Yam Shack
Roadside shack outside of Fez Morocco selling yams.
Roadside shack outside of Fez Morocco selling yams.
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Mar, 2015Views
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Behind The Lens
Location
This was taken along a road in Morocco leading from Casablanca to Rabat. Our group pulled over in the country side to stop and see sprawling hills and mountains and I was shooting mostly the landscape when I turned and saw this shack standing apart from other similar shacks, and thought it deserved a photo.Time
The angle of the sun really brought out the textures of the shack. At about 9am, in Morocco in January, the sun was already high in the sky and set me up for this shot perfectly!Lighting
The reason I love this photo is the amount of different textures it brings out. The sun was the only lighting available to me at the moment and it is just as well, because the dramatic angle of the natural light really cast the shadows necessary to emphasize the variety of textures and surfaces in this shot.Equipment
I was using a Nikon-D50 and a Nikon 50mm-200mm zoom lens at the time. No flash was used in this shot.Inspiration
I was traveling in Morocco and I really wanted to document sights that were unique to the country and the culture. Our group was traveling from Casablanca to Rabat early in the morning when we pulled over to view a dramatic landscape at a drop off. After shooting as much of the landscape as I could, I turned and realized I had failed to notice what was immediately around us. There were small shacks like this one, selling anything from food, to artisan goods, to car parts. The particular shack in this shot intrigued me because of its look of abandonment. It was crudely made compared to other stands, and seemed to have been forgotten about. I like the forlorn sense that it gave, and tried to capture that feeling.Editing
For post processing, I chose black and white to make the textures the focus of the image. This way, color and composition are not competing to take the foreground. I darkened some shadows as well, particularly to define the clouds in the sky and to add drama to the already existing shadows cast by the sun.In my camera bag
Although I was traveling light at the time this shot was taken, I normally have a 35mm lens, a standard zoom lens, and my Nikon D700. I always carry an external flash when doing portraits, and a tripod for any type of landscape, nature, or nighttime shoots.Feedback
The essence of this photograph, is that the subject of it is something utterly as mundane as a shack, but under the correct light and processing, had potential to become a dramatic and evocative image.The light can tell the story of a shot, sometimes much better than the subject itself. By paying attention to the narrative that the light is giving you, you can shoot images of everyday things but capture spectacular images.
