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! 

In the heart of darkness

I have a problem: I'm bad at puns.

So, what else to choose as the title of this post on night photography but a bad allusion?

Here you go. All these images were made with my black M5 and a Nokton 35mm f1.4 wide open. The B&W set belongs to Chicago, IL, and they were shot in Scala film rated at ISO 200. Not too bad...

The color ones come from Cartagena, Colombia, a beautiful city in the Colombian Caribbean coast, that preserved its colonial architecture and has been a Mecca for South American tourists for some time.

Let's begin with Chicago...

This is from the corner of Washington and Lasalle Streets, just like the one below.

From a purely technical point of view... nothing particular. However, I like the taxi turning here because it seems to add a certain "urban grit" to it.

Patrons at the Lyric Opera in Chicago.

Now, for the "grand finale," Cartagena. BTW, these photographs were made with Fuji C-41 film ISO 200.

Art fair, or art market near Plaza Bolívar.

Street vendor of a particular delicacy called "arepa." I bought one from another vendor and ate it shortly before taking this photograph. This is a block away from the Santa Teresa convent (now hotel).

Young bicyclists running about at past 8 PM.

Now, for the nitty gritty... I sent the Scala film to David Wood at dr5, which seems to be the last place on earth to get Scala developed. This was one of my last rolls... I am truly sorry about it.

Regarding the C-41 stuff, I sent it to Snapfish, a lab currently owned by HP. It's a pity they won't work on chromogenic film, because their color work (and digital prints) are quite satisfactory. And the prices too! BTW, this is not a sales pitch, but an explanation only. Those interested in getting Scala film developed or print film nicely processed should try their luck with these places. In the meanwhile, since Snapfish won't work on Ilford XP2 or Kodak BW400CN, I'm stuck with other places (locally, alas!). However, when it comes to real B&W, I'll soon return to working on my own.

So long and thanks for making it this far!