Drivin' thru Dar

[Pukka312]

I rarely take photos in the city due to standing out like a sore thumb... not a ton of caucasians running around so I get noticed a lot, which puts me at a disadvantage because a lot of folks here would want me to pay them to take their photo (candid ones in public anyway). So these were all shot from a bajaj (a ricksaw) riding through the city --except for the obvious city shot.

They won't win any awards or anything, but it is definitely some of the daily aspects I will remember about life here...


1. Dar es Salaam

2. Lost tourists

3. Payless shoe store

4. (I don't think the guy knew I snapped this...he was trying to sell us watches while we were stopped at a light)

5. The disabled (This is a shot I truly want to capture right...though far more difficult because they assume all white people are rich. I'm a HUGE target for begging for money. There are so many disabled begging at every stoplight in the city, most have lost 1 or both legs. I'm pretty sure every person I've seen begging has had some physical disability. I shot this obviously through the window of the bajaj, and it was still moving so it's not a great capture. I'm considering just giving them money in exchange for a photo next time)

6. Water boy

 

[amolitor]

Most of these look like tourist snaps -- a record of a thing or a view that was interesting or attractive, rather than an arresting image. There's nothing wrong with those, but they're going to speak more to you than to us. They will remind you of what it was like at that moment, but they won't do much for me, since I wasn't there.

The one that stands out to me is the watches. That's some good stuff there. It's a *photograph* as well as a record of an interesting thing. Does that make any sense?

 

[Pukka312]

Most of these look like tourist snaps -- a record of a thing or a view that was interesting or attractive, rather than an arresting image. There's nothing wrong with those, but they're going to speak more to you than to us. They will remind you of what it was like at that moment, but they won't do much for me, since I wasn't there.

The one that stands out to me is the watches. That's some good stuff there. It's a *photograph* as well as a record of an interesting thing. Does that make any sense?

I agree. It's not my forte at all. It's the only time I feel darn near close to a panic attack when shooting. I think I'd actually do better with a P&S here because it would be way less threatening to the population at large and I'd feel more comfortable taking time to get a decent shot, rather than half hazardly whipping a DSLR around like a crazy paranoid spy (and a bad spy at that!)