7 First Impressions of Port-au-Prince, Haiti
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

Port-au-prince, Haiti came in as major city #65 on my Major City project and here I’ll share a few first impressions covering the city with my camera.

Port-au-prince might not be a popular destination in the Carribean, but it’s been one that I’ve been interested in visiting ever since seeing the amazing work there by photographers like Alex Webb, Bruce Gilden and Maggie Steber. It always felt like a complex place of beauty and devastation where vibrant life overcomes, like a rose from the cracks. While Haiti was once one of the richest countries in the Americas, it’s the poorest today. Walking the streets of Port-au-prince 10 years after their devastating earthquake can be surreal, as it still almost feels and looks like it happened yesterday. Crumbling buildings, rubble, trash and smoke fill many of the streets.

Port-au-prince shouldn’t be judged at first sight, though, because amidst all that, you’ll also find color, vibrance, character, energy, life and yes, beauty. It creates one of the more interesting and complex dynamics of any city I’ve covered. The city isn’t made for easy traveling, you have to be adventurous, but while it can seem intimidating at first, it ended up being one of the most friendly places I experienced all year. The streets are so full of life and contradiction, it’s hard to describe, but I’ll try.

Here are my first impressions of Port-au-Prince, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

7 First Impressions of Port-au-Prince
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

1. Why I included Port-au-prince

While Haiti has plenty of beautiful natural resources, it’s not currently a travel destination due to conditions. The few people that come visiting Port-au-prince work non-profits trying to help out. Although, it does have a few hotels and a small expat community in Pétion-Ville, it’s not built for visitors. At the same time, it has attracted many photographers due to its chaotic mix of beauty and horror, as Alex Webb once put it. 

So, why did I include it on the project? One, because of all the amazing work I’d seen from other photographers, as previously mentioned, but also because it’s one of the largest cities in the Caribbean with a very unique history and culture. It fits as an important major city for the project and also gives unique representation that I felt was needed. I want to show as much of the world as possible within these 100+ major cities and Port-au-prince shouldn’t be left out.

I approach every city the same so my approach to Port-au-prince was different than most photographers. I’m not interested in focusing on negative and poor conditions. I’m not interested in hiding anything, either, but what I always want is to get to the core aspect of life in each city, despite the conditions. Haiti doesn’t have a great reputation for being camera friendly, but after talking to locals, this is mostly out of suspicion because they feel photographers come to exploit their conditions. I don’t know if they could see these weren’t my intentions or it’s just how well I was able to get along with everyone, but I honestly had less trouble photographing here than most places, which meant none to really speak of.

2. Dangers were nothing like I heard

Reading about dangers in Port-au-prince online would be a bad idea. It’s made out to be like danger and crime awaits you around every corner and street. While it’s not the safest city statistically, even those stats aren’t as bad as the warnings. Santo Domingo, for example, is more dangerous statistically. As with any city I go to, I’ve committed to finding things out for myself, anyway. My personal experience exploring Port-au-prince on foot? Well, at first sight and feeling, it can be intimidating, but after a couple of days I was walking everywhere solo with my camera with little to no worry. I’ve been in dangerous places where I can feel the danger all around me, but I didn’t feel that here. You can feel vulnerable in the center, but that has more to do with the chaotic atmosphere than danger.

It might not look safe, but it feels safer than it looks and the people are friendly if you’re friendly to them. Serious looks turn to smiles, jokes and laughter when you carry yourself the same way. Much of the looks come from suspicion of your intentions and just the sheer rarity of seeing a foreigner walking around the city, especially alone. After getting a good read of the city, life and how to carry myself, I was walking all over the city. Over 20 km a day on foot, letting curiosity take the lead. Minus a few sketchy spots and interactions, I really felt no danger. The key here is to carry yourself confidently and respectfully, with a good amount of smiles. Walk like you aren’t worried and people lose suspicion and you don’t look like an easy target, either.

One observation I will mention is the lack of police presence. Minus a few police cars here and there, I saw less police presence here than any city I’ve covered. They must spend there time doing other things. At first this was a little worrisome walking everywhere alone, but ended up not being a problem from my positive experience.

3. Marche de fer

Marché de Fer, which means Iron Market, is the biggest market in Port-au-prince. Many of Haiti’s cities have iron markets, but this is the original and largest. The large red structure with four domes and a clock was rebuilt after the earthquake so it really stands out amongst much of the crumbling buildings in Centre-ville. Iron work is very popular in Haiti, but you’ll find a lot more than that here. Traders from all over come here to sell everything imaginable, from produce to crafts. Inside is interesting, but not great for photography due to how dark it is. Outside the market, though, is where you can spend hours exploring the chaos with your camera. Endless surrounding streets are filled with traders and goods. It’s one of the largest, busiest and most interesting market areas I’ve been. 

Now, this area of the city, considered the downtown, comes with many warnings online. Like most of the city, you won’t see many foreigners here, and the ones that do come are recommended to have a guide. After my first day here solo, though, I found no problem walking the streets alone. Yes, with crumbled buildings, burning garbage and people everywhere, it might be intimidating at first, but I found little danger in reality. I came here most days and walked every bit of the district back and forth without a single problem. You might get a little hassle and stares, but most of the time people are friendly if you are. You have to be comfortable and confident shooting here as some have problems with photos, but overall it was fine for me.

4. The Grand Cemetery

Maybe the most photogenic cemetery I’ve ever been, the Grand Cimetière de Port-au-Prince, did go through some troubling times following the 2010 earthquake. Not only with destruction, but also because the tombs became a shelter for many locals fleeing the earthquake. Today, there’s still a small population living inside the cemetery walls, but things have mostly been cleaned up, showcasing one of the most impressive and interesting cemeteries you’ll find anywhere.  The colors and elaborate tombs provide a fascinating mix of Christianity and Vodou, giving a photogenic atmosphere of Haitian culture.

