Portraiture and reportage is quite difficult in Morocco as people don’t like having their photo taken and pointing a camera in their general direction will often result in a wagging finger.
Luckily Darren had arrange a day of portraiture with some local shopkeepers and craftsman. We split into small groups (we had 3 in ours) and fitted the 35mm prime lens for the day’s shoot.
We started out with Abdul and Sabir who are wood turners in the Medina. We spent around 20 minutes watching them at work, trying not to get in the way and taking shots. They were both very accommodating and would move to different locations and positions to help catch the best light.
Next it was on to the Argon cosmetics shop where Fatima the shopkeeper readily posed inside her shop. This was a big more tricky with the light and some very soft fill flash was required. After we’d got the shots we needed there was a chance to do some gift shopping. Portrait photography and present buying in one outing.
Across the road it was Karim the spice sellers turn to be photographed at work. The shop was only small so we squeezed as far back as we could to get the shots whilst he served tea and taught us about his spices.
Making use of the colourful and decorative doorways around the medina as a back drop for Hayat who is Darren’s sister in law. Hayat really enjoys having her photo taken and it was great working with her in what are some of my favourite shots of the trip (but I am biased as I love portrait shots).
Finally we visited a workshop where ladies were cracking shells to get to the nuts inside. The lighting was really difficult with just shafts of bright sunlight in certain areas.
After this is was back to the Raid for a rest and review of the photos. My initial room was on the roof with a separate living room. I didn’t mind the four flights of stairs to reach it but the ever present seagulls all through the night finally made me change rooms after a couple of nights and the new room lower down, although smaller was much cooler and quieter. The hotel staff are very friendly and accommodating to any requests. One thing to note the rooms dont have air con or safes and the door locks don’t seem very strong but security doesnt seem to be an issue.
Breakfasts are very basic in the form of breads (pan o chocolate, pancake and cuiasant) with tea, coffee or hot chocolate but I found this was fine and was enough given the evening meals provided in various restaurant.
Coming soon. Part three – Reportage in Morocco