People of Marrakech

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Monday, October 11, 2010 | flickr photos

Morocco and the people of the Djemma-el-Fna market at Marrakech

I have always wanted to travel and now my children are in their twenties I have been fortunate enough (since 2008) to combine my interest in photography with travel. As a practising psychologist, I also have a professional interest in people, which seems to influence and dominate my photographic images, although my experience of travel photography is quite limited. It was with this in mind that I wondered what Africa might hold in terms of a travel experience. Having considered options, I decided to try North Africa and Morocco in particular as it was a country I knew little about apart from the popular media references to cities such as Tangier, Marrakech and Casablanca. So I wanted to see for myself what cultural experiences I could enjoy and learn about whilst visiting this fascinating country. It was while I was on a brief stay in Marrakech (March this year) that I took the following images in the famous Djemma-el-Fna square. The photos, I hope, capture the human interaction and busy, bustle of life of the Moroccan people and the square in particular. I have also tried to show something of the characters and commercial activities which have been played out across centuries in this unique market area. Thus, my viewpoint was one of an observer, so that I remained as unobtrusive as possible to capture this daily reality. If I was fortunate enough to go to Bhutan, I would endeavour to do a similar thing after first reading up and researching on the country, so that I could capture and illustrate for others the sense of mystery and spirituality of this unique people and their culture.