The cemetery is hundreds of years old and covers a wide area in downtown. You’ll find a mixture of pathways throughout, with the large tombs towering above. You’ll also find a good amount of activity and life here, not only due to the people that live and hang out here, but also to the number of funeral ceremonies that go on. These Haitian cultural celebrations involve large groups of family members and friends dressed in their best as they carry the casket down the pathways to lay them to rest. While sometimes you’ll see a couple people sadly mourning, most times it felt more like celebrating life with drinking and smiles. Most days I visited, at least one ceremony celebration went on. I wouldn’t normally visit a cemetery, but this one provides a very unique experience with life, culture, colorful backgrounds and the opportunity to observe something very interesting. If you look through the work of Alex Webb, Bruce Gilden or Maggie Steber in Haiti, they all made photos here too.

*While slightly eerie for some, the cemetery is safe, but I will mention one warning. While there should be no problem with you visiting and exploring the cemetery, there’s usually a few people standing by the entrance waiting to hassle. They want to be your cemetery guide for money and may even tell you it’s required for entrance when it’s not, but most will stop hassling you if you politely, but sternly refuse. On one occasion, a man wouldn’t stop hassling and following me around, saying I had to pay for his services or I had to leave, but that was the exception. Just something to be ready for if you go.

5. Pétion-Ville

Pétion-Ville is a suburb of Port-au-Prince in the hills to the south. This is the area where most of the wealthy live, along with foreign diplomats and businessmen. Haiti has a tradition of visual arts and Pétion-Ville has become known for its arts and crafts, which you can find in galleries and sold all over the streets and walls. While Pétion-Ville is known as the richer area, you don’t feel it as much until you climb towards the top. Poorer locals have also migrated upward so you get a mix of atmosphere exploring the streets here. You’ll find streets packed with street sellers and locals moving in all directions just like you will in the center. You’ll also find multiple lots set up for markets and some very colorful streets great for street photography. 

Once in Pétion-Ville, you can walk uphill on Rue Gregoire finishing at Place Saint-Pierre, a popular park. Pétion-Ville isn’t too big so make sure to explore the side streets too. The higher you get, the more wealthy it feels, but it also tends to get quieter, although there’s some nice views at the top and you can see the juxtaposition of the colorful shanties behind the expensive homes. My favorite part to spend more time is still around the bottom, where you get the most life, busy streets and mix of atmosphere. 

6. Taking the Tap-Taps

Port-au-prince is spread out and transportation is needed if you want to see a variety of it. Unfortunately, they don’t have much of a transportation system. Fortunately, though, they do have “tap-taps.” Tap-taps are local public transportation in the form of pick-up trucks, buses and even a few large cargo vehicles. The buses and pick-up trucks are usually painted in elaborate, colorful designs with decorations, religious slogans, portraits of famous people and more. The wild designs really stand out and are a unique part of Port-au-prince’s scenery. 

At first, I thought the name “tap-tap” was due to you tapping on the driver’s rear window when someone needs to stop, but later I learned it translates to “quick-quick.” Either way, I ended up using them for all my transport 3-4 times a day and actually enjoyed the experience. Foreigners tend to hire motorbikes or expensive taxis to get around and my whole time in Port-au-prince, I didn’t see one non-local use a tap-tap, other than myself. Maybe the local form of transportation can be intimidating, but I found no safety issues at all and at 10-15 gourd (15-25 u.s. cents) a ride, it’s much cheaper. It’s not particularly comfortable crammed together on the hard benches bouncing over potholes and rocks, but it gets you where you need to go and ends up being a very local experience. Many journeys ended up being eventful too. People talk and laugh with each other and the novelty of seeing me in there with them struck up some friendly conversations. I had no want for any other form of transportation in Port-au-prince and they ended up being one of the more memorable experiences during my time here. 

*Personally, while they might look the least comfortable, I preferred riding in the smaller pick-up trucks the most. Haiti gets hot, especially packed with other people, and sitting in the truck beds at least lets some nice breeze in. And while the truck bed benches get crammed, they can’t cram the space in-between much like they do with the larger vehicles, which also have to stop many more times during the journey due to the extra passengers. 

7. Basics are Expensive

Port-au-prince can be an expensive city to visit. While conditions aren’t the best, you pay much more for things, especially basics for visitors. Lodging, food, and taxis are all higher priced here than most cities. This is due to a few reasons. When it comes to lodging, there aren’t many options so the hotels available charge a premium. When it comes to food, over 70% of goods have to be imported, which also puts a premium on most items. This is especially noticeable at the grocery store. And for taxis, locals don’t use them, so expats and visitors get the foreigner premium added. 

There are ways to save money, though. I stayed at Haiti Communtiere, where I slept in a bunk bed outside in a shared dome tent. The space had cold showers, bathrooms, a kitchen and shared space outside, but it was very basic. While this still was kind of expensive considering the conditions, it was cheaper compared to other options. There’s not much you can do about groceries, but you can get buy eating simpler during your time here, like I did (I lost at least a couple pounds during my stay). And transportation is the easiest way to save money, just travel like the locals and take tap-taps. 

If any of you have been to Port-au-Prince before, tell me about your experience and impressions of the city and country in the comments below! And stay tuned for more on Port-au-Prince, including some of the best Street Photography shots I captured while there.

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(from a street photographer’s perspective)

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