Lady in Red
Mar, 2015Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken in the quiet and picturesque village of Chefchaouen in Morocco. All the houses and streets of this village had blue painted walls which was fascinating and unique to see and experience. It gave the village a serene feel and villagers still live a modest way of life... with women washing the clothes by the river, housewives walking to the baker with their dough so that he can bake them their daily bread and villagers meeting for a talk at the village square in the evening. I simply loved it.Time
I had two days to visit this village, so on the second day I woke up early to walk the narrow streets of Chefchaouen in order to observe the villagers' humble way of life. Amongst the hustle and bustle of the village I came across a small square where people were setting up a small market.Lighting
For this image I used the available natural light.Equipment
For this shot I used my Nikon D7000 and my Nikkor 50mm prime lens f/1.8.Inspiration
Amongst the market sellers in this small square I saw an old woman wearing red (who immediately caught my eye as she really contrasted against the blue walls of the village). She was sitting on the floor tying up bunches of mint so that she could sell them during the day (mint tea is extremely popular in Morocco). I also was attracted to her wrinkled face and her expression as she was really concentrating on what she was doing. However I had one problem...in Morocco people do not...and I repeat...DO NOT....like their photo to be taken. This was a huge problem for me as I really love to shoot street photography and capture people going about their daily business. So in order to take this photo I couldn't put the camera up to my face, point and shoot...I had to shoot from the hip. I set the aperture to f/8 so that everything in the image would be in focus and I took a gamble....I went past this old lady, walking slowly and prayed for a good photo. After I pressed the shutter button (and coughed at the same time in order to muffle the camera sound) I walked a couple of steps until I turned a corner away from her view. I eagerly switched on the camera screen and observed what I had captured....I couldn't be happier as as soon as I pressed the shutter release button she had looked up from whatever she was doing so that I captured her weathered face. I knew I had a great photo as there were 3 contrasting colours (red, blue and yellow) and she had a great expression. I was ecstatic.Editing
I did minimal post-processing to this photo. I cropped the image in order to get a more intimate photo of this old lady in the market and I sharpened the image slightly to get a crisp portrait.In my camera bag
During my travels I do not carry a lot of equipment as I usually am walking all day and would not like to have a lot of weight on my back. I always carry my Nikon D7000 with my favourite lens the Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6 (as it is such a versatile lens). I also carry the Tamron 24-70mm f/2.8, a bean bag (to use instead of a tripod) and the GoPro Hero 4 black to capture some amazing video footage. In Morocco I had with me the Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 prime lens but I rarely use it although it is an amazing lens. I would love to have another camera body so that I would have the 2 lenses i.e. the 18-300mm and the 24-70mm (which is excellent for portraits) always mounted and ready to use. I found it very difficult to change between these lenses in time in order to get the image that I wanted and more often then not I ended up failing to capture what would have otherwise been a great image, kicking myself in the behind for not having the lens already mounted and ready to use....I think that is going to be my next investment for my future travels.Feedback
I think some of the best photos are taken early in the morning when all the tourists would still be asleep and taking it easy. It is the best time to see people going about their own business in its purest form (without the invasion of foreigners) catching the soul of the village and its villagers. It is never wise to be lazy...you can do that when you are back at home...prepare your gear before you go to bed so that you can wake up, grab your gear quickly and head out in search of something interesting to shoot. Also be very observant and take your time....sometimes a good image would be staring you in the face.
