Lake of Seven Colors
This is Bacalar, a place that will live in my heart, and call to me the months I am away. After finding it on our third annual trek through the Yucatan, I canno...
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This is Bacalar, a place that will live in my heart, and call to me the months I am away. After finding it on our third annual trek through the Yucatan, I cannot imagine spending my time anywhere else. The seven colors are three different shades of blue, three shades of green, and black - there are cenotes within the lake that are so deep they appear black when you boat or swim over them. We also saw the lake change colors with the afternoon storms, we watched rays of light play on the water, rains in the distance, and without fail we had rainbows, almost hourly. Photos don't do this place justice.
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Oct, 2016Views
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Awards
Action Award
People's Choice in favorite photo Photo Challenge
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Superior Skill
Outstanding Creativity
Virtuoso
Genius
Emotions
Impressed
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JennaVee
November 30, 2016
It was gone a few minutes later. The weather there changes so quickly, and so stunningly! It seemed like every ten minutes we were somewhere else, even if we sat in the same place. Truly magical.
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Katnott
October 10, 2018
Wow amazing photo with a great write up!
Looks truly magical good luck in my challenge!
cheers Kat!
Looks truly magical good luck in my challenge!
cheers Kat!
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
Laguna Bacalar, back before it was overrun with tourists (le sigh).Time
This was right around lunch time. It was sunny and beautiful, then a huge thunderstorm rolled over the south end of the lake for about 15 minutes, then it was back to sunny and perfect. It was October, so storms aren't uncommon that time of year.Lighting
All this photo required was cropping - I even have some cellphone snapshots showing this exact scene. This is what the lighting was - sunny next to us, lighting up the lake, and dark and stormy in the distance, rain pouring down. It was spectacular.Equipment
Handheld, Nikon D800, and a 50mm 1.4 Sigma ART lens. I was on a boat, so I had to make sure my shutter speed was fast enough to get everything *just right* and not overexpose the sunny areas.Inspiration
This just took our breath away. Four of us in a small boat, waiting to leave the dock for a tour of the lake, and we'd been swimming in the impossibly clear water a short time earlier, and suddenly the wind kicked up and that massive wall of a storm just rolled through so quickly and it was so menacing and we could see lightning in it - but the sky above us was perfectly clear and sunny as can be. The contrast between the sunlit water and the terrifying sky was just so shocking and stunning - we all just watched in awe.Editing
I cropped the photo to keep the focus on the contrast between the lake and the sky. If you compare it to cell phone snap shots we got at the same time, it's identical. It really didn't need processing of any kind - it was 100% just amazing.In my camera bag
These days it's a D850, a few Sigma ART lenses (50mm 1.4, 24mm 1.4, 135 1.8), a Nikon 80-400. Two Nikon speedlights. Usually a spare D800. Extra batteries. Extra memory cards. Microfiber cleaning cloth. CPL and a 6 stop ND filter. And usually a sugar-free sports drink and a candy bar. This particular day all I had on me was the D800 and the 50mm 1.4 Sigma. When traveling around, I tend to take just one body and 1 or 2 lenses max. And I always have an iPhone handy, and have added a G-Dome underwater housing for my iPhone to my arsenal.Feedback
Always keep an eye out! This happened so quickly, and didn't last long. I happened to be in the right place at the right time - and because I know how to use my camera gear I was able to quickly fire off some shots. Know your gear, so that when something randomly spectacular occurs you aren't fumbling to catch it.
