Street Photography Tips, Interaction, Travel, Guides
*A series of guides on shooting Street Photography in cities around the world. Find the best spots to shoot, things to capture, safety concerns, street tips, and more for cities around the world. I have personally researched, explored and shot Street Photography in every city that I create a guide for. So you can be ready to capture the streets as soon as you step outside with your camera!
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in the medina near Bab Rcif in Fes, Morocco. In a country full of elaborate medinas, nothing compares to the one in Fes. It’s more like a whole city and you could easily spend days walking around and getting lost in the maze. The medina here is as much for the locals living within its walls as the tourists visiting.
I had just started the day and entered the medina through the Bab Recif gate. Much of the medina is so narrow and packed that the sunlight is blocked out, but along this busy alley, there were some sun rays shining in beautifully. I noticed a large mirror that reflected against an area where one of those beams of light hit. So I waited to see if I could catch someone against it at the right time.
I saw this woman dressed in blue with a yellow bag coming so I got in the right position for the frame to include both her and her reflection, with the alley in between. Luckily, the sunlight hit the lens just right so it added those two sunbeams in the shot too.
After Marrakech, I took a train over to Fes, Morocco. Fes is one of the most preserved old cities in the Arab world with a medina that’s as elaborate as you’ll find anywhere. There’s also a very local feeling with all the people who live inside its walls. While it does attract tourism, it’s nothing compared to the chaos of Marrakech.
Marrakech assaults all of your senses with so much to experience and capture, while Fes is a little more relaxing and gives you a different experience. So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Fes…
This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken by Bab Chorfa in Fes, Morocco. Bab Chorfa is one of the largest gates in Fes’ elaborate medina. It’s also right by Bab Boujlad, Fes’ most popular gate due to its busy location and beautiful blue color. This whole area was one of my favorite parts of Fes to spend time for street photography. There’s lots of open light, interesting backgrounds, nearby streets to explore, and plenty of activity everywhere.
In front of Bab Chorfa is a large open space where a market sets up selling mostly clothing. With all the space, it doesn’t get as crowded as inside the medina so you can really move around and use all the sunlight. I was returning to the medina, while walking just outside this open market, when I took the above photo.
The first thing I noticed was the man sitting down with his pointed berber hat mostly covering his face. Then when I looked at the background of the gate wall, I noticed the black birds and interesting white clouds in the sky. So I took the shot framing it all together, trying to leave a little mystery with the hooded man included in the scene below the black specks in the sky.
When it comes to Moroccan cities, Fes gets compared a lot to Marrakech. Online, you’ll find endless articles and forum topics covering the Marrakech vs Fes debate for visitors. Overall, there seems to be more people who love Marrakech, but also more that leave never wanting to return, while Fes is a little less polarizing. For me, I definitely left Marrakech loving it, but I can see why it’s not for everybody. Fes is much more relaxed with less hassle, tourist traps and chaos.
I don’t feel Fes provides the variety of life, colors, and scenery for Street Photography that Marrakech does, but that’s mostly because Marrakech is one of the best cities I’ve been to yet for that. Saying this, Fes is still a very unique city with the oldest, most elaborate and local medina you’ll visit anywhere. For many, this, plus the more relaxing vibe, will appeal more. Just like cities are different, so are photographers, so here are my first impressions of Fes, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…
