National Portrait Gallery

I've been looking back over the images I created in 2011.  It was a great year of travel for me.  Here are some images from the National Portrait Gallery in London.  There were lots of "frame-within-a-frame" image opportunities here.

Love this pink in this blue room.

Photograph ©2011 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved. Click image to view a larger version.

Warm tungsten light on the left with cool daylight on the right, diagonal lines and vanishing point perspective all caught my eye.

Photograph ©2011 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved. Click image to view a larger version.

Arches inside a rectangle were interesting.  The warmth of the next room is appealing.

Photograph ©2011 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved. Click image to view a larger version.

From each room to the next is a change.  It made you want to explore.  This image was a challenge to make as no tripods were allowed.  The alignment is a bit off (I needed to move about an inch to the right).  This image is processed a little more heavily than what is usual for me.  

Photograph ©2011 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved. Click image to view a larger version.

Fort Wall

Fort Wall, originally uploaded by Suarez.

Photograph ©2009 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved.

A wall inside of Fort San Felipe del Morro or simply, “El Morro.”

Swim-up Bar

Swim-up Bar, originally uploaded by Suarez.

Photograph ©2009 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved.

This is the swim-up bar at the Intercontinental Hotel in Isla Verde, Puerto Rico (near San Juan). We enjoyed some great rum-based drinks there.

In other news, if you have a copy of the current Country Living magazine, look to page 136 where you’ll see a photograph of mine reproduced there.

El Morro

El Morro, originally uploaded by Suarez.

Photograph ©2009 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved.

Here is a view of Fort San Felipe del Morro or simply, “El Morro.” This dome-covered sentry box is one of the most recognizable symbols of Puerto Rico. Even some of the car’s license plates depict this view. You may also recognize this scene from the labels of some bottles of rum.

Colors of Old San Juan

Colors of Old San Juan, originally uploaded by Suarez.

©2009 Alex Suárez. All rights reserved.

Just got back from a wonderful trip to Puerto Rico. I was born on this island. But it had been 30 years since I’d been home. Everything I saw, smelled, heard, tasted and touched brought back a memory for me. I took this trip with my wife to celebrate our anniversary. We’re definitely coming back very soon with the kids.

Everything about Old San Juan was exactly as I remember--the cobblestone streets, the colorful buildings with their distinctive architecture. It was like taking a walk with my father when I was a child. We stopped and got ice cream from a street vendor. I had acerola ice cream. The acerola berry is my absolute favorite fruit in the world. My grandmother had an acerola plant in her yard. I loved to pick a bowl full, wash them and swing in a hammock eating them. Enough rambling for now. I'll post a few more images from PR soon.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this image even a fraction as much as I did making it.

For those of you in Austin, be sure to come out tonight to see Will van Overbeek speak at the CapMac Advance Photography SIG. More info here.