When I travel I often take candid photography. In fact, it is rare when I don’t. That’s because I think that showing people is a good way to get the sense of a place. You can see this in many of my previous posts. A few evident examples are: the Kuna Vendors in Panama, or the Indigenous craft vendors in Guatemala. The post on Belize City is also worth a visit 🙂
This is a photo in Panajajel, Guatemala of a family having a good time on one of the piers at Lake Atitlan, uploaded to my Fine Art America gallery:
Documentary photography, describing travel destinations
Here are some tourists embarking on boats to cross Atitlan Lake in Panajajel, Guatemala. I also uploaded this travel photo to my Fine Art America gallery:
In the streets of Santiago Guatemala is a travel photo I transformed into a painterly image using the digital media, for my Fine Art America gallery:
Many of my candid photos ( they are all candid images as matter of fact), shows an exciting tourist experience riding the authentic Italian gondolas of the Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. I also altered my original travel photograph as a watercolor, using the digital media, for my FAA gallery:
Candid photography of people in their daily activities
In the early years of my life I was fascinated by fine art masters capturing people in their real life. The impressionists were in my total admiration. Have you ever seen for instance Vincent van Gogh drawings of people? That was something that really fascinated me… I even made some drawings on my own, but nothing serious. However, the idea of capturing people in their daily activities followed me for many years to come:
Tailor in Orange Walk, Belize – Uploaded to my Fine Art America gallery:
Woman carrying wood in the rural Guatemala
Coffee Pickers In Guatemala – image also available in my FAA gallery:
Guatemalan woman doing laundry in Atitlan Lake, Panajajel, Guatemala – travel photo from my Fine Art America Gallery:
Candid Street and documentary photography
When I first got involved with photography I was always fascinated by the genre of photojournalism. I think that in the 60’s and 70’s everybody was. The master of street and candid photography of all times will always be Henri Cartier-Bresson. I have to admit that it’s not easy to capture good street photography… but I keep trying 🙂
Here are some of my candid (“street”) photos – I have lots of them:
Young man carrying heavy merchandise in the streets of Mexico City.
* I also made this as a watercolor in the digital media, for my Fine Art America gallery:
At the Bistro in Quebec, Canada
In the streets of Nuremberg, Germany
Poor distressed man in Belize City:
Shoe polisher in San Cristobal De Las Casas, Mexico:
** Candid photography is mostly described as taking shots of people without them being aware of you. It is however more about capturing people without requesting them to pose. For those who really like classifications, there are some fine lines between candid, street photography and photojournalism. They are however part of the same genre of real honest artistic expressions.
Here are some more from my travels:
Laundry day in Cozumel, Mexico:
Sunday morning in Guatemala – this was the first ever travel photo I sold from my Fine Art America gallery 🙂
Old man and his dog in front of their house in Paderne, Portugal:
Some candid photography from the streets of Ottawa, Canada
Discount shopping on the sidewalk in Ottawa:
Kissing goodby at the airport in Ottawa, Canada
Well, before kissing you goodby, I want to post one more 🙂 It’s a short story featuring a work day of a street musician in Ottawa, Canada. He didn’t look jaded at the end of his performance 🙂 I made it for a contest on a photography contest.
Musician street artist in Ottawa, Canada
I took thousands of candid photography shots along my travels. It looks like I have to make many more pages to show at least part of them. Stay tuned! 🙂
Thank you for visiting!
As a traveler, shopping at local markets in Mexico or grocery stores is a great cultural experience. This is true for every country in the world.
Food is always a good indicator about people’s customs and lifestyle. It’s different from country to country and even from region to region.
It’s unique and characteristic. That’s why, I often like to get close with my camera, and fill the frame with what I see. This gives a better understanding of what I’m talking about. I do this not only with food, but with many other subjects, including people. ** Click on the photos for a larger better view and more to see!
This for instance, this is a close-up on corn grilling:
… And this a lady preparing fresh dough for tortillas at the market of Acatlan de Osario, Puebla, Mexico:
On the other hand, as a foreign resident in Mexico, shopping at local markets is a special culinary experience. It is also a healthy alternative to the food we found in the modern supermarkets.
