Judy's Holiday

[rtbaum]

Land-Ho!!







We arrived in Montego Bay, Jamaica on Tuesday. The gods smiled upon us with the first decent day of the trip and we were anxious to set foot on shore. The location of our room really came to advantage as we were at the head of huge mass of people all wanting the same. At least I had an energetic subject



I had booked an excursion to Good Hope Estate at the edge of the Cockpit country. The drive would take us through Montego Bay and increasingly more rural areas up into the rainforest.

An admission here....the following batch of shots were taken from a crowded van, over Judy's shoulder, and through a window. I make no apologies



Starts out easy enough, with standard city traffic and smooth roads



A glimpse of Rose Hall, home of Annie Palmer. Annie Palmer is also known as the 'White Witch', Annie during her life managed to dispatch 3 husbands....her ghost is said to still inhabit the home. We did not go there.



The buildings began to take more of Jamaican flavor


Enough for now, stay tuned.....or another way of saying time for more Lightroom duty

[IzzieK]

I am enjoying this series with the story telling too...I must take note of that next time we go trip-ping...very interesting. I can't wait for the next batch.

[rtbaum]

I am enjoying this series with the story telling too...I must take note of that next time we go trip-ping...very interesting. I can't wait for the next batch.

Thank you, Izzie........there are many more.

[rtbaum]

I knew when I planned this trip that serious photography and cruise ship excursions was going to be a challenge. The typical situation involves searching a sea of guides holding signs over their heads indicating which tour meets where. From there you would be herded to the conveyance of choice and packed to the vehicles full allowance. I purposely chose tours that would take us anywhere but the beach. Jamaica was intended to explore a little of the interior foothills and checkout one of the original sugar cane plantation estate homes.



One my obstacles to shooting out the front window....I figure if it is the way.....shoot it



The tour guide was a personable young woman that talked a bit of life in Jamaica and of course taught us how to talk properly...Ya' Mon

Once off the main coastal road, became a bit narrower, more pot holed and very twisty. It is customary for the driver to beep the horn when approaching each bend.



I really enjoyed trying to capture the homes along this stretch...any opening in the vegetation, and take a quick shot....lots of cropping and straightening







This last shot, I left askew.....because I like it that way



One burning question, how long would it take to line dry laundry in a tropical rainforest?

[IzzieK]

One burning question, how long would it take to line dry laundry in a tropical rainforest?

Depending on how much wind and sun there is at the time...Half an hour on a muggy day...the peak of the sun will always be at noontime so the clothes has to be on the line by then and be collected at around 3 or 4pm. Your only enemy will be the dust on dusty days. But pretty good.

[rtbaum]

Depending on how much wind and sun there is at the time...Half an hour on a muggy day...the peak of the sun will always be at noontime so the clothes has to be on the line by then and be collected at around 3 or 4pm. Your only enemy will be the dust on dusty days. But pretty good.

Seems to be an iffy proposition, it was pouring by then, nearly 90% humidity

[rtbaum]

"Good Hope began in 1774 as a sugar estate and grew into a village to support the workers after emancipation. In the 18th century, the Good Hope Estate belonged to John Tharpe, then the largest land and slave owner in Jamaica. Aside from Good Hope, Windsor Estate, the extensive Long Pond Estate and a number of other smaller sugar plantations in Trelawny belonged to Tharpe, who had as many as 3,000 slaves to run the plantations. In addition, Tharpe owned much of the prime waterfront property in Falmouth, and his townhouse, now the Falmouth branch of the government tax office, is still one of the most elegant structures in the town. The small village has some of the best examples of Georgian architecture in the island, and the churchyard has many old and interesting tombstones. At dawn, the Cockpit Country comes alive, and the energetic songs of wild birds float gently on the morning mists." - excerpt from Visit Jamaica

From the report of the guide, John Tharpe was a very humane slave owner. He built a hospital, school, and dwellings for his slaves. Upon emancipation, many of his slaves remained and continued to work the plantation.

The full name of the shore excursion was Family Day at Good Hope Estate. At the drop off there was an open air aviary that provided a good time for children and a certain guy with a camera



This was the day that Judy became little P-Oed as I became a kid in a candy shop.











A special gift for the bug guys on that last one

[IzzieK]

All good! I love them...the birds are very friendly too...

[rtbaum]

After picking up my Blue Mountain coffee, we headed up to the plantation Great house.



The floors were made of Orangewood, I believe the guide said the tree is no longer available






John Thorpe was ahead of his time when he devised a system of indoor plumbing utilizing a cistern on the roof to collect rainwater, transferred to the bath with lead pipe. He enjoyed it for about two years before dying of lead poisoning.




I can not take credit for this shot, Judy took it; I believe that it gives insight into John's beliefs in regards to being a slaveholder.


