Shooting in Tijuana.. Tips

[ColdEye]

Since I have been living here in San Diego for the past month or so, I've always wanted to go picture taking south of the border. From what I have gathered from asking around, it's just a bus and trolley ride from where I live, and that it is also very dangerous there. I plan on commuting and maybe walking around to see stuff, is that a smart idea? And how dangerous is it there?

[tim k]

Here is a good read.
http://wharfyouth.org/fifteen-bodies...-reuters/28770
Then google " murders in Tijuana.
Have fun.

[SWphoto]

Oh, THAT kind of shooting! I would avoid the thought.

[ColdEye]

That doesn't look good. I thought I thought it will be just like in the darker parts of Manila, Philippines (where I came from), but it looks like it is way dangerous there. Looks like I'll be sticking to Downtown SD.

[Sirius Glass]

The situation in the Baja and Tijuana is bad enough that there are warnings to stay away. Just do a search on Tijana and safety. It used to be nice to go there, but there are many other places in Southern California for you to see and do photography.

Steve

[ntenny]

It's gotten pretty severely unsafe. Most of the violence seems to be directly related to the drug and smuggling businesses, and those not involved in either generally aren't targets---but mistakes happen.

A friend of mine has family living there; a few months ago, they got up one morning to find that a body had been dumped on their front steps. It seems to have been just a mistake: someone wrote down an address wrong, or something, and the "warning" got delivered to the wrong house. (Good thing they didn't hear anything and go to the door to check it out.) It's probably not a good time to visit any of the border cities just now.

-NT

[ColdEye]

I see. Any recommendations then on where to go? I am just new and want to explore places, mainly looking for places that are a bit old and those near deserts.

[ntenny]

I see. Any recommendations then on where to go? I am just new and want to explore places, mainly looking for places that are a bit old and those near deserts.

Have you been out to Anza-Borrego yet? It's not a good season right now---you want to wait until about October when it starts to cool down---but there's a lot of really neat old stuff out there. The area on Old Highway 80 around Jacumba is also pretty interesting and not quite as hot.

The area around Julian and Santa Ysabel isn't properly "desert", but it's lovely country, and while Julian itself is a bit self-consciously restored ("Look at me! I'm an Old West town!"), the general area is well worth exploring. Santa Ysabel is my personal favorite of the California missions.

Drop me a PM if you want to go out shooting sometime.

-NT

[Sirius Glass]

Joshua Tree National Park
Palm Springs Tram
San Bernandino Mountains
Yucaipa in the Fall for Fall Colors and the Apple Festival
Mojave Desert - Schmidt-Burro Tunnel, http://mojavedesert.net/description.html
Mojave Nature Preserve

[ColdEye]

The only places I have been to are the Zoo and Wildlife park, the beaches in La Jolla and Imperial Beach and sometimes I go to Downtown. I've looked up pictures of Anza Borrego and that is a place I want to go! I've never been to a place like that. I'll look up Santa Ysabel too, and I'll PM you on a shoot someday. Thank you very much.

The Mojave Desert I will definitely go to, but maybe later in the year. I'm not liking the heat now. Thank you.