Long Exposures in Mexico

I’m posting this while sitting in Mexico, but I just now am finally editing photos from my last trip to Mexico in December and January. On that trip, I didn’t take out my camera very much. I had a busy fall and I think I needed a break from shooting. My girlfriend and I spent a week in El Potrero Chico and two weeks in Cienega Gonzales (El Salto) rock climbing almost every day. We were feeling pretty wrecked and were glad we’d planned to chill on the beach in Puerto Vallarta for the last week of our trip.

A friend in El Salto had told us to take a bus as far south as the city buses would go, then hike south along the coast. It was a great recommendation, and we found our favorite beach of the trip there.

I mistakenly only brought two lenses with me, I left the rest of my gear in Monterrey because of weight restrictions on the flight. Well, really, the mistake was bringing the wrong lenses. I packed the Sigma Art 35mm f/1.4 and the Sigma Art 85mm f/1.4. I forgot how much I love shooting landscapes at 16mm and didn’t need the shallow depth of field of the F/1.4. And my new 85mm was…ridiculously big and heavy…absurdly big and heavy. I somewhat regret getting rid of my Canon 85mm f/1.8 which is so small and light.

My lack of wide angle on this hike frustrated me to no end, but…I was able to use my 10x ND filter to take long exposures during the day to create some ocean landscapes that I love!

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