27-NOV-2011
Collector, Barcelona, Spain, 2011
This man is examining coins for sale at a Sunday flea market in Barcelona’s Placa Real. As he carefully turns the pages of an album, I tried to express the intensity and the passion he brings to the task.
27-NOV-2011
Flea Market, Barcelona, Spain, 2011
Flea markets can make chaotic scenes. I was able to make sense out of this one when I discovered four sets of twin offerings on a single table. The repeated pairings, featuring two dolls, two picture frames, two wicker objects, and two bells, organize what would otherwise be a chaotic image into coherent expression of multiple vintage treasures.
17-NOV-2011
Flea Market, Jaffa, Israel, 2011
The essence of a flea market is variety – and this shop window offers a good example of it. The foreground is filled with kitchen goods, while the middle ground features a decorative elephant, a hat, and two clocks. The background painting of a Middle Eastern figure seated on a cushion and holding a hookah in his lap ties the image together and gives the scene a local flavor.
14-NOV-2011
Headscarves, Aqaba, Jordan, 2011
Mannequin heads emerge from piles of fabrics in this Middle Eastern marketplace. Each wears a different color headscarf, which tells us that this market is in a Muslim country. While the color varies from head to head, the expressions of the mannequins do not, giving the scene an incongruous touch.
27-NOV-2011
Three men and a watch, Barcelona, Spain, 2011
Barcelona’s Placa Real Sunday marketplace is a hive of activity, featuring both approved traders, as well as transient entrepreneurs along its periphery selling whatever they might have on hand. In this case, I found a man trying on a watch, while his friend monitored the deal. I like the way the three hands are linked, creating a focal point for the image.
21-NOV-2011
Shopping street, Side, Turkey, 2011
This street is on a hill. I stood at the top, shooting down at the shops that gradually recede into the distance. The street caters to tourists, and the sales people often sit outside as they try to draw people into their shops. In this scene, there appears to be more salesmen than customers. I like the way to the two salesmen at left are studying me – do they think I am a candidate for a carpet? Or are they simply curious as to why someone would stand in front of them making picture after picture?
11-SEP-2011
Pork pot, near Cajas National Park, Ecuador, 2011
A roadside market, just outside of Cajas National Park, offered a pot full of freshly made simmering port. I photographed one of the cooks stirring the pot, using a wideangle lens to stress the detail within the pot as well as the body language of the woman about to serve a tasting to our group. It is the lean of her head, echoing the thrust of the paddle, that give the image its strength and cohesion.
13-SEP-2011
Bulk food, Cuenca, Ecuador, 2011
One of Cuenca’s larger markets sells bulk foods such as rice, beans, and corn in huge sacks. I looked for color contrasts, and found two women and a child wearing bright red clothing. Surrounded by huge sacks of food, they eat as they wait for customers.
15-JUL-2010
Fifth Avenue shop, New York City, New York, 2010
A special event was being held at the Omega store on Fifth Avenue – it was nearly 9:00 pm, and people were still passing through the doors of this upscale watch shop. Using a long telephoto lens from across the street, I was able to layer the image with passing traffic, passersby in silhouette, a show window featuring a glittering display watches framed within Omega’s commemoration of a 1975 space flight, and finally a few people inside the store itself. The image expresses multiple ideas: wealth, glamour, and a touch of history.
02-JUN-2010
Shops, Santa Fe, New Mexico, 2010
The architectural traditions of Santa Fe go back into time, and often the historic nature of Santa Fe’s buildings is emphasized by primitive looking archaic design. Many shops are housed in this structure, which deliberately displays distressed adobe, a crudely defined sign, and aged shuttered windows. I have no idea if what we see here is a historic structure reborn as a commercial enterprise, or if this is a clever piece of new commercial architecture designed to look historic. I photograph it at sunset, making it all the more romanticized. Whatever the answers, such questions can prod our imaginations.
