Entries about jamaica

I thought it might be fun to theme one of these entries around not a subject matter but a colour. Red is a wonderful colour to use in photography – it pops off the page or screen, adding not only vibrancy but also a sense of perspective.

Look at the way the tourist in the red dress and hat leaps out at you in this photo taken at the Shah-i-Zinda in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. This photo is of course predominately blue as are all the mausoleums there, rich with complex mosaics – this one is the Emir Hussein Mausoleum, but all are similarly rich in their decoration.

The remaining photos here though will be dominated by the colour red. Let us see where that theme takes us …

Japan

This is the country that I associate most strongly with red. I have already included lots of photos in my Japan blog so I’ll only add a handful here.

Plant life

Red flowers, red leaves, red berries – all great subjects for photos that ‘sing’. These berries were photographed in December at Druridge Bay on England’s north east coast:

And here is the vivid red of a ginger flower at Dunn’s River Falls in Jamaica:

And of course we can’t forget poppies, one of my favourite flowers. Italy is a great place to find them, as in this display outside the ancient town walls of Bevagna in Umbria:

Or these by a roadside in Marche:

This poppy however was growing in the grounds of Ehrenbreitstein Fortress in Koblenz, Germany:

And this one in a cottage garden in Adlestrop in the English Cotswolds:

[Have you worked out by now that I especially love poppies?!]

But here’s a dahlia for a change, photographed in Pashley Manor Gardens in Sussex, England:

Back in Italy, look at how this red geranium glows against the grey stone steps of Corinaldo in Marche:

And a cyclamen on a windowsill in the old town of Monopoli:

Bougainvillea is most often seen with bright purple or deep pink flowers, but there are red varieties too. I came across this one in Faro, Portugal:

And this at Ngala Lodge in Gambia:

Where I also photographed another of my favourite flowers, a beautiful red hibiscus:

When it comes to edible plant-life, red is often the colour of heat, as in these chillies drying in Albuquerque, New Mexico:

And in Sorrento, Italy:

Or chilli powder in a Jaipur market:

Around and about

I found this vibrant red bench in Rapperswil on Lake Zurich:

And here is a brightly painted Parisian door:

A red Harley in Deming, New Mexico:

And also in New Mexico, these classic red cars in the Route 66 museum in Santa Rosa:

In the Route 66 Auto Museum, Santa Rosa, NM

And one from Havana, Cuba:

A bright red chair for sale in an antique shop in Rye, on England’s south coast:

And a cheerful red fishing boat in nearby Hastings:

Closer to home, an old fire station just around the corner from my house in Ealing, West London:

Red to wear

What about some colourful red clothing? Such as a scarf wound round the head of a villager in Gambia:

And a beautiful dress worn by a visitor to the Qutb Minar in Delhi:

The red turbans of some elderly residents of Narlai in Rajasthan:

And the dress of a Morris dancer at Sowerby Bridge in Yorkshire (northern England):

And finally

The centenary of the outbreak of World War One was marked at the Tower of London with an amazing art installation, Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. A tide of 888,246 ceramic poppies filled the Tower's famous moat between 17 July and 11 November 2014. Each poppy represented a British military life lost during the war. The individual poppies were later sold, raising millions of pounds which were shared equally amongst six service charities. I was fortunate to see them in place at the Tower – a powerful statement about the loss of lives, especially young lives, during that war.

In my last entry, Markets, I mentioned how much I enjoy taking photos of local people on my travels. Of course, people’s willingness to be photographed varies enormously from place to place – they certainly don’t always share my pleasure, I have to confess. I also have to confess to shooting candid photos on many occasions – not only because I realise that my chosen subject may be unwilling to pose but also (and primarily) because I prefer the natural look of an unposed portrait. That said, if anyone sees my camera and asks me to put it away or not take their photo, I always do so.

Africa

My experience of photographing people in the various African countries we have visited is quite variable. In Morocco I found most locals very wary of my camera – even to the point that on a recent visit I was challenged to show two men the photo they claimed I had just taken of them, when I had not actually done so. It was only when I showed them every image, right back to those of our flight the previous day, that they believed me. You can imagine that I was very careful not to alert anyone there when taking pictures, and to restrict myself to long range shots. Some of these may find their way into later entries, but this one is focused (literally) on faces.

But in sub-Saharan Africa, on trips to Senegal and the Gambia, I found people much less interested in me and my camera, and portraits were relatively easy to capture.

Gambia

I have already shared some images from the huge street market of Serekunda in my earlier entry on Markets, so here are just a few of the portrait shots I captured there:

Our tour to the small villages of villages of Albreda and Juffureh offered much better opportunities to take photos of local people. I described that tour as follows on my Virtual Tourist page about the Gambia:

Senegal

To visit the southern part of Senegal, as we did, you need to start in Banjul, Gambia, and catch the ferry across the river – a perfect people-watching and people-photographing opportunity:

Once in Senegal, we took every opportunity to get out and about from our hotel bases, and met local people wherever we went:

Local woman in Djifere

India

There is no difficulty in India in taking photos of the people. While a few may wave away your camera, most are tolerant of it and many not only willing but eager to pose. As I have said, I prefer a natural look to my photos, so while I will take the posed shots, and show or share them if asked, I usually take a few extra when my subject is less aware that I am doing so.

On both our recent visits to the country we have spent quite a lot of time driving (or rather, being driven) from town to town, and with all the activity to be seen on and beside the road there are plenty of opportunities to grab some candid shots. I already shared this photo in my Road to Jaipur blog, but it's one of my favourites and I can't resist also including it here:

Japan

This was another place where I found it very easy to get some good portrait shots, with many people willing to pose or to ignore my camera:

Wedding at the Meiji Shrine, Tokyo

Latin America

On occasion it is worth ‘paying’ for a shot. The lady below, in Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, was happy to pose in return for our purchase of one of the little bead key-rings she was selling, while the guy in Jamaica was equally happy to be in my shot once I had bought a cold drink from his shack:

Others there though were perhaps just too spaced-out to notice my camera at all!

A few more of my favourites from that part of the world, taken on our recent trip to Chile, and a couple of years ago in Ecuador:

Kebab seller, Machuca, Chile

Europe

Special events often provide an opportunity for candid photography, such as the Old Town Days celebrations in Tallinn which I saw while at a Virtual Tourist meeting there in 2014, and the same city’s Medieval Days a year later on a return visit:

Musician and stall-holder, Tallinn Old Town Days

Closer to home

Here’s a selection from much closer to home, in London:

And finally, let us remember that portraits don’t always have to include the face to tell you something about the person portrayed, so here are three photos taken from behind the subject: