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Subscribers today:
Okay abuelita, I am ready, let’s go…
The most creative caption for the image above wins a post card made from this photo. We close the contest on Friday. Good luck to all participants!
Life is short but there is always time for courtesy. —Ralph Waldo Emerson
Buenos días, buenos días, que le vaya bien, they said to each other.
Courtesy was one of things that affected me the most when I moved from a huge metropolis into a little town. I was not prepared for the kind of courtesy and politeness that people I pass by offer me every day. Buenos días, buenas trades, qué Dios lo bendiga, are among the most often heard. Reading Ralph Waldo Emerson quote and having lived with courtesy for over 10 years I have to agree him. Of course, when everybody you encounter on the street is polite and you have to be polite in response, then sometimes you end up being late for some appointments. So, if you ever move to La Antigua Guatemala, remember to pad your appointments with 15 minutes for courtesy.
Last week, Guatemalan blogger Iván Mendoza sent me a link to the article Street Photography: The Capture vs. The Pose; an interesting post which tries to define the difference between posed and captured photographs. Below I quote a couple statements from the article to give you an idea, but I must certainly encourage to read it and enjoy the black and white photographs that accompanied the piece.
When a subject poses to have his or her photograph taken, the subject tries to project a message about himself or herself by how he or she “poses”, by the attitude of his or her body language or facial expression.
Portrait and posed photos are contrived declares Chris Weeks in his book Street Photography for the Purist. As much as possible I aim to capture authentic and true slices of life.
Street Photography takes direct aim at this “falseness” by taking the camera into the streets to record “true” documentary moments in life. The subjects are usually unaware as they go about their lives, having no time to strike a pose to enhance or send a particular message about those lives.
With today’s photo I believe that I have captured such that image as described above; an authentic, true, uncontrived slice of life from Antigua Guatemala. What do you think?
We street photographers are like hunters; often we roam the streets, stalking the city for candid, naturally looking, images. Other times, we seat or stand in a corner until we become invisible or at least until the people around us become oblivious about us. We set the light, aperture, and shutter speed ahead of time so we are ready to capture the fleeting images into our camera oscura. Of course, the hunter can also become game! 
The best thing about street photography: serendipity
—Philip Greenspun (source: Photo.Net)
“Stare. It is the way to educate your eye, and more. Stare, pry, listen eavesdrop. Die knowing something. You are not here long.” —Walker Evans (source: Photo.Net)
If you are a fan of people watching you are hard-pressed to find a lovelier place than La Antigua Guatemala to enjoy the lazy hobby. Whether you find a bench in Parque Central, Tanque de la Union, Cerro de la Cruz… or perhaps, you simply prop yourself against one of the many boldly-colored walls that line the calles and avenidas, like this man… the scene before you is always beautiful. I don’t think a day has gone by where I haven’t outwardly expressed my fascination with the beauty that abounds in this city. She’s like a diamond. You can look upon her faces, her edges, her corners from different angles and each time you will find a new hue to appreciate.
text and photo by Laura McNamara
Today it is your turn to do the caption for this street photo of a mother and son bonding in La Antigua Guatemala. Create a story or caption to go with the photo above. Simple, heh?!
Watching the Watchers Watch is what we call in Spanish a trabalenguas or tongue twister.
What kind of stories do you see in this picture?
I better start saving... You advertise the country so well, ad I hope the Tourism Ministry pays you well! I have never been to your continent, but I know many Norwegians who are going there again and again. —Gunn