24-OCT-2009
Choices, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009
Istanbul offers one of the most exotic and varied marketplaces in the world. The Grand Bazaar is 600 years old and holds thousands of shops. The exotic Spice Bazaar is almost as famous. This small shop offers tourists hundreds of felt hats – the choices seem infinite. I made this image by night with a 14mm wideangle focal length stretching the choices on hand.
24-OCT-2009
Shop Window, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009
Shop windows are best photographed at night, when there are fewer distracting reflections. They become even more interesting when you are able to find people in them. This particular shop window features not only an astounding variety of ceramic objects, but the proprietors as well. It tells the story not only of an amazingly beautiful Turkish craft, but of a business as well.
14-OCT-2009
Layers, Istanbul, Turkey, 2009
These people were preparing a shipment on the street in front of their shop. I used a super wideangle 14mm focal length to stress the size of the package in the foreground layer, yet still include the emotional responses of the shopkeepers in the middle layer and their shop as context in the background layer. The marketplace is always a story waiting to be told. In this case, we wonder why the woman seems to be so dismayed as the man brings an energetic finish to the task at hand.
01-OCT-2009
Public Market, Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
A superwide 14mm lens embraces the vivid colors of fruits and vegetables on display at a spot where two aisles converge. I used a camera with a flip out viewfinder, and held this wide=angle lens high over my head in order to create this triangular composition. By spot metering on the brightest reflected light here, I caused the aisles and much of the background to fall into dark shadow, further intensifying the impact of both form and color. This marketplace is known for its abundant fresh produce, and this image offers validation.
01-OCT-2009
Shoppers, Public Market, Granville Island, Vancouver, Canada, 2009
This image expresses the differences in how shoppers perceive their experience. The woman in the center is the most emotional – her gaze seems to be one of awe and wonder. The woman at right is just as interested in the products she is seeing, but more restrained in her response. Meanwhile, the softly focused man in the background seems more puzzled than excited – offering me a layer of contrast.
12-APR-2009
Bridal shop window, Nogales, Arizona, 2009
These mannequins, displaying wedding finery in a Nogales bridal shop’s side window, are studies in opposites. The figure in the veiled white bridal gown looks away, as if she is being drawn towards the world of married life. On the other hand, the figure in the purple gown and tiara peers seems to peer around a dark panel at us, its arm poised as if it is ready to flee. This pairing of figures tells us that the traditions of marriage, and all that comes with them, may not be for everyone. I’m sure the display window designers did not intend to say this -- it does not fit their marketing objective, but given my vantage point, the play of light and shadow, and the power of gesture, that’s the story I am telling with this image.
09-NOV-2008
Homogeneity, Kairouan, Tunisia, 2008
Eight identical mannequins display eight different costumes in the Kairouan medina. I used a 24mm wideangle lens and moved in as close as I could on the orange dress at the left hand edge to anchor the image. The wider the lens, the greater the depth of focus – at 24mm all eight mannequins remain reasonably sharp. The lack of variation from mannequin to mannequin – only the costumes change – is incongruous and implies that the shoppers here are comfortable with conformity.
13-NOV-2008
Innocence, Douze, Tunisia, 2008
The weekly sheep market at Douze, at the gates of the Sahara Desert, offers visions of innocence. In this grouping, I found a lamb and a ewe seeking shelter under the horn of a ram. The body of another sheep lends its support to all. The image becomes even more poignant when we realize that these animals have no idea of the fate that soon awaits them. Our visit to the sheep market, like so many other places on our tour of Tunisia, coincided with the worst light of the day. To avoid harsh, ugly contrasts, I looked for subjects in the shade, such as this grouping.
08-NOV-2008
Greener pastures, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
The beauty of this marketplace image is its simplicity. The shopper faces away from the camera, becoming an abstraction. Because we can’t see her face, our attention shifts to the antsy child, who seems to wish he were elsewhere at this moment. I built the image around its coloration – the whitewashed walls and gray floor and stoop echo the gray and white clothing of the shopper. The red counter inside the store repeats the red crate and red advertisements on the building wall.
