In Marrakech, I encountered lots of beautiful tiles, doorways, and terracotta walls and my photo library is full of stills to record the details.
In atmospheric places like Marrakech, where you have lots of architectural detail, you need an obliging object to make your travel photograph that little bit more interesting. It could be a ginger cat, a donkey, a man in a traditional djellaba – something, anything, to give your picture a focal point but still bring out the cultural elements you intended to capture. It requires some patience and alertness. Cats and donkeys don’t conjure up out of nowhere.
Here are some examples. I think the images would’ve been serviceable without the said obliging objects. But they would’ve been less interesting and less personal. Everyone can shoot the tile image, but not everyone will have the ginger cat. That one thing will make it your picture.
~ Spotted Cow
Nice tip. It acts as a good focal point and also adds to perspective.
Thanks Dragon.
Good advice. I need to remember tips like this.
It will really make a difference. And remember to shoot the obvious picture anyway.
Beautiful photos, Spotted Cow!! And how right you were to have been patient. I much prefer having the “locals” in the scene – especially that lovely cat 🙂
Yes, the cat is lovely. There seemed to be a lot of cats around, which was quite handy!
Love the last one, helped by the fact that the tire sizes on cart and motorbike are the same,
Ah thank you. Until you mentioned it, it never occurred to me that the cart and bike tires mirrored each other!