The airline informed us that our flights to and from Mendoza, Argentina would be diverted to San Juan’s airport – over 2 hours drive away. We couldn’t believe it, but a quick search confirmed that the Mendoza airport would be closed for 3 months (Sept – Dec 2016) for resurfacing. How would we get from San Juan to Mendoza? The best option: a bus.
After two lovely weeks in Mendoza, it was time to get back on the bus to San Juan’s airport to catch our flight to Buenos Aires. We settled into our bus seats with lots to read, but a few glances out the window inspired us to put aside the Kindle and the iPad and pick our cameras up.

To capture a vineyard outside Mendoza, we used the watercolor setting on the camera.

We switched back to an auto setting to snap another vineyard.

We’re impressed how the watercolor setting can transform the most ordinary scene.

The vineyards were past us, and now we drove through an arid countryside.

Trees were the prominent feature of the landscape so we adjusted the camera setting to a picture effect called “partial color: green”.

What happened when the picture effect was changed to “partial color: blue”?
Trapped on a bus for two hours with digital cameras allowed us both time and freedom to play with subject matter and camera settings. The scenery was pleasant, but not breathtaking. No matter. Our challenge was to create images of the countryside that will put the viewer on that bus with us, racing down the highway from Mendoza to San Juan.
September 2016
It is amazing how many settings you can find on a camera when you have the time to play around with it.
It was a great idea to use the time to play with your cameras.