07-NOV-2008
Sale, Sousee, Tunisia, 2008
This colorful image replicates the view of a shopping tourist, facing a luxury of extensive choice at this stall in the Sousse medina. As we study the image, two bizarre incongruities appear – a mannequin wearing an orange dress, and the head of another mannequin wearing a blue cap. Another incongruity is the presence of price tags, which are rarely seen in Tunisian marketplaces, where bargaining is mandatory.
06-APR-2008
Antique shop, Chor Bazaar, Mumbai, India, 2008
Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, was the last stop on our three week visit to India. Its Thieves Market, known as the Chor Bazaar, is overflowing with crowded, dusty antique and bric-a-brac shops. The worn figure, its paint fading and peeling, represents the storybook Bombay of Kipling and the Raj. It, too, has faded slowly away, replaced by an overwhelmingly commercial environment, which I represent with the advertising signage behind the figure.
03-JAN-2008
Economics of the street, Vinh Long, Vietnam, 2008
This image is packed with layers,each of them symbolizing a different aspect of Vietnam's booming economy. The woman in the foreground selling fruits and vegetables represents the agricultural economics of the past, while the motorbike behind her, which has come to symbolize Vietnam more than the conical hat on her head, speeds us into the present. Next to it, a watch salesman plies his trade, gold is being brought and sold, and two mannequins seem to incongruously rush from the store, trumpeting the newest in local fashion. Vietnam is a Communist country with a Capitalistic marketplace. Everything from hot peppers to flashy Chinese watches to slightly used motorbikes to pure gold and silken garments are for sale on its streets, and the prices conform to the laws of supply and demand. By layering all of this into one image, I try to express how Vietnam’s frenetic marketplace is evolving.
05-JAN-2008
Shopping at the floating market, Can Tho, Vietnam, 2008
Hundreds of vendors and buyers alike take to the waters of one of the Mekong's branches to buy and sell goods of all kinds, beginning at dawn. What makes this kind of market so unique is that everything floats and much of it is in motion. It is difficult to separate buyer from seller – sometimes they could one and the same. This woman appears to be shopping – her small boat seems well filled and she is definitely gong somewhere. When photographing such scenes, I look for a center of interest amidst the chaos. In this case, I found it in this woman.
08-NOV-2007
Sales clerk, Hubbell Trading Post, Ganado, Arizona, 2007
The Hubbell Trading Post at Ganado, Arizona, had served the Navajo Nation for over 100 years. It became part of the US National Park Service in 1967, and has been maintained as an active trading post ever since. Nothing has changed here over the years except the goods on the shelves and the prices. We were graciously welcomed by this Navajo sales clerk – he offered us coffee and cookies and told us about the room where works. While he was speaking to us he place his hand over his heart, which to me was a gesture of sincerity. This trading post has always been more than a store – it was the heart of the Navajo community in the region. Today it serves largely tourists, but the local Indians still meet and greet each other here.
25-DEC-2006
Corner shop, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
A shopkeeper in Marrakesh’s medina opens for business as another day begins. Like many of the shops in this teeming markeplace, hers is a street stall. The interior is filled with her goods – she will sell them to passers by in the street. She has chosen a key location. Her little store is on a corner, just across the street from the wide open door of one of the only public toilets in the neighborhood. The wear and tear on the street and walls, the warm colors that reflect the morning light, and the traditional costume of the shop keeper add mood, atmosphere and meaning.
22-DEC-2006
Rural store, Dades Valley, Morocco, 2006
This small shop is typical of the small general stores that serve Morocco’s rural areas. It offers everything from snacks and sodas to propane gas and soap. What drew me to this scene is the juxtaposition of reality and fantasy. The products that define this business surround the three men in this image. They seem oblivious to the metal door at right that displays unintentionally surreal fragments of advertisements, past and present. A primitive rendering of a Kasbah (there are numerous kasbahs in the Dades Valley) featuring a shredded head of a baby floating in the sky overhead, and a huge bar of pink soap made this little shop a memorable sight along the road to Ouarzazate.
