Another Photography Thread

[DrPJM1]

Quote: "Way then I used to go to the "centrales" to take pictures of the abandoned sugar mills -a bleak and sad moment in our history regarding labor conditions. Beautiful photo from El Coloso."

 

In Puerto Rico, the sugar industry went bankrupt. It was more expensive to produce than the market price. I spent many summers in the cane fields as a capataz.

This is the setting of the novel "La Llamarada" by Enrique Laguerre, they were our neighbors. Although I only remember it as the abandoned Mureau mansion.

http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy241/DrMonzon/IMG_4975.jpg

http://i796.photobucket.com/albums/yy241/DrMonzon/IMG_4985.jpg

[alvarez57]

Love those shots, Pedro! I lived in PR (Caguas) for a year as a child, and I would love to go back.

 

I particularly like the sugar plantation shot. When I was there, I believe there were still mills operating.

 

My Daddy was from Caguas -del valle del Turabo, like he always said.

 

I have a bunch of pictures from Puerto Rico that I have to dig out of my computer...stay tuned...

 

Our house was in Rio Cañas, on the northern side of Caguas. We didn't go to school in the barrio, though. We drove into Rio Piedras every day to a school that doesn't exist any more, called the Island School. I'd love to visit the island again as an adult.

 

My mother still lives in a neighborhood near Río Piedras, "Dos Pinos". Do you mind me asking when was this?

[alvarez57]

I guess all those who have lived /been in the Island have the same photo angle from Porta Coeli!!!

 

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/48695/2702881690105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

A little pictoric tour of Old San Juan (Viejo San Juan).

 

La Fortaleza (The Fortress) in Xmas. This is the governor's mansion.

 

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/48758/2029572650105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

New camera (point-n-shoot) so I was not familiarized with all the controls, sooo the stupid date showed in all the pictures!!

 

This is the road to the Gate of San Juan (La puerta de San Juan).

 

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/26301/2667985210105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Same area, along the city walls

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/47385/2147544040105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Puerta de San Juan

 

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/47832/2102219060105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Next to the gates, the famous "garitas" or guard house. This type of military architecture I believe is unique to Puerto Rico

 

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/47909/2158066130105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Inside the gate

 

http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/46771/2632304800105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

So the transition to move to New Orleans was not as much a great cultural shock; I'm used to live in old cities with a good Bohemian flair...

[schadowrider]

What amazing work in this thread! On the one hand I feel wholly inadequate to contribute, but on the other I would like to share anyway -- so here are some shots from a trip I made to Dublin a few years ago.

 

Flowers...

 

 

Door...

 

 

Building...

 

[schadowrider]

And some Dublin B&W's:

 

 

[DrPJM1]

I guess all those who have lived /been in the Island have the same photo angle from Porta Coeli!!!

 

http://inlinethumb56.webshots.com/48695/2702881690105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

A little pictoric tour of Old San Juan (Viejo San Juan).

 

La Fortaleza (The Fortress) in Xmas. This is the governor's mansion.

 

http://inlinethumb55.webshots.com/48758/2029572650105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

New camera (point-n-shoot) so I was not familiarized with all the controls, sooo the stupid date showed in all the pictures!!

 

This is the road to the Gate of San Juan (La puerta de San Juan).

 

http://inlinethumb62.webshots.com/26301/2667985210105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Same area, along the city walls

http://inlinethumb26.webshots.com/47385/2147544040105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Puerta de San Juan

 

http://inlinethumb25.webshots.com/47832/2102219060105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Next to the gates, the famous "garitas" or guard house. This type of military architecture I believe is unique to Puerto Rico

 

http://inlinethumb38.webshots.com/47909/2158066130105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

Inside the gate

 

http://inlinethumb52.webshots.com/46771/2632304800105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

So the transition to move to New Orleans was not as much a great cultural shock; I'm used to live in old cities with a good Bohemian flair...

 

Thanks for the memories, Sonia.

[alvarez57]

Yes, Pedro, the good memories

 

Typical Old San Juan street near La Puerta de San Juan. All the other streets look alike but do not have any trees

 

http://inlinethumb43.webshots.com/46634/2649073260105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

 

 

http://inlinethumb01.webshots.com/10240/2356537840105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

Coat of arms (escudo) of Puerto Rico from a Art Deco stained glass

 

http://inlinethumb02.webshots.com/29953/2694817030105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

 

And my favorite façade in San Juan -old soda pop factory

 

http://inlinethumb12.webshots.com/49611/2773426840105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

Edited August 30, 2011 by alvarez57

[alvarez57]

http://inlinethumb34.webshots.com/19233/2062238960105226730S600x600Q85.jpg

 

Edited August 30, 2011 by alvarez57

[schadowrider]

Here are a few shots from a trip to Beijing a number of years ago:

 

 

 

Edited August 31, 2011 by schadowrider

[ethernautrix]

Great, now I want to visit Puerto Rico....

 

Ha ha ha! I love the colors!

