St. Maarten through a typist’s lens
Cats: photos, travels|Go here to view these pictures in Flickr
A week in this French/Dutch Caribbean island brought some fantastic seascapes, skyscapes and lightscapes for a typist on the roam with a camera.
Sadly, the UV filter on my favourite lens (Canon 17-40mm) was smashed in transit. When I uncovered the lens on the first morning I found broken glass all over the lens surface. I took it to a shop to have it cleaned. They removed the tiny fragments of glass that remained on the lens, and on a superficial glance they said there was no damage.
But my superficial glance saw things I didn’t like.
And now that I’ve downloaded the pictures, I can see that damage in the pictures. If you look closely, you can see consistent patterns of dots in certain pictures. I’ve “healed” some of these in Photoshop so they don’t appear in all pictures.
I guess it’s off to the lens hospital with the Canon 17-40.
I want to feel sick about this but know I shouldn’t worry too much about the health of inanimate objects.
Especially when I have a drugged up cat recovering from oral surgery.
March 26th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Ooh, I like the freaky moon picture.
March 26th, 2008 at 9:22 am
excellent pictures…but where’s my boyfriend and his coconuts?
March 26th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Me jealous much.
March 26th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Love these pictures. One of the beach shots looks like it could stand in for the island/beach scene wallpaper that comes with Windows XP/Vista…I smell money here. Do you ever sell your photos?
March 26th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Very nice photos. I haven’t examined these pixel by pixel, but I don’t see the damage you spoke of.
March 26th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
Ok, so I blew them up on flickr and can see the spots. That stinks.
March 26th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
SO beautiful! Wow!
March 27th, 2008 at 12:18 am
You take infinitely better photos with a smashed lens than I am with the best of unwrecked equipment. Lovely place!
March 27th, 2008 at 8:59 am
Deepti, ya should have seen the freaky typist shooting the freaky moon
Espanya, I’m surprised you missed him. Look at the last shot. The coconuts are a little obscured though
BeckEye, yeah, I knew you’d be jealous – that’s why I didn’t put in the shots of Me and Michael Johns. He popped down for a few days for a bit of R n R.
Moxie, yeah that green water against the blue sky is a classic, much used by the tourism brochures… thanks
Ghost, I’m taking the lens to the lens doctor today. I’m hoping for a good prognosis.
Jacy, it really was lovely there.
BB, Thanks Looking forward to more San Diego shots
March 27th, 2008 at 10:56 am
Don’t even kid about that, woman. I don’t think you fully grasp the depth of my dangerous obsession with him.
March 27th, 2008 at 11:24 am
Wow, beautiful photos. I love those skies.
March 27th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
I really need to get a camera like yours. Your photos are always so gorgeous.
March 28th, 2008 at 6:38 am
I’m soooooo jealous — what a beautiful place! Tot ziens!
March 28th, 2008 at 9:47 am
BeckEye, gotcha!
Lori the skies were quite dramatic due to the influence of the tropical depression that caused all the wind and high seas. Luckily we weren’t h it by it, just in its wake
Chelene, thanx, get thee to St. Maarten and see for yourself.
YAM, dank je wel
March 30th, 2008 at 7:21 am
Lovely photos! My strategy usually involves taking hundreds of photos to get 10 or 20 good ones. Maybe I should just give my camera to you or take you along on vacations?
March 30th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Dale, take me.
March 31st, 2008 at 8:42 am
GT, did you turn all hairy and red-eyed and try to eat your children?
March 31st, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Deepti, I’m always hairy, red-eyed and trying to eat my young. Didn’t cha know?
April 4th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Like the lady said in “White Mischief”
“Oh God, not another f**king beautiful day.”
April 5th, 2008 at 5:59 pm
White Mischief – didn’t see the movie, but William Boyd who wrote the book is one of my fave authors
April 6th, 2008 at 12:21 am
The plot and ending are really satisfactory, but the performances are pretty good. It’s a good “only if it comes on cable and there’s nothing else to do” movie, though you don’t watch the censored version.
April 6th, 2008 at 12:21 am
“though you don’t watch the censored version.”
I mean, “though don’t watch the censored version.”