Photo a Day 2018 Edition
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. This “macro portrait” for me is more than conclusive proof that we can find beauty anywhere, even when beauty standards are all over the place. I am sure some will just see a bug and move on, but what I see here is purpose made into a creature: an amazing accomplishment of nature.
#FreakyFriday comes back with a light crossing in San José as seen today... to think this was a dirt street about 100 years back sure helps put things into perspective! Why use a pseudo-sepia filter on it? Two reasons: because I can and because I wanted this to be a little homage to the old time pictures you can occasionally find, taken around this very same location.
Apis mellifera, the honey bee: what kind of world would we have to live in if not for these tiny super hard workers? If they disappear today, 70% of the most commonly consumed plants will probably go extinct. Food chain goes out of the window and we would face very, very dark times. So, if you can, avoid harming them and keep in mind that, more often than not, essential things are quite invisible.
Wow! Super late today and I could not find a better way to demonstrate I am still on time for the challenge 😁 Time: our worst/best conceptual creation. It all depends on your attitude towards it. You can make the most of it or you can allow it to bring out the worst of you. Your choice, so be wise about it, you cannot roll it back.
It is inevitable: at some point you realize you have not taken your daily shot, Time is running out and just need to quickly snapshot something. I got lucky and managed a pretty decent flyby shot at this wonderful corner of San José: the Melico Salazar Popular Theater. A colorful jewel in the heart of the city!
Summer. Some will actually fight you about that, because #CostaRica is a tropical country with no “summer” but a dry season. Whatever. I say this is a typical Summer image out there and it evokes childhood memories galore. Enjoy Summer (and shut up!) And also: I know the dry trees are out of focus, that was a matter of choice, because I love the texture of the dry tall grass... so shut up!
Nature is just amazing. Little details may often go unnoticed, but all of them are there just the same. The bougainvillea “flowers” you often see are nothing but modified leaves, while the true flowers are just a few millimeters across. So today I decided to get close once more and picture them, so they can be clearly seen. They are quite beautiful in their own right. Next time, remember: beyond the obvious beauty, there is probably more.
Memories. They come in many forms, from many inputs and they only exist in our heads. Mementos, on the other hand, are physical manifestations of memories, things we chose to keep so we do not eventually forget. I like wine, and this wall is a collection of my mementos. If it makes the wall, it is good.
While this could not look like much, if you prize yourself as a #CoffeeLover you should be interested: this is a typical entrance to a small coffee plantation. Coffee plants need a very specific balance of shade and sunlight and you will find different owners approach this fact differently. This one grows tall coffee plants, which thrive in a mostly shadeless environment, so there is no need of shade-trees.
I love macro, yeah, I am sucker for macro. But are not we all? How can you deny the beauty you find when you get up this close? How can you contest the delicate elements that make the larger things that we see every day? Well, I cannot. I love to look in close and see all the nuances and deal with the tricky light and DoF. Give it a try and see how you like it!
Sometimes wisdom is not found in a book or any other kind of “traditional media”... Graffiti can work too. This one is in Spanish (and I must say calligraphy is so much better than mine 😂) and reads “Keep walking because soon...” and that’s that. I like that open end because we all are looking for something and chances are we all are looking for something *different*. Just fill in what you are looking for and there it is, instant inspiration to keep fighting another day!
You are probably wondering what the heck are you looking at... well, this is a pretty common sight in tropical countries, locally known as “Platanilla” (this one is a Heliconia caribaea jacquinii, if I am not mistaken). I just got a bit closer to show the amazing structural planning that goes on here. The flower is very sturdy and extremely colorful. It is also quite big and can easily reach a 30 inches in length. If you can see them, that means hummingbirds can too, so you are bound to find them around during early morning and mid afternoon.