My husband and I are still in the travelers category and visited a huge amount of food shops in many places of Mexico. Although I was tempted to, I just didn’t take as many photos as the number of grocery stores we entered in 🙂 I would have filled all my hard drives with only food and markets 🙂 …
Close-ups on Mexican local products
Oh, there is so much food to take photos of in Mexico! On close-ups you can see them better 🙂
I saw this dried shrimp at the market in Comitan, Chiapas. Not sure how they use them though…
You can find all kinds of local vegetables in the Mexican markets, some weirder than others 🙂 Mexicans are using them in their delicious soups and meals in a way unknown to me though… I saw these in the Town of Tequila market:
In Puebla state of Mexico, the squash blossoms are highly prized as food ingredients. I photographed them at the Acatlan de Osorio, Puebla, market. These are just close-ups on what that lady was selling in my first photo – the far right corner of the market.
The tropical fruits however are just amazing: Star fruit, Passion fruit, Mangoes and many more!
I’ve seen these kind of pastries all over Mexico – they call them “Pan Dolce”, which you probably guessed stands for sweet bread. I photographed them at the Etla, Oaxaca market
You may remember this close-up photo of freshly roasted beans in Ajijic, on Lake Chapala.
That’s right, the local market in Ajijic, Jalisco is a dream place for those seasonal or retired “Gringos” living in this area of Mexico. They have everything they want there: food they are used to from the north and Mexican characteristic food. This is a vendor cleaning a Napal leaf for a customer. You can use these cactus leaves in salads, or fry them:
In Ajijic as well as in all other markets in Mexico, you can buy a lot of things besides groceries. They sell household goods, local drinks, freshly squeezed juice, crafts and you name it. Look at these beautiful dolls made out of corn husk and ornamented with ribbons and lace:
Eating authentic Mexican food
Another great aspect of the Mexican local markets are the dining areas. These are wonderful opportunities for travelers to taste the local authentic Mexican food, at ocal prices! Tortillas are common, but they are so different than the ones we can buy in restaurants up North… They are filled with cheese and/or with many other things. This photo below is also from the Ajijic market. BTW: the markets in Mexico are called Mercados.
But talking about people and dining areas at the local markets in Mexico, here is a photo portrait of a Mexican family. They were sitting at the same table with us in the Acatlan de Osorio, Puebla market and answered our questions about the food.
I really hope that you will go and see all these culinary marvels with your own eyes, and not only through my camera 🙂
Tuesday Photo Challenge – Groceries | Lens Artists Challenge #66 – Filling the frame
Dolan Springs is an authentic Wild West village in Mohave County, Arizona. Many tourists pass by it everyday by bus on the way to Grand Canyon West, but not too many even notice it…
The rather quiet rustic village is just a stop for gas and a cup of coffee.
The village is actually half way between Hoover Dam, and Kingman Arizona.
Coming from Nevada on Hwy 93, when you see the sign for Grand Canyon, you turn left and you are almost there 🙂
There used to be a store with beads, local made jewelry and yarn right near the bus stop, but it closed from lack of clients. I really hope they will not tear down these rural artistic signs.
The village numbering about 2,300 people is quite rustic, not to mention a little junky. It is however an interesting place to visit. Western people were quite creative and I enjoyed exploring the unique artistic murals, signs, and artifacts 🙂
But “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”! For me the junk around was just a great photo opportunity 🙂
The high desert nature in Dolan Springs and area
Here you can admire the beautiful surrounding landscape, mountains, nature and of course the famous western sky. Hey I’ve seen and photographed the solstice full moon in December 2017 🙂
On the back roads, and also from around the house we were renting, I could observe the countryside and desert nature. It’s just beautiful in every season; in the morning, day or evening light! 🙂
In December we even had some snow, partially covering the prickled desert vegetation, but it didn’t last
It was just amazing to see all the blooming cacti and Joshua trees at springtime:
In terms of wildlife, everything amazed me: the jackrabbits and quails were a novelty, same with the rattlesnakes. The cottontail rabbits and chipmunks were not, but they were so cute…
Dolan Springs tourism
If you are a serious traveler, Dolan Springs is a good base for visiting a lot of attractions nearby in Arizona. We spent about nine months there and visited quite a few places. One I made a post of, was the London Bridge at Lake Havasu.
I hope you enjoyed your visit to Dolan Springs, Arizona viewed through my eyes and camera 🙂
Lens Artists Photo Challenge #64: Countryside and/or Small Towns