David Noton On Location
David Noton triumphantly returns to the exciting world of Latin America with some new kit to push to the limits
David takes on Latin America and puts some of his new EOS R/RF gear to the test
We’ve been in the country less than six hours, but already I’ve learned the difference between a taco and a burrito, and Wendy has dropped her cutlery on a turtle. I would just like to stress before going any further that no reptiles have been harmed on our Mexican adventure.
And our host, Vania, has now emerged dripping from the cenote (the natural submerged limestone caves which the Yucatán Peninsula is famous for) after retrieving Wendy’s knife. This Pescadores beer is good… Oh yes, it’s so good to be back in Latin America.
I awake to an amazing dawn chorus of tropical screeching. This isn’t Somerset in February, clearly. I scramble out from beneath the mosquito net, jump into T-shirt and shorts and grab my camera bag, which seems not quite as light as it should be. Bugger, it’s still in flight mode with all my travel documents, headphones, book, laptop, chargers and so on within. I should have reconfigured last night, before the cerveza. Sometimes I do wonder what I’ve learned from 35 years of doing this.
A few minutes later, with the contents of my bag now sorted, I emerge from our hut in the jungle, as first light is just filtering through the trees. Wendy is already out armed with her binoculars, bird spotting. As we arrived in darkness, I have no idea what to shoot, so I just resolve to make the most of what lies on our doorstep. The trouble is the mosquitoes are doing the same, and as I set up the tripod to shoot an artful, graphic, perceptive micro-landscape (aka, a picture of leaves) my flesh becomes their breakfast, and guess what? I’ve forgotten the insect repellent.
This bag (a Mindshift Backlight 26L) now seems ridiculously light. In it is just one mirrorless full-frame body, the Canon EOS R, and the holy trinity of Canon’s new RF lenses: the RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS, RF 50mm F1.2L, and RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS. The latter is radically lighter and more compact than it’s EF equivalent, the former now has Image Stabilisation, and while the 50mm fast prime is a serious lump of glass, the net load is a world apart from the gargantuan camera bags I have previously lugged around the world. What’s more the combination of the EOS R’s low light sensitivity, the new lenses optical performance and fast apertures make this a flexible set up for travel. Granted, I still have a few quibbles with the EOS R (I’m looking forward, with anticipation, to the R5), but I’ve learned to love the new system’s portability, to such an extent that I’ve recently taken the momentous decision to transition completely over the next year or so to mirrorless. Last December’s trip to Senegal sealed the deal. This is the future.
A day later, we’re driving down long, straight, empty roads. Mexico does have gorges and volcanoes, but not here. I think it’s fair to say no one comes to the Yucatán for the scenery. The culture, cuisine, history, architecture, beaches, sea, turtles, friendly people and, of course, the balmy tropical weather are a big pull – especially during the grey, dark, windy, wet months of an English winter, but the landscape is very flat. We’re headed for Izamal, a Spanish colonial town
with distinctive ochre architecture, built on top of Mayan ruins which date back to 200 BC.
By late afternoon we’re in town, shooting in the 16th century cloisters of the San Antonio de Padua Convent. Choir singing is resonating around as evening light bathes the scene. Wendy is sat, savouring the moment, as I wait for the right person to walk through my frame. I’m shooting hand-held, leaning on the RF 70-200mm’s image stabilisation. I think I’m in love with this lens.
The next morning I’m lurking on a street corner, waiting. What for? Something to bring life to my graphic composition of yellow walls. It’s late morning and the tropical sun is almost directly overhead, hardly the time of day when I’d normally shooting. But all rules are made to be broken.
A decisive moment with horse and carriages against the backdrop of the Convent’s walls unfolds. Using the RF 50mm at f/9, my shutter clicks before a car blights the composition. I exposed for the walls, but surely there’s no way I could have held onto the highlights in the bright sky, visible through the arches, is there? I check my histogram; it seems yes. It’s a brave new world out here.