Shadow Shot Sunday 85 - Durango Gunslingers

In the pristine deserts and unspoilt sierras around Durango in Northern Mexico, most of the Hollywood Westerns and many Mexican movies were filmed from the 1950s to the 1990s. Gunslingers like John Wayne, Clark Gable and Robert Mitchum swaggered out of the Saloon at High Noon to slug it out on these streets....

Now sadly this is just an abandoned film set which has been transformed into the Movie Theme Park "Villa del Oeste" and the reign of La Tierra del Cine has finally run its course. Due to the decline in the Western genre, tax breaks elsewhere, the final movie filmed here was Bandidas (2006) with Penelope Cruz and Salma Hayek....

Now it operates as a mildly successful tourist attraction, and for the princely sum of 30 pesos (less than 3 USD) you are collected from the central plaza in Durango in an old school bus with a few Apaches and cowboys aboard, driven 12km into the desert, and treated to an hour's slapstick Wild West Show in the Saloon, and left to wander around the set and have your photo taken with the actors, before being brought back to the bright lights of Durango...

It is still, however, a marvellously atmospheric location to spend the afternoon, with wonderful sharp desert light and shadows...and Small Fish always likes casting her own shadow and adding the customary splash of red...

Happy New Year 2011 to everyone in the blogosphere...and be sure to check out more wonderful shadow shots over at Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here....

Shadow Shot Sunday 84 - Durango

Durango up in the desert and sierras of Northern Mexico wins my vote for the bluest skies and longest shadows ever seen here!! I didn't think I would be posting today for SSS, but unfortunately I had to cut short my trip due to a nasty sting ray attack at Puerto Vallarta which left me hospitalised on Christmas Eve on drugs and drip after a siren ambulance chase through the cobbled streets, followed by an emergency flight back to Mexico City in a wheelchair on Christmas Day!! Fortunately, I have almost made a full recovery already, am just about back on my feet, and just have to have all the stitches out in a few days' time!! I hope all your Christmas festivities and celebrations were much more peaceful and tranquil without such unnecessary traumas and dramas!! This final photo reminds me of the nice quiet cup of tea and crepe I had at the wonderful 19th century railway station in Durango - long before that vicious sting ray showed up!!

For more wonderful shadow shots from around the world click here for Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 83 - Christmas Canoes in Costa Rica....

This time last year I was travelling and spending Christmas in Costa Rica with my sister. We were staying in the heart of the rainforest way down south over the festive season, and decided to escape to the beach for a few hours on Christmas Day in the Piedras Blancas National Park. A group of canoeists moored close to us for a while taking a break, and I was able to get this calm, tranquil shot. Happy Christmas everyone in the blogosphere, and all the very best for New Year 2011. Small Fish is on a magical odyssey all around the North of Mexico, starting in the wild west frontier town of Durango in the desert - and will be posting again at the end of 2010. For other shadow shots this week, don't forget to check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here. Enjoy!!

A Walk in the Park.........

Like most Chilangos, I have been to Chapultepec Park many, many times, as here in Mexico City, Sunday is all about a walk in the park, but until very recently, I had never made it all the way across to the second section - Bosque de Chapultepec....

What a treat is in store for those who do reach this most westerley section, as it is much more scenic and serene compared to the better known and more visited parts which are always much more crowded, frenetic and full of hustle and bustle. Up here in the quieter areas everything seems so much more about innocent family fun - finding the right balloon, boating on the lake, pulling up for the right ice-cream, feeding the ducks, strolling around the lake. It all has a nostalgic retro air reminiscent of times past........

There are restaurants, cafes and picnic areas bordering the two lakes, and it is very easy to while away a number of hours at this very appealing verdant space....

Mexico City in most people's minds is an overcrowded, polluted, crime-ridden megalopolis riddled with traffic jams and a frenetic pace of life. True, it can be all of these things, but it can also be this too...........and much more frequently than people assume..............

For more windows on the world this week, check out My World Tuesday by clicking here. Enjoy!

Shadow Shot Sunday 82 - San Miguel

Recently I was in San Miguel for the weekend which is a beautiful colonial town with stunning architecture in ochres, russets, and terracotta. I have taken endless shots like the one above which display this aspect of the town in terms of the gorgeous colours and strong wrought iron features, but this time I got more than a little obsessed with the monochrome....

These are just ordinary black plastic chairs set out in the sun in front of a church for a concert....

..but the patterns and shapes and shadows became very addictive to photograph over and over again - don't you agree???

For more fun with shadows this week, check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here..Enjoy!

Fabrica La Aurora in San Miguel....

One of my favourite places to visit in Mexico is San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful colonial town with a strong reputation for art and culture. Fabrica La Aurora is a wonderful art and design centre boasting some 50 studios. It is a former textile factory open from 1902 - 1991 spinning thread from many regions of Mexico into fine spun cotton from which muslins and linens were made....

The original structure of the factory has been retained giving a strong impression of what it was like in the past when it was San Miguel's largest employer with over 300 workers. Social and cultural life centred on the factory with Sunday picnics in the grounds listening to the factory band watching the sponsored baseball team play. La Aurora also hosted Guadalupe Day with a parade of the Virgin through the factory to the especially established altar, plus the factory's cannon was fired to celebrate the patron Saint Michael's Day in September...