25-DEC-2006
Food vendor, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
This marketplace environmental portrait places the subject within the context of his wares. We see what he sells, how he packages and displays it, and get a glimpse of his personality as well. He responds to us neutrally. He does not smile because he probably is tired of being photographed in Marrakesh’s heavily tourist market. He does not frown or chase me away because he does not want to lose a possible sale. And so he takes the non-committal middle road. His clothing is neutral as well. He does not want to compete with the colors of his wares.
21-DEC-2006
Bookstore, Tineghir, Morocco, 2006
Stores come and go quickly in this lively town -- some, such as this bookstore housed in a tent, are temporary. For non-Moroccans, there is a double incongruity here. We don’t often see bookstores in tents, nor its customers wearing striped jellabas. This customer displays a degree of intensity as well, which adds expressive meaning to the image.
25-DEC-2006
Goats, shoes, and scarves, Marrakesh, 2006
Freshly killed goats, racks of shoes and colorful scarves are often found hanging side by side in the souks of Marrakesh. When shooting in markets, I look for incongruities. The carcass of a goat may seem incongruously out of place next to the clothing and shoes, but when market stalls are arrayed side by side, any combination of wares can occur and often does. I found a vantage point that most strongly relates the carcass to the products in the next booth. The salesman adds a touch of human context to the scene.
16-DEC-2006
Fish, Fez, Morocco, 2006
Each craft or product has its own street or part of a street in the souks of Fez. This photograph was made in the street of fish stalls. I was drawn to the rhythms of the tail fins in this picture, a shape that is echoed by the vendor’s planted hand. There are many fish stalls in this souk, and all of their vendors are hawking their wares. I tried to get some of that competitive energy into this image.
29-DEC-2006
The soul of the souk, Marrakesh, Morocco, 2006
Originally located on the Saharan trade routes, Marrakesh was a convenient staging post for caravans and developed into a major craft and trading center. Today, its teeming souks carry on the trading tradition. Marrakesh’s medina is an intricate maze of narrow streets, often protected from the sun by slated awnings. By mid morning, the Souk Smarine, the busiest street in the souks, is ablaze in shafts of light. It is the sight of shoppers threading their way through these shafts of light that gives this image its meaning and character. Intent on their purposes, they take little or no note of it. But for a photographer, such exotic light is the reason for shooting. It is as if most of these shoppers are being incongruously driven through the souk by an unacknowledged power.
24-DEC-2006
Choices, Place Jemaa el-Fna, Marrakesh, 2006
The square is lined with kiosks and wagons selling produce of every kind all day long and into the night. With an array of twenty different kinds of various fruits and nuts to choose from, this customer has many choices to consider. His extended hand seems to be saying that he wants more than just one thing. Meanwhile, the vendor patiently follows the customer’s deliberations.
22-DEC-2006
Cattle barn, weekly market, Essaouira, Morocco, 2006
A building in near ruin serves as a makeshift cattle barn for this man and his potential sales at this vast market outside Essaouira. The early morning light warms the scene – considering the age of the structure and the costume of the cattleman, this image could have been made a century ago. Little has changed in Morocco’s provincial marketplaces over the years. This is an expression in time, as well as place.
24-DEC-2006
In motion, Marrakesh, 2006
Using a slow shutter speed of 1/8th of a second and a long telephoto lens (355mm), I deliberately blur this image to express the tumultuous nature of Marrakesh’s most crowded souk. The focal point of this image is the man carrying rugs on his back. It was apparently moving in the same direction and same speed that the camera was at the instant of exposure. I blurred the photo by moving the camera slightly at the moment of exposure.)
