I love traveling to foreign countries and better yet I love coming back to my home country of the United States after a great trip. The only problem is that sometimes I find American government officials annoying.
Returning from Mexico City, I was stuck in a long line at the Charlotte Airport awaiting to be interrogated by the next suspicious U.S. Customs agent. When it was my time to be questioned I was asked where I was returning from.
“Mexico City!” I calmly told the agent.
I knew that set off red flags in her head and she immediately went into Sherlock Homes mode.
“What were you doing in Mexico City?”
“Where you traveling by yourself?”
“Did you meet somebody there?”
“Why Mexico City?”
“Do you have friends or family that live there?”
“What do you find appealing in Mexico City?”
Of course I knew what she was insinuating. I was born and raised in the international border city of San Diego and I am accustomed to being subjected to questions regarding travel in Mexico whenever I would return from there. Since I was coming back from Mexico City, in her mind she must have been thinking I served on the board of directors of some Mexican drug cartel.
But it was her last question that really set me off.
“Why Mexico City when you could be enjoying the beaches of Mazatlan, Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel?”
I looked her squarely in the eye and replied, “Why would I want to spend my hard earned money traveling to a Mexican beach resort that’s overpriced and congested with those Americans (as I pointed back to the line of tanned Americans wearing nothing but slippers, shorts and T-shirts proclaiming “I ‘heart’ Cancun”)? I travel overseas to meet locals not other Americans.”
Somehow she let me back into the country.
God bless the U.S.A.!
Happy 4th of July my fellow Americans!
And the photograph...
I’m standing at the midpoint on my way up the Pyramid of the Sun (the third largest pyramid in the world) in the ancient city of Teotihuacan (an hour outside of Mexico City).
Somehow of all the photographs I took at Teotihuacan this one had the most appeal to me. The incongruity of a local woman holding her child and the tourists holding their camera and gasping for air (the altitude of the Mexico City metropolis, which is perched atop a highland valley, sits at 2,240 meters (7,392 feet) above sea level).
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Sunday, August 14, 2011
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Just for my Photography Friends: A Secret Southwest Photo Location
Just for my Flickr Friends: A Secret Southwest Photo Location, a photo by Sam Antonio Photography on Flickr.
I had to leave my motel two hours before sunrise to reach the trailhead and then hike for about fifteen minutes to reach this point. Once there I had this magnificent arch all to myself. So how did I find this undiscovered natural landmark? Patience, hours of hiking and cash incentives for the locals (otherwise known as bribes).
So to all my Flickr friends I offer you this secret arch which will probably soon be a classic of the American Southwest. National Geographic I await your phone call!
Okay before you call me delusional, yes, this is Mesa Arch located in Canyonlands National Park in Utah. There’s only a million and one photos here on Flickr and all with similar composition. Either way, this is a “must photograph” American Southwest icon.
And no you will not be alone, there will be plenty of company with you! Get there early and choose your spot wisely because once your fellow photographers arrive you’ll be boxed in.
Nothing will prepare for the amazing spectacle that will soon be unveiled. When the sun appears the underside of the arch will glow a vivid red. Hearts will pound and your camera shutter button will get a great workout.
So Mesa Arch isn’t a secret to landscape photographers. That should only embolden you to find the next American Southwest classic natural landmark. Just have patience, stamina for hiking and lots of cash!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Monday, July 25, 2011
The Sun Also Rises
A break from my Costa Rica photos as I return to my Coastal Carolina and Georgia trip.
Wrightsville Beach is a beautiful beach town near Wilmington, North Carolina. In perfect solitude I enjoyed this sunrise at Crystal Pier. As someone who was born and raised near the Pacific Ocean, experiencing a sunrise along the Atlantic Ocean is a rare occurrence.
Ernest Hemingway wrote in his classic work, The Sun Also Rises, that “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters.” Well, a close second would probably be photographers who can capture an image in a brief instant and turn it into a lasting moment.
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Wrightsville Beach is a beautiful beach town near Wilmington, North Carolina. In perfect solitude I enjoyed this sunrise at Crystal Pier. As someone who was born and raised near the Pacific Ocean, experiencing a sunrise along the Atlantic Ocean is a rare occurrence.