The factory was finally forced to close its doors after 99 years on March 11th 1991 when the final whistle was blown for the very last time. This was due to the effects of new Free Trade Agreements which flooded the country with cheaper imports. Today much of the old machinery (originally from England and later Germany/Switzerland) and artefacts have been restored and integrated with the new artworks on display, showing a great tribute and sensitivity to the history and heritage of this beautiful building......

The art work on display varies from traditional to contemporary including paintings, sculptures, collages, home design, furniture, glassware, and jewellery....

And you can step inside around 50 studios and observe the artists at work....

Since I last visited, both a restaurant and cafe have been added, plus the grounds now include beautiful landscaped cacti gardens.....

All in all it is a lovely afternoon out, and easy to reach from the centre of San Miguel by walking down Calle Hidalgo for about ten minutes....

Two of my favourite Mexican artists who have working studios here are Ezcurdia (responsible for the large fish) and Ricardo Garcia (above) whose work includes the wonderful imagery of the traditional Mexican loteria (lottery). For more windows on the world this week, check out My World Tuesday by clicking here

Shadow Shot Sunday 81 - Miami's Deco Delights.....

Recently I visited Miami to check out the cool art deco architecture.....





















I certainly wasn't disappointed with the beautiful curves and pastel shades....





















In fact, I couldn't stop shooting these delightful deco buildings.....





















They are just so so so photogenic if you also get the bright, blue sky.....





















And of course all of these shots have the necessary shadows for Shadow Shot Sunday......















For more fun with shadows around the world, click here for Shadow Shot Sunday.....

Double Celebration..............

Mexico is celebrating a double whammy in 2010 - first the Bicentennial on September 16th marking 200 years of Independence, quickly followed very recently by the Centenary of the Revolution on November 2oth marking 100 years since the uprising by Zapata and the like.....

There have been parades, fiestas, events, shows, spectacles, dances, concerts, reenactments non-stop this year in a country already renowned for non-stop celebration - and the end is not yet in sight...........

What is currently being celebrated where you are right now???? For more global glimpses around the world this week, check out My World Tuesday by clicking here....Enjoy!!

Shadow Shot Sunday 80 - Miami South Beach

There is something about near-deserted beaches as evening falls and shadows lengthen which is altogether extremely appealing.....















This was my first sight of Miami's South Beach a few weeks ago at the beginning of November...

Not many people about to soak up these scenes of windswept beach, scudding clouds, blue sky, white sand, and long, long shadows....just me and the beach huts!!

For more shadowhunters from around the globe, check out Shadow Shot Sunday by clicking here... Enjoy!

Welcome to Xochimilco....

Welcome to Xochimilco in the south of Mexico City where you can spend a perfect afternoon floating down the canals and picnicing aboard the brightly coloured trajineras (gondola-style boats). All the boats have these vibrant designs for their headboards and female names - choose between Lupita, Julietta, Maria, Veronica, Sabine, Monica, Teresita - even Queen Elizabeth is here...

Xochimilco means "Place where flowers grow" in Nahuatl and it is where the Aztecs first had their floating gardens (chinampas) which became the economic base of the Aztec empire. Vegetation and mud was heaped into Lake Xochimilco, an offshoot of Lake Texcoco, to create these fertile floating fields. The area is still under cultivation today and flowers, plants are produced for the whole of the city in some of the most beautiful garden nurseries (viveros) - marigolds for Day of the Dead, poinsettias (Nochebuenas) for Christmas. Many people come down here quite specifically to buy all their flowers and plants....

Nowadays much of the lake has been transformed into a series of canals - almost 180km of waterways, and they are a very popular day out destination. At weekends, the place comes alive with Chilangos (Mexico city dwellers) coming down in large family groups to hire large boats and eat large lunches aboard. There is a truly festive party atmosphere with music, singing and general carousing...

If you forget your own food there are always sellers punting up alongside your boat to sell you whatever you need to eat or drink......

And if you forget your own sounds, there are always wandering Mariachi boats packed with musicians who will always deliver you a song or two for a few pesos.....

If you are with a big group and in a party mood, then it is always wonderful, but sometimes it can get rather raucous and noisy with boats jostling for position on crowded canals. Last time I was there, I found the perfect antidote if you are in the mood for something more mellow. I took a boat trip from Embarcadero Fernando Celada at the golden hour just before sunset, and this is what I found - quiet, tranquil backwater canals with very few other boats in sight and wonderful light and reflections.....

It is difficult to believe that these scenes are from the seething megalopolis of Mexico City - we have not left the city behind yet at all. Boats seat 14-20 people and are very reasonable to hire at a fixed rate of only 200 pesos per hour per boat (17USD). You can easily get to Xochimilco by taking the metro down to Taxquena and then transferring to the tren ligero - it is the last stop on this line.

Here are all the trajineras tucked in for the night at the Embarcadero Fernando Celada. For more global glimpses this week, check out the My World Tuesday postings by clicking here. Enjoy travelling the world with the click of a button....

Shadow Shot 79 - Monte Alban, Oaxaca..

Where is this beautiful and boldly shadowed window on the world?? It is at the entrance to the museum at the archaeological site of Monte Alban, Oaxaca (featured in the previous post). The uninterrupted views and vistas from this hilltop site are second to none....

But I was also struck by this strong pattern of shadows which tells you just how strong the sun was on that day.....

For more details and information about the magnificent Monte Alban site, check out the last post....

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..and for more fun with shadows, click here for Shadow Shot Sunday. Enjoy!