444 - Faro de Punta Cancún
We’re back, baby. And on my first day back in Cancun, I somehow managed to break my toe. Partly because I’m a fucking idiot, and partly because Haley’s a fucking idiot. Either way we’re both idiots.
It all started after a vacation back in the states for the holidays. I’d arrived back in Cancun more refreshed than a Sprite. In my last session I was so burnt out I could barely pick up the camera, but now I could barely hold back my excitement to start shooting again.
All it took was a few days off and a lil’ family time.
Naturally, I wanted to do a sunrise shoot right away, so we set our sights on Faro de Punta Cancun. That roughly translates to The Point Lighthouse of Cancun if you’re not fluent in the verse.
The only problem was that it was in the middle of the Hotel Zone of Cancun. Which, if you’ve ever been to Cancun, means it’s on the beach of some of the most massive resorts in the town. It also means avoiding security, who prefer to keep their beaches “private.”
Since all beaches in Mexico are federally protected, it was completely legal to be there. But this is Mexico, and the government doesn’t always have the last say in things.
We arrived about 20 minutes before sunrise. Our plan was to enter through Playa Caracol, which was a public beach about .2 miles from the lighthouse. It was still a little dark, and our goal was to walk along the beach until we got the lighthouse point, hopefully avoiding all security.
And our goal happened to be going extremely well- until the very last segment. I faintly heard a man yell at me while I walked along the shore, but ignored it. I knew it was a guard, but I prayed to an abstract god he would magically disappear.
Obviously he didn’t, and after yelling at me a few more times, he eventually ran over and stopped me. Fuck.
Our conversation didn’t go super well. I kept insisting the land was public, but he threatened to call the police. He said it’s only public after 9am, and now I was breaking the hotel’s security.
Since I wasn’t in the mood to deal with la policia on my first day back, I counted my losses and retreated to a nearby pier. The sun had already started rising, so I aimed my camera and got this shot:
“Sunrise Sill”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM
[ISO 640 ~ 200mm ~ f/5.6 ~ 1/8000s]
(Want a Print? Get on here.)
That’s essentially the closest we could get for sunrise. A decent image, but not what I came for. The lighthouse had a beautiful red/white twist in it, almost like a candy cane. From this distance I couldn’t capture that, and had to resort to a silhouette shot.
From then on the light got exponentially worse as the sun came out from behind the cloud, so we escaped to our vanagon home. Now comes the part where I broke my toe.
Haley was walking on the side of the road, and a massive gust of wind hit us out of nowhere. There was an elderly lady on a bench adjusting her COVID mask, and the wind gust took it right out of her hand and propelled it gracefully into the air. It was quite elegant, to say the least.
Haley saw the whole thing and started cracking up, and in the process abruptly stopped walked. I was still looking to the right, and plunged right into Haley. My middle toe took the full hit, as it flew into the back of her hard sandal at full force.
It was the dumbest way to break a toe of all time. At first I thought I just stubbed it pretty badly. But as the day went on, I realized I could barely walk on it and it became swollen and dark blue.
I started to freak out a bit, as the last time I broke my ankle I was in crutches for two months. Not an ideal situation when you’re driving through Mexico doing adventure photography.
I started to think about my trip be forced to come to an end, and how this could change everything.
But I spent about 30 minutes Googling it, and soon learned that breaking a toe wasn’t too big of a deal. It just involved a couple days of pain and it would eventually heal on it’s own. I just had to get through those first couple days.
Not the best timing, though. My buddy Tyler was in Cancun to hang out for the week, and was anticipating to join us in the grand adventures of #vanlife. We had a lot of shit planned.
I kept off my toe for most of the day, but at sunset I decided we’d give the lighthouse a redemption shoot. After all, according to the security guard, it SHOULD be open.
I was also curious how walking on my toe would go. It wasn’t pretty.
As I limped across the shoreline, delicately avoiding rocks and seaweed waves, I began to take in the reality of the broken toe. If it was like this for a month, it’d be hell. We had barely walked .5 miles and I was exhausted.
Nevertheless, my photography spirit took over and I somehow made it to the lighthouse before sunset. The whole place was covered in sharp volcano rocks, which made walking around to find a composition even more difficult. Here’s the first one I landed on:
"Rock Solid Oblivion”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 1600 ~ 17mm ~ f/8 ~ 1/250s]
(Want a Print? Get on here.)
Obviously focus stacked to oblivion, this pic was a good representation of how sharp the rocks were. The only problem was that I feel like it needed a bit more life to it. Since there were green plants everywhere, I landed on this second composition here:
"Growth from the Depths”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 1600 ~ 17mm ~ f/10 ~ 1/160s]
(Want a Print? Get on here.)
I can’t decide which one I like better, so I kept both. I think I like this one slightly more though. I like looking for edges that I can darken up in post to make things look higher and more mysterious.
After that, I knew I was setup. I’d gotten all the shots I wanted, and the sun was about down. My toes was killing me, and I realized I should probably rest a bit. But then I saw it…
The perfect white heron walking near the lighthouse. If I could manage to silhouette that thing against the white… It would be a certified B.A.N.G.E.R. And spoiler alert… I did. Check this out:
"Red Heron”
Taken on Sony a7rIII + Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8
[ISO 1600 ~ 25mm ~ f/2.8 ~ 1/1000s]
(Want a Print? Get on here.)
Definitely the best photo of this session. I love when I can pair a wildlife image with a solid backdrop- it makes it so much better. I’m also glad we decided to come back for sunset- if things don’t work out in the AM, you mind as well try the PM.
Anyway, that’s that. I have no idea how this broken toe is going to progress. Only time will tell.
I’m on a mission to explore as much as humanely possible.
Want to see my progress? Check out the Adventure Map.
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