Morocco, Rome, Ghana + California black and whites
I finally developed some rolls of film that I had in my camera bag for months. Developed them in San Francisco but I’m not to happy with the outcome. A little too contrasty and grainy but nonetheless still fun to get back.
Most of these are 35mm black and white film. A couple are 120 film shot with my plastic Holga.
MOROCCO
Roommate, Said, and friend Matt. We're waiting at the Tangier, Morocco ferry. This is the beginning of our roadtrip from Rabat, Morocco to Seville, Spain. Nothing but trouble.
Shot of the bar at the Tangier ferry pier. My lower half at the bottom and my sandwich maker at the top.
Sunset in Casablanca.
Apprentice surfboard shaper. Works at Kai shapes in Dar Bouazza, Morocco. www.kaishapes.com
Rhita in the freezing river near Chefchaouen, Morocco.
Rhita's sister, Sakina posing for photos
GHANA
Palm wine seller on the beach front near Kokrobite, Ghana. After i took this shot i tried the palm wine and noticed the water they were using to ferment the wine and clean the bucket. Water as brown as the dirt. I ended up with the worst stomach flu I've ever had. 120 film
Portrait of my colleague, Kia Guarino near Kokrobite beach, Ghana. 120 film
ROME
This guy snuck up on a pigeon and grabbed it at the Roman Forum.
double exposure of a flower and statue. Roman Forum
CALIFORNIA
Gary Yarbrough. Lake Arrowhead, CA
Casablanca Holga Shots
These Holga shots were from a while back in the Spring. I took these around the seaside downtown Casablanca. The mosque you see in the photos is Mosque Hassan II. It is the 5th largest mosque in the world and they say it can hold more than 100,000 people. Its beautifully set on the coast and is cast in marble.
All shots were taken with film from a Holga that i had handy. These shots are slightly touched up with the contrast and saturation. Some images have burnt edges, mainly due to light leaks in the camera and when the film is rolled up.
This is a double exposure of Mosque Hassan II and the horizon (flipped). The saturation naturally came out this way with the double exposure of the water. I am pleasantly surprised.
Mosque Hassan II
Moroccan family blocking the wind with a tarp so they can boil their tea. Families get together at the beach in Casablanca every night. Friends and family get together and spend the time chatting and drinking mint tea. Its a common beachside scene.
A skyview of my neighborhood.
A sunset at Mosque Hassan II.
This is a small island right at the coast where you can only get to at low tide. I decided to turn it into black and white for an aging effect. The place looks a little run down, i figured i'd make it look even more so.
below the Casablanca seawall.
Cinque Terre – Italia
This is a shot taken with my holga a while back. its a double exposure. the first shot at early morning of fisherman fixing their nets. the second shot is of a firefighter plane that was flying low over the beaches. it was scooping up water in the bay and pouring it over the raging wildfires.
Moroccan Stills – Marrakech and Fes
MOROCCAN STREET SCENES – Fes and Marrakech
street scene in Marrakech
A common scene in Fes. An orange salesman pushes his cart through the streets.
Marrakech medina scene split into 3.
Green tea is everywhere, Marrakech.
MOROCCO STILLS
Earth Cafe in Marrakech. The colors in the cafe are extremely bold. i had to mute the colors for some of my photos.
sunset at hotel essaouira, Marrakech
Moroccan olives in an upscale Marrakech restaurant.
lazy days
all shots taken haphazardly with a Holga and 120 film.
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America in black and white
Bud Light and Jean Jackets. New Orleans Fairgrounds track
I spent the month of January in Virginia. It had only been 4 months since my last visit but it was real nice to be back. I had the privilege to visit Jimmy in New Orleans. It was my first time to the Big Easy and I was not ready for it. What a place! They say NYC is the city that never sleeps but I found ‘Nawlins’ to be city that ran on red bull and vodka after the sun went down. Good lord my body hurt after that visit but nonetheless it was completely worth it. The music was incredible, the food to die for and the partying was top notch. You can say i’m a fan.
