My ‘For Dummies’ Guide to Taking Pictures in Old San Juan

I am not a photographer. I’ve loved taking pictures for as long as I can remember, though. Some of them, I’m told, are even pretty good. But unlike my brother Patrick, whose photo essays of New York Carnival, Fort-de-France and people watching planes in St. Maarten are some of my favorite posts we’ve run, I’m no photo pro. This, of course, is another reason why I love Old San Juan.

The ancient city is so beautiful in so many different ways that it’s almost impossible not to come away with at least a few treasured snapshots. I have a ton of pics captured in normal auto settings from my many trips to the city through the years, but this time I decided to try something a little different. I used the pin hole art setting on my new Olympus Pen E-P1 camera to add an even more pronounced antique look. (BTW, I shot this month’s Moment of Zen video with the same camera.)

I’m sure it’s the kind of thing that would make real photo experts “shutter” (pun intended), but I think this particular art setting adds a depth and emotion to some of these shots that a novice like me would be hard-pressed to create without it.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the photos. You can click on the thumbnails to view enlarged versions of each one. Leave a comment and let me know what you think…