Jamaica

I spent a week in Jamaica earlier this month but didn’t have as many photographic opportunities as expected.  I think that many tourists simply go to one big resort such as Sandals or Beaches, and never really venture out through the gates.  We stayed in an AirBnb and hired a car to explore, but were a little disappointed not to find a lot of stunningly beautiful places.  However, despite there being a lot of poverty in Jamaica, the people were really friendly. Despite having been a wedding and portrait photographer for years, I still find it hard to approach strangers and ask if I can take their photograph but they were very open to being photographed.

The view from the AirBnb was beautiful though as it was right on the ocean.  The water changed colour constantly.

I used a long exposure to capture the various colours of the ocean and to create a soft look. .

We were staying near Ocho Rios where they offer river rafting trips for tourists.  The best view was from the road bridge above as it was chaotic at river level.

Look in the opposite direction from the other side of the bridge and this was rather a different view.

Further up river and this tyre hanging from a tree looked like great fun.  I’m not sure this lad was enjoying it so much though!

Exploring the island we went to a fishing village.

In Jamaica’s capital Kingston, we visited Devon House, the 19th century home of the first black millionaire in the Caribbean.  I love the colonial look of the exterior, and inside the ceilings are very high, (typical for a Georgian house) The large Georgian windows meant that the light inside was beautiful.  Within the extensive grounds are some little shops, restaurants and and ice cream parlour, and it’s all done very tastefully.

A small beach close to our AirBnb rewarded us with a couple of nice photos, but turn towards the road running behind it and there was a lot of rubbish.  Such a shame 🙁

My personal highlight of the trip however was climbing up the famous Dunns River Falls.  We researched when the cruise ships were in, and chose a day when there were none.  We also went very early in the morning, and were rewarded with very few other people around.  We decided to do the climb without a guide showing us the easiest way, which meant we had to make decisions about the route as we got to each stage. Climbing up from the very bottom (where they fall to the beach) to the top of them was challenging but exhilarating and I loved the experience so much that I’d have done it again.  However by 11.00 the crowds were arriving and ‘chains’ of 20 or so people at a time were making the climb.  We definitely did it at the best time!