Mexican folk dancers 2

MEXICAN FOLK DANCERS, PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO, JANUARY 18, 2014

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135mm at 100mm
Top: 1/640 sec. f5.6
Bottom: 1/500 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

Deborah Abbott photographed this extraordinarily beautiful dancer at the Hacienda Dona Engracia outside Puerto Vallarta during a stop there on our way to the Panama Canal aboard a cruise ship. The colors of the dancer's dress were as vibrant as the vigorous dance steps.

Mexican folk dancers 1

MEXICAN FOLK DANCERS, PUERTO VALLARTA, MEXICO, JANUARY 18, 2014

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135mm
Top: 68mm, 1/1600 sec. f5.6
Bottom: 135mm, 1/500 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

On one port call during our cruise through the Panama Canal, we visited an old tequila distillery called Hacienda Dona Engracia, about 15 miles outside Puerto Vallarta on the west coast of Mexico. The hacienda laid on a fiesta accompanied by excellent Mexican folk dancers. Deborah Abbott's close-in shots of the dancers avoided backgrounds of wall-to-wall tourist onlookers.

Marimba dancers

MARIMBA DANCERS, CORTIJO EL ROSARIO NEAR PUERTO CORINTO, NICARAGUA, JANUARY 22, 2014

Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-135 at 135mm
Top: 1/320 sec f5.6
Bottom: 1/200 sec. f5.6
ISO 3200

Marimba is a sweet and gentle traditional music and dance form popular in Nicaragua, and there was a fine demonstration of it during an open-air lunch at Cortijo el Rosario, a working horse farm owned by the Coen Trust, founded by a wealthy family with a long history in the country. Deborah Abbott needed a high ISO of 3200 to capture the dancers in deep shade, but denoising in Lightroom 5 yielded satisfactory photographs.

Quilt 6

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/15 sec. f8
ISO 800

The last in a series from the recent Botanic Garden quilt show. This one was captured by Deborah Abbott. This, as are the others, is best viewed by clicking on the photo to larger size.

Quilt 5

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-01
90mm Tamron f2.8 macro
1/30 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

I took this one with the much-maligned Pentax K-01 mirrorless camera, surprisingly handy—and hand-holdable without a tripod—when augmented with a Hoodman loupe and my favorite macro lens. The K-01's in-camera shake reduction system works remarkably well at a low shutter speed. The kit has become my go-to macro system.

Quilt 4

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/15 sec. f8
ISO 800

Still another of Deborah Abbott's detail photographs from the Botanic Garden quilt show.

Quilt 3

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/13 sec. f8
ISO 800

Another of Deborah Abbott's captures at the Botanic Garden quilt show.

Quilt 2

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-01
90mm Tamron f2.8 Macro
1/100 sec. f5.6
ISO 1600

I took this shot of a different part of the same quilt Debby captured in yesterday's photograph.

Quilt 1

QUILT DETAIL, FINE ART OF FIBER QUILT SHOW, CHICAGO BOTANIC GARDEN, GLENCOE, ILLINOIS, NOVEMBER 10, 2013

Pentax K-5
Sigma 17-70 at 23mm
1/15 sec. f8
ISO 800

Deborah Abbott captured the details of this and many other quilts at the annual Fine Art of Fiber show at the Botanic Garden. This quilt is particularly striking for its combination of designs.