Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Setting Up”

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken at Jaama el Fna in Marrakech, Morocco. Jaama el Fna is the main square in Marrakech and it’s really like no other square in the world. It is truly gigantic and can be overwhelmingly chaotic with so much going on. It fills with juice and food stands, street performers and hustlers, tourists and locals, monkeys and snakes, and everything else you can imagine. 

Just before sunset, the square’s outside restaurants start setting up for dinner. They put up the poles and temporary rooftops, set up the tables and get everything ready for the night, which is when the square gets especially packed. 

I was walking around the corner of one line of restaurants when I ran into the scene in the photo. The light, shadow and layers of all that was going on immediately caught my eye, but when the boy’s hand pointed up, I quickly reacted by taking the photo, without time to think. Fortunately, instincts composed well enough on their own.

For anyone visiting Marrakech, I’d really recommend visiting the square around an hour or two before sunset. Not only is the light the best, but you get plenty of activity and life without it being too crowded yet. The square’s so big, you can easily spend hours exploring and photographing the area.

Stats:

• Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
• Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm 
• Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
• Aperture: f/8
• Shutter Speed: 1/500
• ISO: 800

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