Photographer Ken Hubbard took a trip down to the southern coastal town of Guánica in February to shoot a series of Tamron tutorial videos. Located about 30 minutes outside of Ponce, Guánica’s harbor was the original landing spot of explorer Ponce de Léon; today, the site affectionately known as el pueblo de la amistad (“the friendly town”) boasts miles of beachfront, Guánica State Forest (designated a United Nations Biosphere Reserve), and a quaint fishing-village ambiance.

Because he was compiling a variety of topics for the Tamron tutorials, Hubbard brought along a few of Tamron’s workhorse lenses, including the 10-24mm, the 17-50mm VC , the 18-270 Vibration Compensation (VC), and the 28-300mm VC models. “The one I used most often was probably the 18-270 lens,” says Hubbard. “I could get such a wide range of shots using that lens.”

The variety of lenses Hubbard brought along proved handy in different circumstances. “I was able to use the new 60mm F/2 lens for some macro flower shots while I was down there,” he says. “Normally, I always preach you have to use a tripod when shooting macro. In this case, however, because it was so bright in the Caribbean and it was midday when I shot these, I had some really great light on the flowers. At F/2 I was able to open up and get very fast shutter speeds of 1000 or better, which allowed me to get really close up and actually handhold the camera.”

Just outside of Guánica, Hubbard and his companions stumbled upon an abandoned, broken-down lighthouse. “It looked like a lot of people had come across this lighthouse—it was pretty beat up, with a lot of graffiti on it,” he says. “We were able to get inside, but it was really tight quarters in there, maybe five feet across at most. This is where the 10-24mm lens came in useful. With the lens super wide open, I shot straight up for an abstract sort of image, showing the swirling handrail where the metal steps had been torn down.”

Travel as light as you can if you venture down to one of the Caribbean islands—you’ll likely be doing a lot of touring and sightseeing, and you won’t want to be weighed down by your equipment. “I had to carry a lot of gear with me because of the nature of what I was doing down there, but it’s tough carrying a lot of gear, so avoid it if you can,” he says.

It was beautiful weather during Hubbard’s island adventures (“I’ll take 90-degree temperatures in February!”), but just because it might not be raining doesn’t mean you don’t have to protect your gear while documenting your travels. “It was pretty windy down there,” Hubbard says. “Always cover your lenses the best you can. If you can’t get one of those special cases from a photo store, just buy a Ziploc bag that’s large enough and keep your camera and lenses sealed up tight. Try not to change your lenses too often, either. The more you change them, the more sand can get into them. That’s where a lens like the 18-270 can come in handy, since you can keep it on for a good portion of your pictures.”

With its temperate climate and miles of beachfront, you’ll likely get the chance to partake in water sports of some sort: Puerto Rico is known for its windsurfing, snorkeling, fishing, and kayaking, which Hubbard did on a couple of occasions. “In those cases, I used a dry bag you can get at any sports store—I’d recommend this if you’re going to do any type of water activity and want to bring your camera along,” he advises. “This type of bag seals tight so that if it falls in the water, it will primarily stay dry. You fold it under, then clip it to create a seal. What I do is leave it filled with a little bit of air—that way, if it does fall overboard, it will float on the surface for a few seconds so you’ll have time to get to it. It will eventually fall to the bottom, but you’ll buy yourself a little time.”

Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of vacationing on a tropical island is how the landscape is illuminated by the bright Caribbean sun. This necessitates bringing the proper equipment to compensate for your brightly lit subjects. “In places like Puerto Rico where it’s really bright and sunny, always bring a polarizing filter,” says Hubbard. “You’ll need to cut the glare off any of your water shots, but also to deepen the blue skies and whiten the clouds. I was shooting some boats in a lagoon with the 17-50mm VC lens during one of the sunniest parts of the day. There was a lot of reflection on the water—using a polarizer helped me to clear up the water so you could see through it and get saturated, normal-looking green water, not pale white water from the reflections and bright light.”

Following the light as the day moves on is an effective way to show off the sultry Puerto Rican scenery. “You want to make your images more dramatic using light,” explains Hubbard. “You can play around with silhouettes, for example. For one shot I did, the sun was going down and everything was turning that nice golden color. I had my 18-270mm lens on the camera and shot a silhouette of some of the trees; the waves crashing on the shoreline served as a leading line taking you to the silhouetted trees. Now, if I hadn’t gone for the silhouetted effect and had shot in the other direction, the trees would have been all lit up and the image wouldn’t have been as dramatic. I was also able to add a person into the image for context—he was just sitting on the breakwater, hanging out.”

After the sun goes down, the Puerto Rican nightlife heats up—and it can still be prime shooting time if you keep your camera on hand. “This once again goes back to understanding light and what you can do with the light you have,” says Hubbard. “In this case, I used the moonlight and some ambient light behind me from a nearby tungsten houselight to capture a boat anchored against a dock. It was about 11:30 at night, with close to a full moon out in the sky. Everything was so bright that I just kept the shutter open for 20 seconds. Having such a long exposure smoothed everything out and made the water appear almost icelike with this nice, flat sheen. You might think this picture was taken during the daytime, that’s how bright everything is.”