Ernest Hemingway wrote in his classic work, The Sun Also Rises, that “Nobody ever lives their life all the way up except bullfighters.” Well, a close second would probably be photographers who can capture an image in a brief instant and turn it into a lasting moment.
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Friday, July 8, 2011
Having a Resplendent Time in Monteverde, Costa Rica
Many bird photographers come to Costa Rica just to photograph the beautiful Resplendent Quetzal bird. The Quetzal is the national bird of Guatemala and can be mainly found in Costa Rica’s national parks due to its protected status.
In my pre-trip planning I debated whether to bring my Manfrotto tripod, my Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS lens and my Canon Speedlite 550EX flash. I knew Costa Rica was going to be primarily an “adrenaline” trip and that serious photography would be a secondary concern. I had only planned to bring my Canon 5DMKII with two lenses and my compact Canon G9 camera. In my pre-trip research I came across the Resplendent Quetzal and I knew I had to bring the rest of my gear. Besides with a name like “Resplendent,” I could only do the bird justice by bringing my longest and heaviest lens.
So I packed all of that gear along with a week’s worth of clothes into two carry-on bags. For the first part of the trip all that gear stayed in my photo backpack and I began to doubt my decision to bring it.
It gets dark in Costa Rica around five o’clock year around so we had to get up early everyday to make sure we packed in as many adrenaline tours as possible (If you’re not a morning person a trip to Costa Rica may not work).
Everyday we were early to bed and early to rise. I was too tired and too occupied with hiking, whitewater rafting, horseback riding, zip lining, etc to think about sunrise and sunset photography.
Midway through the trip I finally was able to put the gear to use when we visited the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Since I was traveling with a pair of non-photographers, I kept my expectations low in finding and let alone photographing wildlife.
I could say I waited for hours in the pouring rain risking life and limb to find the Quetzal, but in the end it was my nephew who spotted the bird only after hiking for about an hour. I quickly set up my tripod and broke out the 100-400 lens. Although I was shooting with the ISO King the 5DMKII, the cloud forest is still a dark shooting environment so I brought out the very cumbersome (and not often used) Canon 550EX flash.
For those not familiar with the 550EX, it is one of Canon’s brightest (if not the brightest) flash in its lineup. With the 550EX you can turn night into day with a click of the shutter. I may have blinded the Quetzal for all I know.
In the end, lugging all that photo gear was a good decision and photographing the Quetzal was simply "resplendent."
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Saturday, May 21, 2011
Inspiration by Duplication
Before I found Flickr I spent much of my time over another photo sharing site called PBase. I had met some great photographers there, learned from them, and was inspired by their artistry.
Inspired by James Pan’s “Rise of the Surfers,” I tried to duplicate his masterpiece with this photograph of surfer I captured at Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica.
I’m sure this was a “Pura Vida” moment for the surfer as it was for me to photograph him in action.
Happy Travels!
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Inspired by James Pan’s “Rise of the Surfers,” I tried to duplicate his masterpiece with this photograph of surfer I captured at Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica.
I’m sure this was a “Pura Vida” moment for the surfer as it was for me to photograph him in action.
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Always Look, Down, Back and Up
Travel photographer Rick Sammon has a saying that you should “Always look down, always look back and always look up.” He believes that so many people miss great photo opportunities because they are in such a hurry to get to the final location that they miss what’s going on around them.
This almost happened to me on a sunset hike to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. As one of the world’s ten most active volcanoes, I was looking forward to photographing it.
I hiked and reached the crest of a hill where I had a magnificent view of Arenal all the while the sun was beginning to set behind me. I turned around and I saw my nephew, Richard, and his wife, Cindy, admiring the sunset.
I turned my camera on them to capture this silhouette. I’m glad I did.
Thank you Mr. Sammon!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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This almost happened to me on a sunset hike to the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. As one of the world’s ten most active volcanoes, I was looking forward to photographing it.
I hiked and reached the crest of a hill where I had a magnificent view of Arenal all the while the sun was beginning to set behind me. I turned around and I saw my nephew, Richard, and his wife, Cindy, admiring the sunset.
I turned my camera on them to capture this silhouette. I’m glad I did.
