Marrakesh, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly; Street Photography.

I really need to get this post written, its been half written on my computer, phone, iPad for over a month. In the space between the holiday I've blogged other stories and have shot various events. Time to spend a little more time on this to finish it off;


This is the 3rd time I've re-written this post.

I'm trying not to sound negative. I haven't figured out a way yet to put a positive spin on everything.

So ill never work as a smiley travel agent; failing to mention that the place isn't built yet or even just that the 5 star hotel that your visiting is really everyone else's 3 star.

Marrakesh, Morocco;  a city of colour and culture.

The 2 faced life in the desert, busy preying on tourists.


The elephant in the room.

The souk.

"Just look for the Mosque" they said.

"You'll be fine" they said.

Walking deeper into the souk, in the wrong direction, in the right direction?

All directions look the same; when you reach a dead end, you start again, in the opposite direction, which could be either right or wrong.

The Streets, the decay, the graffiti, the light, the shadows, they all look great shooting on the way in.

Not bothering on the way out as you might have already shot that wall, person, market store. 
Who knows "they all look the same".

For anyone wanting to experience the famous souk, go for it. 

It's vibrant, lively, a spectacle. 

Unfortunately though, it's a tourist trap; a dangerous place to be.

Not quite the graffiti you want to see

People will want your money. People will step close to and hassle you. 
People will bully you; trying to rip you off. 

A fast buck, an easy target. 

Counting his earnings?

Speaking to one couple I heard that they had been led astray by a market trader with a promise that he would help them find their way out. The couple were actually taken further into the market and were then harassed for £20 for the priveledge of making the situation worse.

A moment of clarity. Its these little things that leave fond memories; the light, the shadows and spending time with the wife.

I never returned to the souk, i never went anywhere afterwards as i caught Gastro-Enteritis.

Ill doesn't describe it.

The plan for the Marrakesh trip was to shoot as much street and travel photography as possible whilst also enjoying chilling out around the pool with Laura.

I spent 3 days being too ill to do anything and then it was pretty much time to come home.

Better luck next time i hope.

Richard; a Street Portrait

It's important to challenge yourself.

Force yourself into doing something your uncomfortable with.

Doing this will hopefully lower your inhibitions and make you grow as person and it should be easier next time.

Ive been really busy lately, by advertising myself. Ive released that not everyone is going to come to me just by word of mouth, though its proven very successful. So those local to me will no doubt have seen my adverts popping up on various Facebook pages. Result, more business.

Because I've been busy, I've let my blogging fall behind. Its not like i don't shoot regularly, i have a camera with me at all times, though today walking the dog in the hail i didn't feel like getting the camera out.

So, a mental note to keep blogging.

A time recently where I've challenged myself is to talk to a stranger and ask if i can take their portrait.

I spotted Richard sitting on a windowsill on St. Benedicts street, Norwich, nursing his cider. At 1st i thought about grabbing a candid shot of him. I walked away with my tail between my legs. After going in a shop looking for bargain CD's, i noticed that he was still sitting there, i just had to talk to him.

Go for it, whats the worst that could happen, he might just say no.

Very politely Richard, told me his name, told me that he lived just up the road , told me his story and agreed that i could take his photo.

I gave Richard my card and my details, to which he replied he doesn't have a phone or a computer and so wouldn't be able to see the photo. Now that i think about it, i should of took his address and sent him a small print as a way of saying thanks for his time.

Some people in a worse position than you, may still be willing to give you a hand, just for a little bit of time.

Forever Your Rose, new film project for Holbeach Film Company

A new year, a new film for The Holbeach Film Company.

2016 see's the creation of Forever Your Rose, a romantic comedy, much different from 2015's Dishonoured' thriller-esc genre. Dishonoured is soon to be released by the way.

Being part of the Dishonoured crew, i was naturally included in news about the new project.
I want to help out where i can.

All films need a cast and crew, so its audition time.

There were people coming and going all afternoon, the waiting room filling up and changing round continuously.

The waiting game

I spent a couple of hours in the audition room, at some points literally hiding behind a sofa. I wonder what the budding stars thought when they walked into the room and saw me crouched behind the sofa?

Judging the auditions was handled by director, camera men, actor and actresses. Im sure their are different job titles in there somewhere.

There was fun to be had amidst the nervous faces.

I had to get behind the action and capture the gestures of the hopefuls.

The essence of photography is capturing the light. As soon a i see the spotlights in the room, the idea was a light bulb, no pun intended, moment.

Staring into the abyss

My favourite images from the day.
The beauty of shooting into the light.

I love the haze at the bottom caused by the light reflecting off of my silver Fujifilm X100T placed just under the Fujifilm X-Pro 1 that i was shooting with.

The lens flare on the left and the flick of the hair on the right, does it for me. 

My last objective of the day was to join the judges and use them to frame the candidates.

Use focus selectively to tell a story.

Many of the above photographs were taken with a 1980's Canon FD 50mm F1.8 lens that i bought years ago for £10. Manual focus of moving targets, at large apertures in low light is not an easy task, however its important to challenge yourself. The images are much more rewarding....which reminds me, i need to shoot some film again!!! Does anyone want a wedding shot on film???

For any more information on the local film being made, follow this link https://www.facebook.com/ForeverYrRose/

Its been a while since my last blog, hopefully this will be the jump start it needed.

Thanks for looking.