Here are some pictures of New Orleans and Virginia. Taken with Nikon FM2 35mm 400ASA film
‘NAWLINS’
cityscape from a glassed in view.
Fairgrounds starting gates
Gambling
Hats to go with those outfits
Bar scene
Floats get prepped for the coming Mardi Gras
street performers
New Orleans Zoo
House struck by hurricane Katrina
NORFOLK, VIRGINIA
At sunset, a boat sits above water as if in anticipation for the next ride
'Phyliss' the commander waits for his ride to play capture the flag.
Phyliss stalking in the woods
Banjo and Claire
Gorgov and Phyliss getting ready for capture the flag
Moroccan Christmas Vacation
I was hesitant to put these up without having the opportunity to really go over them and touch up the contrast, but I decided not to wait.
Over Christmas I had two friends visit, Rebecca and Crazy Remi. We toured the country from the beaches to the cities and finally hitting the Sahara desert. We spent the new years in the desert with a group of peace corps volunteers.
All of these photos are 35mm black and white film. Digital shots are to come later. (click on any photo to enlarge)
Portrait of Rebecca
Crazy Remi
Rebecca facing a rising moon at Mehdya Plage, Morocco
The Sahara in the early morning. A flock of birds came swooping above these camels just as i came out of the tent.
Sahara in the morning
A smiling camel
Sahara desert
Marrakech, Morocco
Rebecca
camels
Sunday – Rabat, Morocco shot with Holga 120 BW film
Rabat, Morocco
a kite hovered over this cat for minutes. the cat never moved.
Using guilt for sales, Morocco's finest flower salesman approaches a date perched on the rocks.
Roman Living
a typical meal's aftermath
a day at the heart of Rome – il tevere
Like i posted previously, i loved spending time around the river in downtown Rome. Il tevere attracts all characters. rich. poor. helpless. selfish. talented and curious. I usually spent hours watching the street performers and artisans. There was one accordion player pictured below, who i sat down and listened to him play for a while. he played with his whole body in the sense that he swayed, curved and twisted to his music. It turned out he was from Japan, and was in Rome just to perform. Everyone has their story.
Japanese accordian player swaying to his music
American tourist on a tour
Gelato is for all ages in Rome.
fisherman stretches down below
carving roses out of turnips and beets caught this suit's attention
Most times my walk-a-bouts would lead me below, down by the river. The bike baths follow the curves of the river and its a blast, but its also amazing how the river drowns out the city noises. often making it a lovers lane.
bike path
lovers lane
self portrait
fishermen
the rivers end
Roma, Italia
Ciao Roma! Its been a blast. Wine, pasta, beautiful people, historical corners and more wine. What a year! Filled with travel and adventure.
My last weekends here i spent wandering the city taking pictures. i had no inkling to shoot with my digital camera. perhaps because i wanted the feeling that the memories would stay. there’s something about shooting with my old Nikon FE. the noise and the feeling of completeness that the shutter makes. many people say the same, and for me these past few weeks ive wanted to ingrain Rome in my memory, and no better ‘macchina di foto’ than an old Nikon FE with black and whites.
I found myself being drawn to the artery of Rome, il fiume. The major river that runs through this ancient city. Mainly because of the people that hang out there but also because its open. open with trees and chances to see the cityscapes. open for people to beg, play their instruments, fish and just plain act roman crazy.
I can’t post photos right now cause the internet is slow…but i’ll leave you with this one film shot taking at night for now. As Margherita says, a tourist shot. Thanks, Marg…
Il Tevere
starting to upload some photos… these are of all over. Click to enlarge
Basilica in the Vatican
taking photos of tourists taking photos of the light. It was pretty impressive light. This was inside the Basilica in the Vatican.
double exposure from San Lorenzo. a neighborhood in Rome.
Rome, just outside of the Palazzo delle Esposizioni
portrait at admissions of Palazzo delle Esposizioni.
dog was barking fruitbooter
about as awesome as a rollerblade show can get. Villa Borghese on a Sunday stroll
Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiori in Florence, Italy. hard to capture with a 50m lens
Down pour in Siena, Italy
Black and Whites from all over
So after developing some film from a while ago and then scanning it… i can finally upload some on the blog. These shots are a ‘shmorgisborg’ of places and people.
