Smiles, big smiles, that’s something that I really enjoy about roaming the streets with a camera in hand. Sometimes I look for natural unposed fleeting gestures in people, sometimes I walk of up them and ask if I can take their picture, sometimes they come to me ask me to their picture, as was the … Read more
Ahh, selfies, what do your selfies say about you? Let’s see what this article on Psychology Today says about that: Ever since smartphones came equipped with cameras that face not just outward but also backward at the user, the self-portrait—dubbed the “selfie”—has taken over social media, particularly Instagram. (It’s popular on dating sites, as well.) … Read more
This is one of the photos taken during the last “street photography challenge photo walk” I lead on the streets of Antigua Guatemala, where I was teaching and sharing tips on how to get candid and up-close photographs, just like this one. Join me if you would like to learn how to take natural unposed … Read more
This boy opening the big red lamina portón just as I approach the end of the street is just one of the benefits of street photography where one can find interesting images at the end of an alley or cul-de-sac through exploration. I was fortunate to make a few captures before he lost interested in … Read more
Th Guatemalan Spanish word of the day: caña or vara are the words used in Guatemala for reeds. Often one gets to read only the negative news from Guatemala as the mass media is mostly interested in broadcasting the sensationalistic stuff. Not here, not today. Just as often, I try to bring to your the … Read more
Last week we did a mini series on campesinos and the milpa fields located on the skirt of Volcán de Agua. Today we show the most obvious and popular food, tortillas, that is made from maize harvested from the milpa fields. Other Guatemalan food based on corn are: Tamales, tostadas, chuchitos, pupusas, atoles, dobladas, enchiladas, … Read more
We continue our street portrait series with the picture of this young girl who was practicing her English skills with me, even though I only spoke Spanish to her. Who knows why she chose to speak in English to me since I only speak Spanish and poorly at that. Anyhow, I was able to take … Read more
As I have mentioned before, on May 3, In Guatemala and many countries in Latin America is celebrated the Day of the Holy Cross and also the Day of the Construction Worker. The Day of the Holy Cross is known in Guatemala as Día de la Santa Cruz and you can see many Albañiles (construction … Read more
If you don’t know who José Martí was, you are about to read a little about one of the most important figures of 19th century in America. Martí is considered one of the great turn-of-the-century Latin American intellectuals. José Julián Martí Pérez (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895) is a Cuban national hero and … Read more
Slowly but surely, the series Guatemalan Portrait is coming along. Obviously there are hundreds of portraits I still need to take have a body of work for my project #Guatemalans. Stay tuned for more details.
If you visit Guatemala, one thing that will be common everywhere you go are the smiling faces. Here I captured the typical smiling face of a girl having lots of fun at the lavadero público in the Pilas de Santa Clara, better known now as Tanque de la Unión. Let’s have another creative caption contest. … Read more
We finish this first leg of the Guatemalan Portrait with a picture of the typical Guatemalan grandmother. In Guatemala is one of the strongest links between humans is the relationship between the grandparents and their grandchildren. Unfortunately, I lost my last grandparent a few years back. I will miss my abuelita (grandma) very much. I … Read more
One important aspect of the Guatemalan Portrait series is to show the rainbow of people that Guatemalans can be, although many only think of them as Maya or Mestizos. This is something I have been doing for a while, as in the Guatemalan couple for Valentine’s Day, you remember them, right? Every time I see … Read more
We continue the series Guatemalan Portrait with this intimate picture of a young girl doing what young people do nowadays, socializing 24/7 via WhatsApp, Twitter, Texting or Facebook. Can you guess how close was I when made this portrait? Also, what are your feelings regarding this obsession with being connected and publishing constant updates of … Read more
What I really like about this picture is that each girl is looking in a different direction. What I enjoy about doing the Guatemalan Portrait series is how intimate and different each portrait is. My goal is to show as many different kinds of Guatemalans as possible. How do you like the street portrait series … Read more