November Dirt Dwellers in SMA

—Blogpost written by Bob 

In this blogpost, we continue our 6-month winter excursion in San Miguel de Allende (SMA), Mexico.  We arrived by car on October 15, traveling from near Annapolis, Maryland where we live on our sailboat.  This has been quite a change in our life style!

Friday, November 19

We were both a little lazy this morning, finally eating breakfast at 8:30 AM.  Previously we were thinking about going to Mescal-Art for a mid-afternoon meal (like the locals) and mescal tasting but neither of us were in the mood for mezcal tasting at the time.

My new leather camera strap
I purchased in Leon.

As much as I researched the weather in San Miguel de Allende before arriving and after having been here for one week previously, I totally misjudged my clothing requirements for the winter season here.  I would bring less shorts and more sweatshirts/sweaters/jackets, maybe even a down vest.

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Without a particular goal or destination today, we went out for lunch at Hierba Santa - Cocina del Sur, only a couple blocks away.  We opted for the fish entree which was delicious!  After lunch we decided to each try a shot of mezcal.  

Our first taste of mezcal
was not a good one!

It tasted like what I imagined "horse piss" to taste like!  We were given lime slices with the mezcal which tasted sweet compared to the mezcal.  I don't think we will be buying a bottle of mezcal anytime soon.

A colorful scene from the restaurant looking
outward toward various shops.

An interesting doorbell on a gallery down the
street (Aurora) from the restaurant.

In the afternoon I got caught up on my TripAdvisor reviews, something I have tried to do while on this trip.  Not only do I add a review, but I add photographs as well--all this to help other travelers.

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I still haven't done much of anything with my photography--I'm talking artistically.  Maybe I will start doing more work on the photograph above (the interesting doorbell).  I could start by using the rule of thirds and composing the photograph better.

Saturday, November 20

This morning was my first attempt to improve a photograph and make it more artistic while here in San Miguel de Allende.  I started by determining the focal length of the image I had already taken--it was 48mm.  The f-stop was f16 and the shutter speed was 1/60 sec. I could improve the photograph by using a slightly faster shutter speed, maybe 1/125 sec (at f8 or f11 aperture).  

I took another photograph of the unusual door bell (with the door) this morning using my wide angle lens--this was simply for research purposes. 

Taking a photo of the entire doorway doesn't provide
sufficient detail on the unusual door bell.  I also
wasn't aware of the fact that the walkway
was sloped--this would detract from
an overall image if not properly
accommodated.

Today was Penn State-Rutgers game day.  We watched the entire game on my iPad since it was not on a major TV network available to us here in San Miguel de Allende.  Penn State won the game by a score of 28-0!  Penn State was now 7 wins versus 4 losses on the season.  (Our second string quarter back played most of the game.)

By the way, our VPN (ExpressVPN) was essential in this effort to watch Penn State football since we couldn't get access to FUBOtv any other way.  (There have been times that a particular selected server location, like Washington DC, was busy.)

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Before the game, during half time, and after the game, I worked on removing the second failed camera lens filter.  I cut eight 1/8-inch deep slots (using the hack saw blade I purchased this morning) in the outer edge of the filter.  After cutting the slots I used the pliers of my LEATHERMAN multitool to pry the segmented filter from the camera lens.  (At this point the aluminum filter frame deformed and simply popped off.)

I finally removed the second broken camera lens
filter by cutting eight slots in the outer edge
with a hack saw blade and then prying
off the lens. (This destructive method
may not have been pretty but
 it was effective.)

Next, I made a list of the lens filters I needed to purchase to protect my lenses.  The list of lens filters that I needed was as follows:

For 20mm f2.8 lens: 62mm filter

For 85mm f1.4 lens: 77mm filter

For new 35-70mm f2.8 lens: 62mm filter

I ordered the needed filters on Amazon today, paying particular attention to the multi coatings and generally on the quality of the filters, and ordering a slim version for my wide angle lens.  (I stuck with HOYA-brand filters because they seemed to have the quality I wanted.)

Sunday, November 21

Sunday morning was quiet and peaceful after Kali got sick on something she ate last night.  (She has a habit of trying people food when made available--when not, she has been known to sample from the garbage can to accommodate her insatiable appetite.)

Today was a day of relaxation and watching NFL football games on TV.

Lola slept on her sheepskin
most of the afternoon.

A reflection of the hallway and
kitchen from the glass in
our bedroom door.

Monday, September 22

This morning's outside temperature was rather mild by recent standards--the low was 47 degrees.  After taking a shower this morning, Kali was sitting on the toilet seat beside the shower curtain, waiting for me.  (I think it is so cute when she does this!)

The best shot from Kali's photo shoot this morning.  
(I didn't focus on her eyes very well though.  She
wouldn't sit still for very long. I have to work
on this more--next time using my
faster 85mm f1.4 lens.)

We decided to drive to La Comer (the supermarket) this morning to get some things we still needed for our Thanksgiving dinner and some regular groceries.  We invited Christine, the Polish lady from downstairs, to join us for Thanksgiving dinner.

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Early in the afternoon, getting back to my photography and working with the wide angle shot I took for research, I cropped the rough image to obtain the approximate image I wanted in the end.

By including the lock, the fact that it was a "door"
bell became more evident.  However, I needed 
to show a little more space to the left.  (I 
estimated that a focal length between 
 24 and 30mm would be required.)

At this point, I knew the range of focal length (24 to 30mm), the f-stop (between f8 and f11), and the shutter speed (>1/125 sec.).  With this information, I took more photographs in the afternoon, the best of which follows:

In this version, I brought out the wood grain in
the door and added some saturation. In
this image I used 65mm, f11, 450 ISO,
+1 EV, and 1/60 sec shutter speed.

Time of day was still a variable to be considered to make the best possible photograph.  I took the above photograph at 2:45 PM on a partly cloudy day, which wasn't bad but I'll try a few different possibilities before completing this effort.

That's all for now...thanks for following our blog!