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Guanajuato... después de la obscuridad  (After Dark)

Circumstance, bad luck or fate…call it what you want, but it happens to all of us…and more often or not it will happen when I have a mission. 

I had been driving all day to the Mexican city of Guanajuato through the back country of Jalisco, wanting to reach the town before sunset when the light and photographic opportunities in this silver mining region would be at its best. 

A blown fan belt in the middle of nowhere put a damper on those hopes and three hours too late I drove into a much darker Guanajuato than I hoped for.  Instead of light playing on the bright colors of hillside homes, it was dark shadows on narrow cobbled stoned streets.  I decided I would experiment,

Using my old Canon digital 10D, I would forsake flash (much too harsh) and push my ASA to the maximum limit of 3200, which would produce enough light but give an orange and grainy hew to the photograph.   Grainy I like in certain circumstances, but the orange glow would have to desaturated so as to make the picture black and white.   A touch of color would be left in each picture.

The result was interesting and shows a side of the city that you will rarely see in the guide books.  The photographs are taken in early evening, mid evening and just before dawn.  I hope you enjoy them.

Bill Bell