420 - Puerto Los Cabos
It's my 420th shoot folks... So here's a photo of crab telling you to go fuck yourself at Puerto Los Cabos:
“Duo Land”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Zeiss 24-70mm f/4
[ISO 640 ~ 24mm ~ f/8 ~ 1/160s]
(Want a Print? Get one here.)
Haha... I don't know when I'm going to learn this lesson. I've covered it in several adventures now. ALWAYS RESEARCH BEFORE SHOWING UP TO SITES IN MEXICO. IF YOU THINK YOU'VE RESEARCHED ENOUGH, RESEARCH MORE.
Our initial plan was to head to Estero San Jose today, which was an ecological reserve/swamp. I figured it'd be a nice change of pace from all the beaches we've been hitting recently. The pictures showed palm trees underwater, crazy birds, and moss growing like a wildfire. Count me in.
However, upon arrival, we found the entire area completely flooded. Which shouldn't be a surprise for a swamp, but I digress.
With 1,600 4.5 star reviews on Google Maps, I assumed the place would be SOMETHING. Turns out the "ecological center" was boarded up, the pathway was underwater, and the resort next to it with beach access was abandoned with barbed wire. We weren't going anywhere.
Fuck.
I did some digging around online and figured out the place flooded a couple months ago from a hurricane, and never fully recovered. Yet somehow the Google Maps reviews had people saying the place was beautiful, and was still open. Must be locals... If there was a way into the swamp, it wasn't here. Must be some backtrails not at this pinpoint.
As we left, two more cars showed up and left shortly after. AHAH! So we aren't the only dumbasses. Someone needs to update the Google Maps listing.
Well, the reality was we needed a place to shoot.
Haley did a little digging around and figured we mind was well go to a marina nearby and a parking lot we could sleep in for the night. Two birds, one stone. Sunset was in about an hour, so we didn't have a choice either way.
Annnnnd upon arrival, the place was packed with fisherman cleaning up from the days work. Here we go again...
If you read my adventure at Punta Lobos the other day, I felt self-conscious taking my camera out around the local's place of work, fearing judgement and questioning. Today I said fuck that. I'm taking it out and walking around. I'm not missing another shoot day from this.
So I hopped around the pier and shot anything and everything, which ended up being a crab flipping me off. And just like that, no one gave a shit. One dude even said nice camera. Sometimes I play these games in my head and I have to overcome them. No one cares about you taking photos. They're living their own lives, and you're living yours. Shoot anyway.
And that's the story of where the photo of the crab came from. The whole marina was interesting, but I wasn't feeling any compositions with boats. I really wanted some wildlife today.
Plus these crabs had a ridiculous amount of color, more than I'd ever seen on one before. There were dozens along the rocks, so I snagged a couple hundred shots, looking for any type of motion I could capture. Pro-tip with wildlife shots, look for movement and try to capture it in an interesting composition. That'll give you the most dynamic, and ultimately awe-inspiring, shot.
As I watched for patterns of movement, I realized the the crabs would go to the water and scoop it up with their claws to their mouth. This would create the motion of flipping of the camera, and I included a little motion blur to help reinforce the obscene gesture. I guess they were in a crabby mood.
Alright I'm gonna see myself out. BYE.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
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