Well, we are on our last leg of the Photo Quest Adventure trip. Yup, we're in Fez!! We arrived last night from the Sarah desert where we crashed in some nomad-herder style tents...
This morning we woke up early and went to the old medina (market). We photographed the locals tanning leather. It's been a Moroccan tradition for hundreds of years...
They have the process down to an art. The hides are brought in from the slaughter house on the other side of town via donkeys. Then the tanners strip the meat from the hides using a vat system. After the hides are cleaned, they are dropped into various dyes.
The tanners sit knee deep in dye vats all day in direct sunlight. They wear shorts and stomp the hides like grapes for hours.
Workers move agilely around the vats with bare-wet feet. I have really bad balance and had an "interesting" time trying to figure out how to maneuver around the facility.
The smell is potent and can be overwhelming. It reminded me of the rendering plant that was near one my childhood homes.
Sue and Carl joined me in the dye-vat area while Suzy and Najat opted for the bird's eye view.
After the tannery, we made our way to the old religious school. I decided to whip out a quick Nikon SB-900 flash and make a quick portrait of our guide, Reda.
We stopped for lunch at a great Moroccan eatery and ate some couscous. I asked the guide if we could get on the roof, at which time he asked the waiter. Ever obliging, they said yes. We lucked out and had a sky high view of the nearest mosque. What a site!
I love textiles and was thrilled to visit a place where they make scarves and blankets by hand. I put two Nikon SB-900 flashes on Justin Clamps and clipped them to the machine. One is camera-right and high and the other is camera-left, low and back. The main light on the right filled the scene while the back light created a nice rim effect.
We watched locals make pottery by hand...
Walked the Sahara desert...
Watched the sun rise...
Here is a picture of the group after we all rode camels up the dunes for a photo op....
I made some pics of us on our camel tour. I may ride horse a lot and be an experienced rider. However, riding a camel is a LOT different. They are rolling and bouncy, which made making pictures fun!
We stopped at a local Berber woman's house and made some pictures of her and her family... and her goats. I jumped at the opportunity to add some dimension. I grabbed two Nikon SB-900 flashes and grouped them together and placed them high and camera left. Meanwhile, the sun created a nice rim on family.
We were serenaded by a guy wearing a twirling fez hat...
Made a quick lit portrait of a Berber salesman on the side of the road...
We also had a great model, who happened to be our Sahara Desert guide. He was more than willing to sit for us. We got lucky that he was so patient and willing to help us.
We watched the sun set...
We took a TON of pictures... even at night. I clipped two Nikon SB-900 flashes on Justin Clamps. I placed one camera left and one camera right. I exposed for the fire and light balanced the flashes. Pretty fun...
During our ride, we stopped at a water fall. Everyone was making long exposures of the beautiful falls. However, I love people and was drawn to the local boys playing the dammed pool nearby. They were doing back flips and cliff diving. What a rush.
I finally got the shot I was hoping for - a local on a donkey in front of the oldest Casbah in Morocco!!! Hurray!!!
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