Morocco Street Photography
In February I escaped the cold dark winter of Todmorden and spent a week in Morocco. Part of the trip was simply chasing some sunshine. But if I am honest, I also needed a bit of a reset. The past few months have been a big period of change in my life, so the trip felt like a good excuse to wander some unfamiliar streets with a camera again before the wedding season starts. Street photography has always helped with that. You walk, you watch, and you see what catches your eye. Morocco turned out to be both inspiring and challenging in equal measure.
Marrakech – chaos, colour and narrow alleys
Marrakech hits you straight away with energy. Red walls, busy souks, food smells drifting through the streets, and motorbikes squeezing through impossibly narrow alleys. Within minutes people were offering to guide me through the streets. Sometimes genuine, sometimes clearly hoping for a tip. Either way it adds to the chaos of the place. Photographing people here was much harder than I expected. Compared to places like Thailand or Vietnam, people in Morocco were often wary of cameras. Quite a few times I heard “no photo” before I had even lifted the camera.
At one point in the market an older woman told me off for pointing the camera in her direction. It took me back to being a naughty kid at school again! Fair enough though. When you travel somewhere new you have to respect the culture you are in – so I had to adapt pretty quickly.
Atlas Mountains, Morocco – a slower rhythm
One of the highlights of the trip was a day visiting the Atlas Mountains and some of the Amazigh villages. After the chaos of Marrakech everything suddenly felt calmer. The mountains stretch out endlessly and life seems to move at a slower pace. We stopped in a small village where I was welcomed in for mint tea. Sitting there looking out across the mountains felt a long way from the busy streets of the city. One moment that stayed with me was watching an older woman quietly looking out of a window. I stood there for a while before taking the photo – there was a stillness to the scene that I did not want to interrupt.
Essaouira – blue streets and sea air
After Marrakech, Essaouira felt like a completely different world. The coastal city is known for its blue buildings and strong sea winds. I found myself slowing down here without really trying. Less rushing, more just wandering, sitting, watching. It felt like the kind of place where you do not need much of a plan. The fishing port was busy with boats and markets, while the medina streets were full of colour. Google Maps proved fairly useless inside the maze of streets though. Upon my arrival, a local kid had to guide me to my Riad! Food was another highlight. You could get a great breakfast from a small café for about £1.50, and even the more expensive restaurants rarely cost more than about £10-15 for a full meal – I think I tried every type of Tagine on offer!
Street photography in Morocco
Because photographing people directly was difficult, I started looking for other ways to build images. Cats turned out to be perfect for this. They are everywhere in Morocco. Sitting in doorways, wandering through markets, sleeping in the sun. Sometimes they became the subject, sometimes they simply added another layer to the frame. Camels and seagulls also featured quite a bit too, as you can imagine! There were other moments too; kids playing football who were happy to have their photo taken, a cat and a seagull competing for leftover couscous and the bustle of the fish market. I had the pleasure of taking part in a cooking class with the brilliant Latifa – during this class we literally chose our chicken alive and it was prepared right there on the spot…a bit of a culture shock! Of course there was an onlooking cat there who happily took the chickens head as a snack – this made for one of my favourite images. Overall, Morocco taught me something simple about street photography. Be patient, be respectful, and be ready when the moment appears. These are not necessarily the best photographs I have ever taken, but they pushed me outside my comfort zone and into a completely different culture – for me that was even more valuable.