Hat Man

@rem_la: I don't speak French, but I can make what you wrote from the Latin roots as also speak Spanish. Yes, a hat is the way to go, and a bit of lotion to block the rays of the sun too.

@Nataly: Nataly, thanks!! I have no secrets to keep; I just want to share. The BW for me is second in importance as I try to rely on compositional power as much as possible. You can use channels in Photoshop CS3 or plugins like Exposure that give you a range of film effects to work with. I also suggest you look at the tutorials at http://www.markushartel.com. This guy has been a constant inspiration to me from the start.

To increase contrast I use either a polarizer or an ND filter. I shoot in color, work the RAW file in Lightroom and then move to Photoshop CS3 where I play with curves and color, then with levels in lab before moving over to BW.

@zOOm: Believe me, the photo was taken at the hottest moment of the day and it gets nasty --summer and winter. Thanks for dropping by.

@Helma: Thanks, Helma!!

@MahGol: Well, perhaps one day you will be able to experience it in the flesh. Just let me know when you wish to visit this land of many contrasts, beauties, and contradictions.