The Blue Pickup Truck
I spent my Christmas in Puerto Vallarta. It had been nearly three years since I’d been to Mexico — my last trip was March, 2020. That trip didn’t end well. I had a serious knee injury while abroad that required surgery when I returned, and things started shutting down due to Covid just a couple of weeks later. Though I could have returned sooner, I ended up prioritizing some domestic travel, plus a few trips to Europe. After all, I had been to Mexico some 40 times since 2006, not to mention many earlier cross border trips (on foot) in my younger years.
Still, I was very excited to return to Mexico. There’s a quality to the light, delicious food, and all the wonderful people. I’ve been to Puerto Vallarta many times, and this wasn’t a photography trip. However, I did bring a few cameras with me — a film camera, a vintage point and shoot, and my regular mirrorless body (albeit with just a few prime lenses).
I left the heavy stuff in my lodging while out walking around during the day, taking only the point and shoot, a vintage Nikon Coolpix S9, and my Nikon FG film camera. I tend to like to wander and just take photos of things along the street that interest me. Those photos are often doors, cats, dogs, and interesting vehicles.
So, when I stumbled upon a vintage blue Chevrolet pickup truck parked under some papel picado (literally, “punched paper”), I knew I had a great photo. The sun was low in the sky and yellow light was flooding in. This particular photo was taken with the vintage Nikon Coolpix, which has a more vintage, yellowish white balance. I think it was perfect for this subject.
After years of chasing higher resolution and sharp perfection with every pixel in perfect focus, I’ve lately been enjoying these older cameras which are a bit soft but perhaps impart more emotion. I think this photo does that very well.