05-APR-2005
Moving marketplace, Li River, Guilin, China, 2006
A group of young souvenir vendors attempt to sell their wares to passengers on every Li riverboat. Success is rare, and the physical risks are high. The big boats are in constant motion, and the fragile rafts, lashed to their sides, seem to be at considerable risk. The image is rich in incongruity – one does not normally find people taking such risks for a few cents of profit. My vantage point was able to encompass three levels of activity here – the fellow at left appears quite casual and confident in his approach, the man in the middle stabilizes the moving raft, while the three vendors at the far right energize the image with their frantic gestures.
01-APR-2006
Naxi family, Baisha, China, 2006
Agriculture in China has always been a family business. This group of Naxi women and children have brought assorted home grown greens to the village, selling them to passersby in the street. This family gave me a chance to make a group portrait, not just a picture of people selling vegetables. A group portrait must define the bond that ties a group together as a group. In this case, the gestures are expressing things important to the group: love, protectiveness, confidence, and industriousness. All are human values that go into making a family work as a unit. Note how active the hands are around the perimeter of the image. The woman at left confidently displays her well-worn hands upon her knees. The younger woman at center wraps an arm around her child. The young boy standing next to them holds a toy in his hands and rests an arm on another woman’s shoulder. And that woman, in turn, strokes the head of the little girl who is arranging the produce in a basket.
27-MAR-2006
Spice lady, Ishigaki, Okinawa, Japan, 2006
Business is slow for this spice merchant in one of Ishigaki's colorful markets. She sells some of the ingredients necessary for Yaeyama cooking -- a regional Japanese cuisine. The spice is important context here, but it is the expressiveness of her hand gesture and face that provides meaning. She appears tired, perhaps bored, resigned to the fact that customers are far and few between. I also took note of how the necks of the tall bottles rhythmically repeat the flow of her fingers. Their bright orange color dominates the image and act as pointers to the hand and face above them.
14-MAR-2006
Mobile newsstand, Beijing, China, 2006
This Beijing newsstand is ready to roll at any time. It was the incongruity of its
transient, impermanent nature that drew me to this scene. The large yellow column acts as a beacon of color, leading us directly down into the papers, which are squeezed into the narrow space between that column and another. Space is a premium in Beijing, and this method of selling papers makes the most of the space available. The salesman, meanwhile, has free reading material and takes advantage of it when he has the time to do so.
14-MAR-2006
Night Market, Beijing, China, 2006
Beijing's Donghua Yeshi Night Market serves up skewers of freshly cooked seafood and meats by the thousands. This image offers a detailed look at the creatures ready for cooking, some of them familiar, others not. It is the wealth of incongruous detail that makes this image express its ideas. To those who enjoy such foods, it might also stimulate the sense of taste. The presence of the cook is important. She humanizes the image, adding the human value of enthusiasm to the equation.
15-MAR-2006
Jewelry shopper, Beijing, China, 2006
A uniformed attendant helps a shopper sort through a pile of boxes as she searches for a perfect ring. I cropped the image at the bottom to only suggest the pile of boxes, implying that there are even more than meets the eye. I used a 200mm focal length, shooting into the shop from the street. The look on the shoppers face reflects a significant human value: doubt. Is this the ring for her? Or was the one she tried on ten minutes before? She was there when I arrived and still there when I left, so I don’t know if she ever did find the perfect ring. If this image asks similar questions of the viewer, it will be successful as expression.
17-MAR-2006
Clothing stall, Namdaemun Market, Seoul, Korea, 2006
Some shoppers find this market chaotic. Others will find bargains. I found an evocative image. I walked through this market looking not for clothing or electronics or jewelry but for the play of light and shadow on those who shopped and those who sold. When I saw this booth I stopped in my tracks. It was exactly what I had been searching for. The shadows are eloquent in their subtle, muted tonality and color, simplifying the chaos of his stall and making of it a background of shapes, colors and textures that support the subject rather than detract from it. The ultimate triumph of light here is the way it picks up the salesman’s face and only his face, carving out an expression of patient resignation.
