While most of us prepare/assume we will be doing some photography on an Africa trip, there is an emphasis on wildlife or scenic photography. Yet Africa offers a great venue for street photography as well, all too often overlooked. These are also selected from current "scanning-of-old-slides" exercise, so these are from Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso in the 1982 to 1985 years.















Above is a witch doctor. Below is a legitimate snake oil salesman.










For the most part street photography is "whatever strikes your eye" snapshot photography, but it's not less of a souvenir than any other travel photography, and sometimes allows you to get back in time better than a picture of purely scenery. As I look at these slides, which had remained in a box all these years, I realize that the only personal time travel we have is to go back in time by looking at the pictures we took. I've still got my slides, which have a physical existence rather than virtual. I wonder if we'll be able to say that about our digital files 30 years from now.

Neat photos. The fellow selling "medical" potions certainly has a direct and to the point manner of advertising.

quote:

Originally posted by MJines:
Neat photos. The fellow selling "medical" potions certainly has a direct and to the point manner of advertising.

I never tried any of his remedies myself. I think his protesting may have been due to some copyrights on the advertizing I was blatantly ignoring.

I would find Pepto-Bismol commercials far more entertaining if they did steal some of his advertising. Would make some great billboards too.

i have always been hesitant about taking pictures of street scenes so as not to offend the locals. i don't want them to think i am taking pictures as if they are animals in a zoo. i have had occasion were the locals got upset and my photos were objected in no uncertain terms...now i generally ask if it is OK unless it is a scene of a large open air market.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
i have always been hesitant about taking pictures of street scenes so as not to offend the locals. i don't want them to think i am taking pictures as if they are animals in a zoo. i have had occasion were the locals got upset and my photos were objected in no uncertain terms...now i generally ask if it is OK unless it is a scene of a large open air market.

In my case I was a "local", in the sense that everybody knew who I was. This happens fast when a white guy moves into the neighborhood and stays for a few years. And in 1985 the Burkinabé were a pretty laid back bunch.

Always good to see how the "other half" lives. Puts Life in perspective.

Grizz

Wink,

Awesome pics. What lens are you using to get the depth of focus in the earthen ware jars?

K

quote:

Originally posted by Grizzly Adams:
Always good to see how the "other half" lives. Puts Life in perspective.

Grizz

How the other 90-95% lives is more like it.

quote:

Originally posted by Fallow Buck:
Wink,

Awesome pics. What lens are you using to get the depth of focus in the earthen ware jars?

K

It was a Nikkor 28mm lens on Nikon F3HP body, film was Kodachrome 64.

Great pictures from the start Wink. Amazing how well they kept after all these years.

Great photos! Yes always ask first and do your homework prior by checking out sites on "Country etiquettes" before your trip.
Paying to take photographs is also a bit contoversial, as there are opinions that this encourages begging..but some people earn a living being paid to have their photograph taken, so I suppose then it becomes a personal choice whether to pay or not to pay!
Most People, especially children,love to see their images, so if you can, show them the result. You too will have the added bonus of the memory created from their reaction. Something else I have done has been to print a selection of images and arrange to send on to the tour provider or guide for them to pass on to the subjects.