A baby wrapped up tight in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The mother came because she was receiving surgery with operation Smile. she has a cleft lip. Her surgery was successful.
The black and white desert. This is called 'Chicken Rock'. the place is like a moonscape. its amazing
Vladimir, Russia. Two by the bed waiting for the patient to recover. Russia is an interesting place. Some of the strongest characters I've seen.
The last patient waiting for her surgery. Cleft lip revision. She's already had her surgery done but she's waiting for her 2nd follow up operation. Considering she's gone through it all before, she was not looking forward to the surgery again.
Nurse on her break looking out the hospital window. The landscape was endless cold and brown decidious forest. Vladimir, Russia.
Day at Lighthouse park in Vancouver, Canada
Kristen comparing her hand to mother natures. Vancouver, Canada
washed up salmon. Lake Harrison, Canada
The Black's family lake house. its a perfect place to get away and relax. Getting up in the morning and going out for a swim, row or ski was great, but coming in from the water to crispy bacon was even better. Lake Harrison, Canada
Still no computer, just old shots and some links
Ms Thang
fireworks
Tim Jump
Cinque Terre
I still don’t have a computer to upload some of my new pictures so i figured i’d go through some of my old pics. These are actually loaded on my Flickr site that i don’t update anymore. Nevertheless i was browsing through them today and I forgot about some of these shots. They were like new again so why not refresh them. I have the pic “Ms Thang” linked to my photo stream on on the flickr site so if you click and follow it’ll take you there. The rest of the pictures, if you click on them, may play you some music. Enjoy
Daria & Tatyana
Digital photo taken off one of my contact sheets dbl exposed with the wall for texture. The original photo was taken in Vladimir, Russia. These two beautiful women work for Operation Smile Russia.
Click on the picture to listen to a song that i was listening to when i was shooting this.
Where I Find My Peace
Asilah, Morocco
Mt. Ranier, Washington
my hide away in Roma, Italia
Lighthouse Park Vancouver, Canada
My Bike
Casablanca, Morocco
Enjoy these snaps.
spirit feels lighter at the water
at peace
fishermen
look at those glasses!
beachfront terrace
selling balloons giving smiles
Black and White Film
Japanese fighting fish in Chiang Mai, Thailand
These are just a few random black and white film shots i just got developed.
monks in Prachituap Sam temple.
fanning the fire.
Reserved for monks on a local Bangkok ferry boat
I asked my great grandmother, on the left, to tell the name of her first love. She answered without a doubt and everyone cracked up. This one is the least in focus out of the set but i love my great grandmother's expression.
I love my grandparents. They are a pair! Papi, my grandfather is one of the youngest people at heart that I know.
New Film: Camera, Camera
I encourage readers to take a look at this new film. It discusses travel photography and its implications, specifically in the country of Laos. Looks like a provocative film that addresses a lot of insecurities many have with travel photography.
http://www.cameracamerafilm.com/
From the film’s synopsis: Throughout CAMERA, CAMERA, Murray and Meyer recreate the experience of traveling. We see beautiful things, wonderful things, and horrible things – all strange and new. We see what the travelers see and discover what they don’t see as the plot moves deftly from the comical to the taboo, reveling in the experience of Laos, and lingering on things left unsaid. CAMERA, CAMERA is a documentary for anyone who has taken a photograph in a foreign country. The film quietly calls upon viewers to ponder the multifaceted and often ambiguous impacts of travel and photography on citizens of two worlds.
film shots – Cairo, Egypt
Below are some shots i took with some B&W film. All are from either the Islamic Cairo market or from the Operation Smile mission. – GSY
She pretends to be shy
Nile River
over 300 couples got married this night. I had to argue my way down to shoot photos.
the market was bustling before the holiday, Eid
100 percent Egyptian cotton and smiles
