[Leica] Costa Rica

[Neil Frankish <nfrnkish@dux4.tcd.ie>]

I took a trip to Costa Rica a couple of years back - I'd just got my M and
only had a 50 Summicron. Spent a month there and went up and down both
coasts, Monteverde, Arenal etc.

The cloud forrest *is* very humid, but it posed no problems except for
light - it can be very dark, and even 400 ASA was hardly enough sometimes.
The other problem is the potentially very wide level of brightness within
the frame. If you can, get up early to shoot (the day starts early there
anyway). Otherwise I often exposed for the shadows, wanting the highlights
to blow out (giving a sort of bleached tripical appearance. (subjects were
prefered in the shadows, not wanting to fill in flash). The problem was
trying to get the printer to print them that way!

San Jose is not photogenic, except there is a nice indoor market that is
worth a few frames. If I was doing it again I would push 400ASA to 800 for
there.

I never had any problem with potential theft, but I carried the M over my
neck and shoulder, across the chest and under a vest to feel safer.

One word of warning. If you hire a car (we hired a 4X4 because we were
going more into the wilds), be ultra vigilant when you inspect the car and
fill in the existing damage form. Insist on every tiny blemish being put
down, especially on the windscreen. On mine there was a tiny chip/crack
which when i pointed it out the guy said "that's nothing, it's ok" A month
later when we returned it, they went immediately to the windscreen and
pointed out the chip and charged US$250. Fortunately, we got the money back
a few months later (it pays to hire through a local agent).

Culturally, I found Costa Rica rather poor, though there are some little
villages were the people proved interesting. If you're into scenics, there
is plenty to shoot.

have a good trip

Neil.