Wedding in Jamaica
By Paul Coleman
Welcome to my road trip to Jamaica. I choose this as my first road trip because this was where my love of 'taking photos' became a love of 'photography'. In June 2004 I went to Jamaica with my partner Katy to get married, so I decided to purchase a digital camera. With the help and advice of Steven, and some careful research, I chose the Canon Powershot A80, and after only a few days there and I started using the manual settings on my camera rather than sticking to 'full auto' point and shoot mode. I began trying to find artistic and interesting pictures to take, and looked more at getting better composition. I would now like to take you through our trip around Jamaica to share our experiences with you.
Photograph Right - "Lone Palm Tree"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
Below is a panoramic photo of the view of the hotel beach from the bar. This was taken in 4 pictures and stitched together using Canon's photostitch software.
Our first day trip was to the Blue Mountains, where the famous Blue Mountain Coffee is grown and harvested. With great weather and amazing scenery this made for an excellent photo opportunity, although the further up the mountain we travelled the worse the sky got, and it became washed out when exposing for the beautiful scenery. The picture to left taken at about 5000ft highlights this.
Photograph Above - "Blue Mountains"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
While on the way to the Blue Mountains one of the things we were shown was this secluded island, which is apparently exclusively for nudists!
Photograph Right - "Secluded Island"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
As we climbed through the dense forests of the Blue Mountains we saw these quaint little shacks scattered amongst the hillsides, which were constructed of corrugated steel sheets and wooden supports. These flimsy looking precariously placed shacks were actually peoples homes, to which power cables had been strung from tree to tree up the mountain side weaving its way past each of them.
Photograph Above - "Rickety Shack"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
We also visited the stunning Dunns River Falls, one of the most beautiful and tranquil places I have been lucky enough to visit. With the help of a guide we were able to make our way up most of the waterfall, providing us with a refreshing and invigorating cooling off break in the heat of the Jamaican summer.
Photograph Right - "Dunns River Falls"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
Whilst there, my wife Katy was able to do something truly amazing when she went swimming with dolphins, most definitely one of the best experiences she has had yet and an absolute joy for me to watch. The picture to the left shows her, and the trainer, in the water as the dolphins displayed their power and majesty.
Photograph Left - "Dolphins"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
We also went on the Black River Safari up Jamaica's largest navigable river and through what is Jamaica's largest wetland area, the Black River lower morass. The water flowing down the river is actually crystal clear, getting its black colour from the sediment on the riverbed. The picture to the right shows the roots of the freshwater swamp forests, which line most of the riverbanks. The roots are suspended from the tree branches and are hollow like straws, to suck water and nutrients up to the branches.
Photograph Right - "Black River Roots"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
With our holiday at an end, all that remained was the boredom of the 8 and a half hour flight home, to return as husband and wife. As Katy slept peacefully passing the time, my boredom was relieved by the site of some beautiful landscapes out of the window of the white clouds below and the blue of the atmosphere fading off into space above. I took the opportunity to grab some great shots, 2 of which eventually got framed and graced our bathroom wall, but not without a little bit of work. As you can probably just make out in the shot to the left the reflection of the camera across the top, and others had blurry blobs of ice on the outside of the window.
Photograph Above "Clouds From Above"
Shot with a Canon Powershot A80.
I hope you enjoyed my road trip report on Jamaica, look out for more trips coming soon.
Paul