02-NOV-2005
Shoppers, Mercado de San Juan de Dios, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 2005
Bundled against the chill of a November morning, a couple makes their way along the truck lined streets surrounding this vast marketplace. This image puts the “place” in the market. The air is cold, the road is rough, the trucks and big and numerous. One gets the feeling that these people have done this before, many times over. They walk with a familiar attitude that tells us they know what to expect when they get there. I used a telephoto focal length of more than 300mm to reach out and compress the rows of parked trucks, making the crowded road seem even busier.
29-OCT-2005
General Store, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, 2005
There are relatively few supermarkets in San Miguel. Most of its residents do their marketing at shops such as this general store. Many of the town’s 5,000 expatriate residents patronize them as well (except for those who can drive just outside of town to visit its Costco). This image is an environmental portrait of a store, with six brooms standing in for the owner. I built it in layers, with an outer frame embracing the scene, the brooms as the incongruous subject, and the counter and shelves dimly seen as a background layer.
03-SEP-2005
Plum Stand, Dolac Market, Zagreb, Croatia, 2005
It's early morning in Zagreb's Dolac Market, and a plum seller awaits her first customers of the day. I found shooting during the set-up period a refreshing change from the struggle of trying to find a clean shot amidst the turbulent pace of buying and selling. I had all the time I needed – there were no people to get in the way or clutter the background. There is only one other person in this shot, a partial view of the fellow at the peach stand behind her, and because he is blocked, he becomes an insignificant part of the context. This image is really a portrait of self-confidence, pride, patience, and experience. The purple plums are piled before her – she has even cut one open so the customer can see the stage of ripeness before they buy. I have placed her within layers of color and texture – the purple plums are arrayed before her, an empty green table stands behind her, and behind that are crates of peaches and lemons.
19-JUN-2005
Clothing stall, Waterlooplein Flea Market, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2005
I don’t know who this fellow is or what he represents, but discovering his glowing face slowly emerge from the stacks of clothes hanging around him was startling. He is in deep shade, but the sun grazes his head and softly illuminates the cloth around it. The eyes are soulful and the expression serious. His fabric likeness seems to be placed here to draw attention to the clothing, and it made a worthwhile image of a marketplace as well.
19-JUN-2005
Super Pencils, Waterlooplein Flea Market, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2005
This image looks as if I moved in very close for a macro. I didn’t. The pencils were enormous. I deliberately removed all reference to scale, and instead concentrated on detail and rhythmic repetition. The more I looked at them, the more they resembled a stylized mountain range, with black instead of white snow on the peaks. Most items sold in a marketplace are not graphically unusual. But given an incongruous concept or vantage point, the ordinary can indeed become extraordinary.
A Family Business, Chinatown, Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
To take the pulse of a market, watch the expressions of those who work within it. I am not as interested in showing what kinds of veggies are for sale in this particular street market stall, but rather the intensity of feeling conveyed by those who own and operate it. There are a variety of responses reflected in this image – the most striking is that of the woman who sits at right, holding her hand to her face as she chats with the man whose back is to the camera. Others in the family seem expectant, looking for business that is perhaps on its way. Their lives will be affected by what happens in this place, and I wanted the expressions I’ve included in this image to offer a sense of that.
22-JAN-2005
Shopkeeper, Luang Prabang, Laos, 2005
I found this shopkeeper standing alone in the shade of his roadside shop, catching up on his reading. Participating in a market requires knowledge, and I wanted to express that fact in this image. His little shop is located in a small village, and he must often have time on his hands. Yet the golden late afternoon light that bathes the scene provides an optimistic context. He is seems to be making a living at what he is doing.
