When Friday’s photo challenge was published, we were finishing a short trip to Mexico to help friends celebrate an anniversary. In order to meet the challenge, I selected a few examples that met Jen H.’s challenge to demonstrate the rule of thirds. You can read the entire challenge post here. With the challenge fresh in my mind, I captured a couple of images from Zona Dorada, the golden zone, Mazatlan’s resort area.

The opening photo features a flowering plant on the wall of the Royal Villas, a beachfront resort. I’d love to know the variety of plant. Please comment if you know.

After our friend’s anniversary dinner, a server prepares Mexican Coffee, an after dinner drink, for some of our party. This photo came out better than I thought it would. It was shot in available light at f/5.6, 1/3 second exposure, ISO-1600. The waiter had dropped something into the flaming glass. Individual particles ignited and sprayed from the glass. The particles left light streaks on the 1/3 second exposure. At the moment of exposure, the waiter was swirling the contents of another glass in his right hand, causing that glass to be a complete blur.

I had only planned to share the first two images from Mexico. Back in Arizona last evening, however, some weather moved through earlier in the day. The remnants of that weather provided a sunset that just begged to be included. I carefully made sure that the horizon in the image provided a two-thirds sky image, leaving a one-third foreground and landscape.

John Steiner