Argentina

Buenos Aires - The City of Fair Winds My Argentinean adventure has started in Buenos Aires. After a long 13.5 hour flight from Wellington in New Zealand, it was nice to stand on a solid ground. I was picked up and transferred to the hotel in the centre of the city. I was trying to strike a conversation with the driver but he spoke no English and my Spanish was limited to saying 'si' to everything. I had only 2 days to spend in Buenos Aires and yet I had big plans for this famous city that had a huge influx of immigrants in the 20th century from all over the world. Despite being tired after a long flight, I had immediately enquired about going to a tango show. Luckily, I was able to book a dinner with the show on the same evening. It proved to be a bit expensive, but it was a door-to-door service. I was being picked up and consequently was brought back to the hotel. The experience exceeded all my expectations. The restaurant looked upmarket and the service was impacable. I had a perfect location close to the stage. Guests started to arrive. I have brought only my Nikon D70s and 85mm f1.8 lens with me. I felt that if I want to take action shots that will be a good lens to use. I've left my flash behind. I didn't want to blind the dancers and disturb the others. I've suspected that the stage would be lit and shooting at f1.8 aperture will be adequate to hand hold my camera. The show has started and a number of tango dancers performed their routines. They had to change costumes from time to time and the variety made even more interesting. The costumes reflected the era of the tango popularity being early 20th century. The dancers were so quick with their feet and so refined with their movements it was an absolute pleasure to watch. I had to take a few steps back to be able to capture dancers in full. Every time they would stop and pause I would take a shot. That worked very well as I had to shoot at lower shutter speeds. Some photos I have later converted to black and white and it worked fabulously in depicting the passion of the dance. Next day I have decided to visit all the famous places on foot. It proved to be a good decision for many reasons. I got a map of the central part of the city and have decided on a route to follow to visit places like the La Recoleta cemetery, Casa Rosada and La Boca. I've visited the area of La Boca ("The Mouth") in the morning. Despite the fact that my journey lied through the poorer neighbourhoods of Buenos Aires I have not had any unpleasant encounters. Walking through the city on foot had certain advantages. I was able to see the mini-soccer stadiums used by players at night, observe the local people's life first-hand and inhale the smells of this grand city. The journey took me close to two hours as the distances in Buenos Aires are vast. The La Boca is located in the portal area of the city. The colourful houses and noisy cafes are magnets for tourists. There are more tourists in the area then the locals it seems. There I've enjoyed watching the tango lessons and performances that happened right on the street under the stares of bemused onlookers. The dancers' elegant costumes and sleek movements will remain forever in my memories. The La Boca is a pleasant and a vibrant area to visit. I would highly recommend it. The Casa Rosada is located in the centre of the city on Plaza de Mayo. This pink building designed in Italian style is in fact a presidential palace with an official name "Casa de Gobierno" or the Government House in English. I have visited the square a couple of times. And only in the evening I was able to take good shots when the light was not that strong and the pink wall colour of the building contrasted with a blue sky above. At that time I wished I had a fisheye lens to make a more dramatic photo of the square and the building. After exploring the surroundings in the afternoon, I have come back for the change of guard ceremony near the obelisk on the square. It was a very colourful and interesting event. As it happens the ceremony takes place every hour. I have made it to the last one at 7 o'clock afternoon which was just perfect. I've managed to make a series of portrait shots of the soldiers in a soft late afternoon light. Next morning, I went to visit to the famous La Recoleta cemetery where rich and famous have a final resting place. The cemetery is very unusual, nothing like I have seen before. It looks like a small city with its well arranged alleys and small house like stone tombs. Some have decorative sculptures that make you feel like you are in a museum. After a while I was able to find the highlight of every tourist coming here - the Evita Peron's tomb. On a way back to my hotel, I was lucky to experience a small street concert performed by Indians in their national costumes. My 80-400mm VR lens worked very well - allowing me to capture nice group and individual portraits of the performers. St Carlos De Bariloche My recollections of Bariloche start with the fact that it was very cold on the 1st night of our arrival there. However, our cosy hotel was well heated inside. Another peculiar thing was the abundance of stray dogs on the streets. They walk in packs and when I walked the streets early in the morning it made me feel uncomfortable whenever I have been surrounded by one. The town primarily serves as the base for skiers and snow boarders. However, I have discovered that there is much more to it. Bariloche is surrounded by beautiful lakes and mountains. The area is best covered by bike. We've hired bikes with our group members and went on a close to 30km ride following the main recommended trails. The weather was fantastic and a view absolutely splendid. Some of the rougher patches of the road made us jump off the bikes and push them uphill. That's when we've spotted, for the first time, a condor high in the sky. My 80-400mm zoom lens was not enough to capture the magnificent bird so far it was above the ground. My camera has failed miserably to focus when pointed up towards the sky as it had no contrasted areas needed for its auto-focus to work. The dot of bird was simply not enough. Later I have also learnt to increase my camera's exposure by 1.7 to 2 EV when shooting upwards as there is too much light coming from there and causes camera to underexpose. El Chalten The main reason people visit El Chalten is to do hiking. This remote area of the far west Argentina is hard to access. Its unspoilt region has beautiful landscapes and fairy-tale type forests. We went hiking in the area to see the spectacular mount FitzRoy. It is located in Los Glaciares National Park of Patagonia. However, I had another reason for visiting El Chalten - spotting a Magellanic woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in the world found only in Patagonia. We were extremely lucky to spot a pair of two young male birds identified by a bright red colour of the head. They've proceeded with their feeding totally ignorant of our presence. We got as close as being about four meters away. Later on we saw another one, even larger in size. I have easily shot a couple of hundred shots during those memorable moments. Using an external flash for fill-in was very helpful and allowed me to freeze the action. When pecking, the bird's head moves very quickly back and forward. I wonder whether these creatures get a headache at times. Ushuiua We have landed on the Argentinean site of Tierra Del Fuego in the city of Ushuiua. It is considered the southmost city in the world. As I have discovered next morning, it snows there even in late spring. The photo opportunities presented themselves around the harbour area and also on a trip in the Beagle Channel. It was named after the ship "HMS Beagle", in which Charles Darwin explored the area. As we have passed the bright with vegetation islands, we saw numerous sea lions sharing their space with the bird colonies. The distant light-house contrasted against the blue sky and the rugged coastline. Tierro Del Fuego National Park My visit to the National Park exceeded all of my expectations. It is simply wild and beautiful. While being in the southmost part of the world, made me feel like I have achieved something that not many people experience in the whole of their life. The trail went through the rugged and twisted jungle forest. From time to time a bird would fly past and whenever there was an opening onto the sea, a flock of wild ducks or some other native birds was seen in the lagoon. Even in the middle of the day, when we were there, I have made some pleasing photos with my fixed 35mm f2 lens. This lens is great and the pictures come out super sharp and contrasty. Another unforgettable experience! Hasta luego Argentina!