morocco

The Kingdom of Morocco is a place of wonderment. It was on my list of places to visit (This is an extensive list) and I had to privilege of leading an advanced photography workshop in Marrakech, Casablanca and Essaouira. After day one of visiting Marrakech, I realized why I wanted to visit this country so badly. It was a sensory overload (in a good way), with all the amazing colors in the hijabs, buildings, and tapestries. I was set to new heights with the smells of delicious Tagine and seasoned couscous or the gurgling sound of freshly poured Moroccan mint tea. From the traditional donkey transports to the henna artists…Morocco had a much to stimulate and surely one could spend months in Marrakech alone to learn so much (maybe even Arabic). One thing that holds significance about my two visits to Morocco is the fact that most of the citizens prefer not to be photographed. I was warned about this playing a role in my images prior to my trips in the spring. Generally, I like to be invisible, the fly on the wall, but I had to consider a different approach because here was a culture that had been captured by many journalist, photographers and plenty of tourists and the response about the reluctance to be photographed stemmed from misrepresentation in media and profits gained from images they’ve never seen. I couldn’t blame someone who preferred to put their hands to their face when a camera is nearby because as they are enjoying everyday life, we (photographers) are taking a piece of that life (usually without asking). My intent for this collection is to provide a snapshot of the culture outside of the city. Traveling from Marrakech to Casablanca to Essaouira I witnessed so much activity and movement in the rural hills. This country has some very enjoyable transitions of terrain and climates. This series shows the way of life in a minimalist approach observing life in the outskirts and villages, framing busy shepherds, school-age children on the move, and farmers in life’s everyday hustle.