A Pressing Matter
Morocco 2003: Jemaa El Fnaa Marrakesh
It was the heat of the afternoon. The square was as empty as it ever gets. A woman has rushed over to have her fortune told and she sits with a worried expression as she listens to the “holy” man. She has left her home while the family, read men, are taking their daily siesta. It must have been a ‘pressing matter’.
The Moroccans sit under an umbrella yet they wear several layers of clothing including the ankle-length jellaba. They avoid the sun. I noticed that if there is a sidewalk cafe, they will eschew those outdoor tables for the one in the basement where they know it will be cool. Once I was in the desert photographing nomads. I was standing in the sun without a hat and an old woman came out of the tent. She pointed to the sky and said, in a scolding voice, “Shams!!” It means ‘sun’ in Arabic and she meant, ‘get out of the sun!’ I’m sure she thought I was crazy.
“Cross my palm with silver.”
Shakhrisabz Uzbekistan 2012
Gypsies congregated at the market’s edge telling fortunes. Here a gypsy woman folds Uzbek bills into a fist sized package. The body language of the woman facing away from us seems to say that she needs to know more, but the woman with the money has her mind on other things.
These photos are what my friend, Judi, calls “grab shots”. Try to clear your mind and be ‘in the moment’. Have your camera ready to fire, not in your pocket. Have it open and set to the available light. Keep a finger near the shutter and use your senses. Be ready!
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