In the Heart of the Market, Pakse, Laos, 2005
The power of contemporary advertising merges into the flow of an age-old marketplace at Pakse. I saw several incongruities in this scene – the older women walking below a huge ad targeted at a younger generation, the rickshaw moving past a parked motorcycle, and the nature of the place itself, a city of tents and awnings that looks much the same as it must have looked 100 years ago. Yet it is a booming marketplace, a maelstrom of activity, and I tried to capture that feeling in this image as well.
18-JAN-2005
Cutter, Huay Xai, Laos, 2005
Protecting her eyes from the bright Asian sun with an umbrella, a woman does some trimming in a Mekong village market. I was not as interested in what she was doing or what she looked like as I was by luminosity of the backlighting, which passes through the umbrella and abstracts the woman by turning her into a silhouette. A market is a place of thousand small acts happening at once. As a photographer, I try to find those acts, do whatever I can to isolate them and abstract them, and make them symbolize the nature of the marketplace itself.
Bovine Visitor, Champasak Province, Laos, 2005
Strange things sometimes happen in marketplaces when you least expect them. It is important to recognize their possible significance when they happen and take full advantage of them. This animal suddenly came running by me at a full trot, right in the middle of a rural market. Most cattle in Laotian markets have long since become steaks and chops. This bovine visitor, however, was very much alive. I saw the incongruity of its live presence and made this shot, seconds before it brushed past me. Perhaps such things happen all the time here and the locals take it for granted. But I didn’t. I seized an opportunity to make an incongruous image.
22-JAN-2005
Produce Stand, Luang Prabang, Laos, 2005
This woman looked as if she were lost in a very healthy dream. I was attracted to the richness of the colors and textures that surrounded her, and to the sense of patience I felt in her demeanor. This image is not about either buying or selling. Instead it tells the story of the marketplace that is seldom told – it’s all about waiting.
22-JAN-2005
Bean Cutter, Luang Prabang, Laos, 2005
Once again, it was the color of this picture that struck me first. I liked the warmth of the tones of this skirt, as well as the Laotian design of the fabric itself, and built an image out of it by moving in on the hands as they sliced the beans. The skirt not only symbolizes an aspect of Laotian culture – it serves a practical purpose as well. It incongruously catches the trimmings. Other photographers would probably have included the whole person, including her smiling face. I decided to abstract the image, and feature instead the skirt and the incongruous cuttings resting in its folds.
07-FEB-2005
Slumber in the Market, Chinatown, Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
Customers were few at this vendor's stall in Yangon's Chinatown. There was enough time for these women to get some obviously needed rest. Once again, it is the incongruity of the situation that makes it a worthwhile picture situation. A sense of place comes through in the detail – only in Burma do women paint their faces with Thanaka, a yellow paste that softens the skin and blocks the rays of the sun. I also like the fact that the sleeping woman clutches her purse under her arm – another incongruity. You never know when someone might need change!
22-JAN-2005
Hands of a Butcher, Luang Prabang, Laos, 2005
I found the decorated fingers of this young woman somewhat incongruous -- only seconds before I made this picture, she was slicing slabs of bloody meat at Luang Prabang's market. The key to this image is the similarity in color between her fingernail polish and the raw meat. The incongruous detail of the rings contrasted to the meat also helps express the idea, as does the calm, relaxed posture of the hands resting in the woman’s lap. The marketplace is full of incongruities. It is up to the photographer to find them, and bring the incongruous elements into juxtaposition. By abstracting the woman with my frame, I was able to call more attention to them, and emphasize the point at hand. (Pun intended.)
22-JAN-2005
Counting Kip, Luang Prabang, Laos, 2005
Lao currency is called Kip -- counted out in the marketplace by the tens of thousands. It's no wonder this lady appears uncertain. (I never could keep the exchange rate straight.) Whenever I am shooting in a marketplace, I am looking for the moment of transaction. Money changing hands often brings revealing reactions such as this one. There is incongruity in this situation as well. The woman accepting the money is wondering with one hand while receiving payment with the other. The customer doing the paying is nonchalantly shelling out what appears to be a small fortune.
