Chefchaouen

Jun 06 2016

Street Stories: Arrested for Street Photography in Morocco

A little while back I decided to include a few posts/stories about some of the negative experiences that have come about from shooting street photography during my 100 cities project. I want this blog to be open, honest, and hopefully interesting, so that should include the times that don’t go perfectly too. In the first post, I wrote about a physical confrontation over street photography that I had in Istanbul. While they’re very rare, confrontations can occur in street photography, but for this post I wanted to cover something that happened to me that I never would have expected.

Chefchaouen Shooter Files-2 — Chefchaouen, Morocco

During my visit to Chefchaouen, Morocco, I was actually arrested for street photography. But it wasn’t as simple as that. The story behind why and how is the most surprising part, and now that I’m free, it’s also the most entertaining part, for me…

May 22 2016

Street Shot Sundays
Photo of the Week:
“Family Blues”

Street Shot Sundays Story & Stats

Story:

This Sunday’s Street Shot of the Week was taken in Chefchaouen, Morocco. One of the many attractions to this small city in the Rif Mountains is how everything is painted blue. It’s not my first “Blue City,” but it is the bluest one I’ve been to yet. Everything is painted a vivid blue, including the ground and steps you walk on.

I had just stepped outside in the morning to get some breakfast and start a day of street photography. As I was walking up the steps, thinking more about Moroccan breakfast than photography, I immediately saw this scene unfolding above. The man had just left his home and the children ran out behind calling to him, but he didn’t seem in the mood for responding.

So before the scene disappeared, I walked up the steps a little quicker so I could include them all in the frame. I tried to time and frame the shot so his head would be in the middle of the flower pots before the older woman closed the door above. The children kept waiting for him to turn around and respond, but he just gave me a look and continued on down the stairs without a care.

Stats:

Camera: Fujifilm Xpro1
Lens: Fujinon XF 18mm
Focal Length: 18mm (27mm full frame equivalent)
Aperture: f/5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 1600

May 20 2016

33 Street Photography Photos from 3 Days in Chefchaouen, Morocco

After Fes, I took a long bus ride up through the Rif mountains to spend a few days in Chefchaouen, Morocco. The small mountain town of Chefchaouen is famous for its rich history, architecture, beautiful surroundings and most of all, the blue rinse covering everything in sight.

While many of Morocco’s well-known cities are filled with chaos, Chefchaouen is a relaxing escape. It’s also one of the more unique and picturesque cities I’ve been to. So here’s 33 photos that I was able to capture during my time in Chefchaouen…

May 16 2016

7 First Impressions of Chefchaouen, Morocco
(From a Street Photography Perspective)

Chefchaouen is a small town up in the Rif Mountains of Morocco. It used to be controlled by Spain so it has more of a spanish influence than french, like much of Morocco. But this isn’t why people make the long trip up through the mountains to visit Chefchaouen today.

I’ll go into some of the reasons this small city has become a popular destination recently, but one is obvious once you see any photos. Much of Chechaouen’s buildings, houses, walls, stairs and even ground are painted blue. This helps give it a unique atmosphere for photography, but there’s plenty more that makes Chefchaouen a city to visit for some Street Photography, and relaxation.

So here are my first impressions of Chefchaouen, from my personal Street Photographer perspective…

May 15 2016