most of the time (thankfully I left most of those frustrations at the bottom of a San Miguel beer bottle).

It did deliver on this shot of this pump boat I took returning from Guimaras Island.

Guimaras is a hidden gem of the Philippine archipelago. It is only a fifteen minute pump boat ride from Iloilo City but a world apart from big city life.

Looking back the Tamron “slow” lens forced me to travel slower and be more cultural aware. To take a more deliberate approach in photographing the Filipino people rather than a “run and gun” approach.

So not only does slow and steady win the race but it also captures compelling images.

Happy Travels!

Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography

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