Zanzibar is a tropical paradise with white beaches, palm trees, burning sun and a diverse rich history. Bringing you camera to that place is an obvious choice. Stonetown was the primary place I was walking around and it’s a charming place. The medieval city planning combined with the need for staying out of the sun makes the city a labyrinth. That is equally interesting and frustrating to photograph since the contrast between light and shadow is very pronounced and the urban space is difficult to capture because you are always in a narrow alley. But, really who cares as long as you are having fun trying to suck in the atmosphere, the people and the magical light and colour.
Street photography in Zanzibar
Street photography is, as I mentioned in a previous blog post, many things. I feel no need to elaborate further, but this time, in Zanzibar and Stonetown it became very focused on the people. The reason is that the urban space and alleys are very narrow so it’s difficult to capture the environment (at least when I primarily was working with the Fujinon XF35mmF1.4 – 53mm full frame equivalent – prime). I especially found their clothing intriguing. The white robes, the black veils and strong colors combined with the light and shadow.
I generally found the people in Stonetown were used to tourists (and cameras) so snapping shots now and then seemed okay. I noticed quite fast, that when people saw a camera they would quickly turn away if they did not want to be a target. The rest would just carry on as usual. But I think one should be very careful, be respectful and ask around if photographing in public spaces are considered a general problem.
As I visited friends assisting the physiotherapists at the local hospital and was lucky join them for a few hours. Following their work was very interesting and you will find a few shots from those hours as well. See more about their work supporting the creation of a local physiotherapist education here.
Have camera will travel
When I get carried away travelling, and get back home again I want to go back. When looking through all the different moments I captured, I often ask my self;
- “Why did you not make more architecture shots?”
- “Why did you not make more landscape shots?”
- “Why did you not make more shots of the great details around the city?”
- “Why did you not spend more time photographing all the other stuff you did not shoot?”
You get the point… No matter how trigger happy you are, I guess you always would like to have made the extra exposures. But let it go… Travel is more than seeing life through the lenses of your camera.
Tell me your what motivates you travelling with camera?