Fast Food, Vientiane, Laos, 2005
Vientiane's streets are markets as well -- lined with vendors selling goods of all kinds. This vendor sells soups made with fresh vegetables while keeping her daughter occupied.
It was the translucent umbrella that drew me to the scene. The little girl could not take her eyes off me, but had no idea what I was doing. Her mother was trying to tell her, but it was beyond her comprehension. I found this interaction quite charming, and use the lovely umbrella with the soft golden light coming through it, along with the cooking utensils and the fresh produce, as context for the mother-child relationship.
Fishing Net, Champasak Province, Laos, 2005
A fishing net for sale in a Southern Laos marketplace offers an abstract beauty of its own. Its translucent coloration, and incongruous masses of detail stimulate the imagination. I often will look for unusual products for sale in the marketplace and photograph them in ways that offer more questions than answers. To make this image work, I removed as much context as I could. Only the two wooden bars remain of the marketplace itself, along with its earthen floor. Everything left is fishing net, which, once removed from its normal usage, can become just about anything you want it to become.
Thanaka Logs, Chinatown, Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
A young woman gets some reading in while waiting for people to buy her Thanaka logs, which come from a small tree grown in Upper Burma. Women cut the bark off the log, grind it on a grinding stone, and add a few drops of water to make a yellow paste, which is then applied as makeup, just as she has. The paste dries to a yellow powder, which conditions the skin and provides protection from the sun. To tell this marketplace story, I needed three elements. The woman, who sells and uses the product herself, is the subject. The fact that she reads while selling is incongruous. The logs are the context for the image, as well as the face paint, which in this case is very subtle yet still visible in the detail. It was also important that I was able to relate this woman to her task against a black background, which provides good contrast.
Finding the Vendor, Chinatown, Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
This seller of packaged goods in Yangon's Chinatown has virtually vanished amidst his wares. Once again, it was color that drew me to the scene, and incongruity that sealed the deal. The man is small, the display of goods huge, and vivid in its colors. It seems to never end. The man seems to take it all in stride – his expression is quite ordinary and far different from the extraordinary nature of his display. The two customers, who I shot from behind, represent the viewer’s perspective. It is the viewer, after all, who is next in line.
Religious Goods Shop, Chinatown, Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
This young woman sells all kinds of religious paraphernalia -- including fans and cushions used by monks. In this particular image, the subject is very conscious of the camera and seems to enjoy the attention. She had been facing away from me. She turned around, saw me, and gave me a big smile. I like the way she extends all her fingers on the bench. That hand is full of tension and energy. The colorful items around her are incongruous, exotic and unfamiliar, the dark doorway promises more of the same inside. The woman’s youth and enthusiasm make this image succeed as expression.
Family Housewares Stall, Ananda Festival, Bagan, Myanmar, 2005
Every January, a festival is held to raise money for the upkeep of Bagan’s thousand-year-old Ananda temple. A tent city of stalls and shops surrounds the temple. Among the participants is this family who sells housewares. In itself, a picture of a housewares stall is hardly a candidate to produce an expressive travel picture. But when I saw three heads incongruously sticking up amidst the mass of containers, I knew I had an incongruous image in terms of abstraction, scale, age, and appearance. The placement of the sales counter in the middle of the display virtually drowns the salespeople in a sea of silver. Only their heads are visible. And one of those heads is that of a very happy young child. Both the child and his mother cover their faces in Thanaka, the yellow skin paste that is unique to Burma – a final incongruity that relates this picture to its location.
Chinese New Year Treats, Chinatown, Yangon, Myanmar, 2005
Much of a marketplace is devoted to food. What makes this food particularly expressive is its presentation. It is food fit for a celebration, filling fancy bowls and topped by sticks of burning incense. To give the food context, I placed a very pleased but reserved vendor right behind it, in soft focus. He looks right at us, as if to say, “enjoy.” A study of the detail even shows the lighter he used to start all that incense burning.