Cartagena in 2010 with a Leica M5

Back in 2010 I went to Cartagena, Colombia, to a conference, and brought back some six rolls of film with a number of images. Here are some of them...

At nights, life doesn't stop, and people get hungry and buy food from street vendors like this lady.

If I remember correctly, this spot is called Plaza Bolívar, and it's one of the many in which dancers of African music gather to display their skills. 

Another view of Plaza Bolívar.

During the day, right after the rain, the streets show a particular brightness... and the air is still as humid as a thick, damp towel.

The Plaza del Reloj is the gathering point for candy makers, some of whose production is weird but delicious and hard to describe. 

My Leica M5 performed great under the circumstances (hot and humid environment). I had a Nokton 35mm f1.4 lens, which together with Arista/Agfa ISO 400 worked wonders in low light.  However, it wasn't skimpy with details.  Look here...

I still have evidence of what this camera and film combination can do under the conditions I was (high temperatures and humidity). Considering the sudden changes it was subjected to every time we returned to our hotel or went to a restaurant (high air conditioned areas), this 1971 body turned to be resilient and tough... and still turned nice exposures. Right now, a few years later, I am concerned about its meter, but otherwise, the camera is still going strong.
 
Soon enough we'll see some more samples of Cartagena, and perhaps more from Toledo.  Let's see what happens first.  In the meantime, I must go back to work, but the photographic-gear stories never end! 

Back home and back here

Here I am, back from another stay in Spain, and ready to post some more images from my 2014 trip. I realized that the longer I wait for "good shots" to post, the less I use this blog, so here we go with the first (see above): a photograph of the "Calle del Arco [de la catedral]" which leads directly to the cathedral and the city hall in Toledo, Spain.

I checked out a few maps and they showed this alley having the suggestive name of "Callejón del Orate" (something like "Madman's Alley").  However, in this last visit I noticed it having a name plate that said "Callejón del Nuncio Viejo"... because it ends in the "Calle del Nuncio Viejo."  Talk about disappointment! I really liked the initial name a whole lot better but facts (and names) are facts.

Street light in the corner of "Plaza Granada" and "Calle de la Sinagoga" in Toledo. Actually, the medium grey of the lower half of the wall is a very vivid red.

Would anyone believe this window is part of the "Callejón del Orate" shown above?  It's part of the wealth of Toledo, in terms of light, and shadow plays that abound in the city, not to mention the contrast between very old structures and relatively new constructions.  

I should spend more time in the Plaza de Zocodover, which is the main hub of commercial, social and human activity in Toledo (at least for those of us non-residents).  Lots of stores prey on tourists and offer overpriced junk, alternating with legitimate businesses like grocery stores and pharmacies. This dress was for sale at a place run by Chinese folks; they offer the noisiest, funkiest, loudest and not necessarily prettiest junk in town... to their own.

This time I will keep posting shots from my Toledo excursion of June-July 2014, done with (as you imagined) Leica M4-2.  I will also alternate them with photographs from other places and other times, while I wait for my newer shots from my most recent trip. Stay put and bookmark this blog if you haven't done it.