Thank you Mr. Sammon!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
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Saturday, May 14, 2011
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Monteverde Style
If there was one thing that I had to do in Costa Rica it was to zip line through a cloud forest, besides isn’t that on everyone’s bucket list?
For my pre-trip preparation I did research on the internet and pored over my Lonely Planet guide to determine the best outfit for a canopy tour, this was more challenging than I thought.
When I arrived into Costa Rica I received additional feed back from other fellow travelers, but it wasn’t until I met Diego, who worked at Pension Santa Elena (which I stayed at and highly recommend), that I decided to go with Monteverde Extremo Canopy. He described that Extremo not only offered your normal zip line, but that they also did the Tarzan Swing and Superman zip line. I was already sold when Diego mentioned the name “Extremo.” I was ready to sign the liability waiver form right there and then!
The next day, for nearly three hours, we had a view of the cloud forest from above that was simply an amazing experience. Add in some adrenaline with the Tarzan Swing and Superman zip line and we had fun filled morning.
The Tarzan Swing was the best part of the canopy tour (see video). I noticed that guide at the edge of the platform was gently (some forcefully for others) pushing people off. When it came to my turn I asked if I could simply do a running jump off the platform.
“It’ll break,” he replied.
“What, the rope?”
“No, your back,” he clarified.
Oh, this is going to be fun I said to myself and away I went swinging through the forest like Tarzan!
The Superman zip line is just as the name suggest. Instead of the normal sitting position with your knees up, ankles crossed and using one hand to brake, you are lying prone thus having a great view of the cloud forest. The cable stretches for one kilometer allowing you to live out your Superman fantasies minus wearing the pantyhose getup.
This was the last zip line cable of the tour and it was the most scenic. If that wasn’t perfection enough we were all awarded with a panoramic view of a lovely rainbow before we “landed” at the exit station.
With the recent controversy of Superman announcing his plans to renounce his U.S. citizenship, I can understand why. He probably wants to move to Costa Rica and fly through the cloud forest all day.
Costa Rica travel tip #2: When in Costa Rica get your Tarzan on!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
Why don't you join me on Facebook?
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For my pre-trip preparation I did research on the internet and pored over my Lonely Planet guide to determine the best outfit for a canopy tour, this was more challenging than I thought.
When I arrived into Costa Rica I received additional feed back from other fellow travelers, but it wasn’t until I met Diego, who worked at Pension Santa Elena (which I stayed at and highly recommend), that I decided to go with Monteverde Extremo Canopy. He described that Extremo not only offered your normal zip line, but that they also did the Tarzan Swing and Superman zip line. I was already sold when Diego mentioned the name “Extremo.” I was ready to sign the liability waiver form right there and then!
The next day, for nearly three hours, we had a view of the cloud forest from above that was simply an amazing experience. Add in some adrenaline with the Tarzan Swing and Superman zip line and we had fun filled morning.
The Tarzan Swing was the best part of the canopy tour (see video). I noticed that guide at the edge of the platform was gently (some forcefully for others) pushing people off. When it came to my turn I asked if I could simply do a running jump off the platform.
“It’ll break,” he replied.
“What, the rope?”
“No, your back,” he clarified.
Oh, this is going to be fun I said to myself and away I went swinging through the forest like Tarzan!
The Superman zip line is just as the name suggest. Instead of the normal sitting position with your knees up, ankles crossed and using one hand to brake, you are lying prone thus having a great view of the cloud forest. The cable stretches for one kilometer allowing you to live out your Superman fantasies minus wearing the pantyhose getup.
This was the last zip line cable of the tour and it was the most scenic. If that wasn’t perfection enough we were all awarded with a panoramic view of a lovely rainbow before we “landed” at the exit station.
With the recent controversy of Superman announcing his plans to renounce his U.S. citizenship, I can understand why. He probably wants to move to Costa Rica and fly through the cloud forest all day.
Costa Rica travel tip #2: When in Costa Rica get your Tarzan on!
Happy Travels!
Text and photo copyright by ©Sam Antonio Photography
Why don't you join me on Facebook?
Follow me on Twitter!
Sam's Photography Blog
Sam's Travel Photography Gallery
Sam's Other Travel Photography Gallery
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