[Fernan]

Lovely photos of Puerto Rico, Dublin, and China.

 

This thread is really interesting.

 

 

Went through Montana a few weeks ago. Spent a few hours at Little Bighorn Battlefield. It's a very moving experience. It brought a lot of things together in my mind concerning history, that of the US in particular, and what it means today.

 

Custer's last stand was on this very spot. The village he was attacking was beyond the forest below. There was no I-90 then, nor trains passing by in the distance, loaded with coal from Wyoming headed to generating stations. It was all still Indian land.

 

Imagine thousands of Indian warriors, led by Crazy Horse, who were defending their land and their way of life, encircling a small detachment of the US Cavalry led by Custer. The Indians had the numbers. Custer had superior weaponry, but not enough amunition. His supply lines had been cut by a counter-attack of Indian warriors a few miles south (to the left of the landscape pictured below). Custer died where the white marker with the black background stands.

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6016/6097887390_653ee6e472_b.jpg

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6084/6097881642_6ec3c5b344_b.jpg

 

 

 

The Indian Memorial at Little Bighorn Battlefield Monument

 

 

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6017/6097345779_260fb811fc_b.jpg

Edited August 31, 2011 by Fernan

[alvarez57]

Goosebumps Fernan!

 

I was reading "I Buried My Heart In Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown just a few chapters before the Battle of Wounded Knee when I lent the book "for a short time' to somebody who never gave it back to me. Then I started reading years later "Voices of Wounded Knee"by William S.E. Coleman...but again, stopped reading the book (this time I didn't lend it to no one ). I think it's the nature of the subject that is so difficult to read : what human greed for power will do to fellow men, and worst how this type of conduct is many times, too many times justified in our world.

 

J'aime vôtre pics! (French Major here dusting off her French ).

[Fernan]

Goosebumps Fernan!

 

I was reading "I Buried My Heart In Wounded Knee" by Dee Brown just a few chapters before the Battle of Wounded Knee when I lent the book "for a short time' to somebody who never gave it back to me. Then I started reading years later "Voices of Wounded Knee"by William S.E. Coleman...but again, stopped reading the book (this time I didn't lend it to no one ). I think it's the nature of the subject that is so difficult to read : what human greed for power will do to fellow men, and worst how this type of conduct is many times, too many times justified in our world.

 

J'aime vôtre pics! (French Major here dusting off her French ).

 

 

I spent some time at Pine Ridge. Met some people there. One thing struck me. One person said to me that when the Indians won a battle, it was described as a "massacre" in history books. When they lost, it was described as a battle in the same books. There was no battle at Wounded Knee.

 

It is true that it is a very difficult subject. I passed by Wounded Knee. Didn't feel I had it in me to confront the reality of what, with today's criteria, would be considered a crime against humanity. It happened more than one hundred years ago. The human being in me, getting older every day that comes by, still hasn't gotten used to this kind of event, past or present.

 

Merci pour vos compliments sur mes photos. Vos photos sont aussi excellentes.

[schadowrider]

Goosebumps indeed Fernan! Especially the middle one (at least to me).

[jon]

What a great couple of days of contributions! Schadowrider, you certainly have no reason to feel "inadequate"-those are some fantastic pictures. Keep them coming! Sonia, El viejo San Juan is way up on my list of places I need to visit, and Pedro's before and after shot of the mansion is fascinating as well. By the way, I read "Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee" way back in about 9th grade, pretty soon after it came out. Dee Brown lived in Little Rock, about 30 miles from me. He wrote several very interesting historical works. An interesting man, and a great addition to the cultural life of the state, though I never met him.

Fernan, I started to encourage you to keep up the travels for the great pictures, but then I recalled that you take great ones at home, too. You are an artist!

[alvarez57]

So many things we read/learn years, centuries later about massacres that at the time were "justified" for whatever reason. For some reason Nagasaki and Hiroshima come to my mind......

 

Oui, Fernan, je bien aime vos (Canadian French? ) photos et je suis trés honorée de vos compliments. (I almost murdered French!)

 

Jon, next year I will be going to PR and will go picture-hunting to Old San Juan. It's like the French Quarter, Cambridge, Savannah: all these old cities that abound in history. I would LOVE to go to the Mayan ruins...anybody here has been there??? ohoh! Poor Lisa, she's trying to make up her mind where to go for vacations....

 

speaking about the Mayans (and excuse me I'm going to veer off subject. like always) But I stumbled upon this a while ago, as a enthusiast of ancient architecture

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcBpTq44WAU&feature=related

[ethernautrix]

I wanna go to Cappadocia, Turkey!

 

And elsewhere!

[schadowrider]

I would LOVE to go to the Mayan ruins...anybody here has been there???

Went to Chichen Itza many many many years ago - quite the fascinating place!

[alvarez57]

At this point, I would love to be elsewhere......

[Deirdre]

I wanna go to Cappadocia, Turkey!

 

And elsewhere!

I want to go to Pamukkale!