Another Judy shot, I enjoy handing the camera to others to see what they see


I will not lie, when I processed this shot...I liked it a lot

Next time the grounds......

[rtbaum]

I did have a wishlist of one bird while in Jamaica, The Doctor-bird is the national bird of Jamaica


I can only say that I could have sat and admired the view for hours. Enjoy the view with me, Izzie....you seem to be the only to be paying attention














The yonder hills are the Cockpit Country, I would love to back in there

[IzzieK]

Oh WOW! what a view!!! That bath of John Thorpe has an interesting story...makes for the drama of it. The bird is beautiful too. I am glad you got even just that one...

That plant on the roof is a good find, I should say...the dining room is very interesting too...the colouring of the whole place is very nice or was that your pp? Dark wooden floors looks good...remind me this year to have the carpet in my dining room removed...

The entrance with the orangewood floor -- that is a neat clean shot, very inviting...I am glad you found a lot to photograph in that place.

[SamRothstein]

Wow, some of those views are just fantastic. And I agree with Izzie about the bath story is very cool, and the dining room as well. I can't wait to see more, and hope my short trip to Jamaica next month yields some shots 1/2 as good as yours!

[rtbaum]

Oh WOW! what a view!!! That bath of John Thorpe has an interesting story...makes for the drama of it. The bird is beautiful too. I am glad you got even just that one...

That plant on the roof is a good find, I should say...the dining room is very interesting too...the colouring of the whole place is very nice or was that your pp? Dark wooden floors looks good...remind me this year to have the carpet in my dining room removed...

The entrance with the orangewood floor -- that is a neat clean shot, very inviting...I am glad you found a lot to photograph in that place.

This trip was, for me, all about the photography. It allowed me to pay attention to details in the composition, try new things, play with lenses. This past year I basically upgraded my gear, this gave me an opportunity put it through its paces. This may raise a bit of ire, it is often repeated that it is the photographer that makes the photo. I do agree to a large extent, but having a body with superb dynamic range capability and very good glass helps a lot. Pretty darn heavy though!!

This has also been an exercise in post processing. It has been interesting to me that each lens requires different work flow. Most of my post processing is done in Lightroom, I do the standard WB adjustment and tweak the settings to taste (kinda like I cook), Most of the shots have contrast, clarity, vibrance cranked up a bit to accentuate the colors.

As an extreme example:


sooc

ISO 1600, 70 mm, f/8, 1/100 sec
rotated 45*, cropped out reflection, WB 5150, tint +55, contrast +17, highlights +100, shadows -57, whites -43, blacks -17, clarity +40, vibrance +38, saturation +17; sharpening: amount +114, radius 3.0, detail 71, masking 32, luminance +100


end result

[rtbaum]

Wow, some of those views are just fantastic. And I agree with Izzie about the bath story is very cool, and the dining room as well. I can't wait to see more, and hope my short trip to Jamaica next month yields some shots 1/2 as good as yours!

Thank you for the compliment, Sam.

Where about in Jamaica are you bound? These shot were from Good Hope Estate. My advice is to head for the interior away from the beach....but that is just my bias.

Oh...and thanks to the Bears for the boost

[Dave Humphries]

Hi Randy,

Keep 'em coming.

I read the thread initially, but didn't realise you had been adding more pictures, now I have 'caught up' and await the next instalment

Thanks for sharing, Dave

[ST1]

Great series Randy I'm enjoying your cruise and commentary. I'm glad you found some flowers and birds too.

[SamRothstein]

Thank you for the compliment, Sam.

Where about in Jamaica are you bound? These shot were from Good Hope Estate. My advice is to head for the interior away from the beach....but that is just my bias.

Oh...and thanks to the Bears for the boost

We're just planning to plop on the beach for three days in Montego Bay at an all inclusive for a "babymoon". May leave the resort once for an excursion to the Luminous Lagoon which involves being on a boat at night, so likely no photographing there.

And don't thank me for any Bears activity, see my avatar

[rtbaum]

Hi Randy,

Keep 'em coming.

I read the thread initially, but didn't realise you had been adding more pictures, now I have 'caught up' and await the next instalment

Thanks for sharing, Dave

Thank you for taking note, Dave. I credit CiC for improving my skills and providing inspiration.

[rtbaum]

We're just planning to plop on the beach for three days in Montego Bay at an all inclusive for a "babymoon". May leave the resort once for an excursion to the Luminous Lagoon which involves being on a boat at night, so likely no photographing there.

And don't thank me for any Bears activity, see my avatar

I would still give it a shot at Luminous Lagoon, Doctor's beach is a very popular destination.

As far as the Saints, still on our sh*t list in Mn.

[rtbaum]

David Pinto is a world renowned potter who has set up his studio in one of the plantation buildings. Much of the pottery found on the property are his creations