Rock the kasbah
A long-awaited trip to Morocco proves that switching off the urge to complete photo assignments is a lot harder than it looks...
What starts out as planning a simple break for leisure soon takes on a life of its own, initial web searches throwing up all manner of awesome locations. In the blink of an eye, I’m once again queuing up at the gate for check-in; my intended holiday has now turned into a full-blown photographic trip, and I’m trying to sneak a photo bag weighing well over the low-cost airline limit above my head. You guessed it: the holiday isn’t really a holiday anymore!
Being totally objective in reviewing the past five years, I think I’ve been on one holiday, a short trip back to see some friends, while every other trip I’ve been on has, in some way, evolved into me working. Probably one of the most notable has to be a trip to Morocco, somewhere my girlfriend and I had both been keen on visiting for years.
The idea of idyllic streets and medinas, tasting the food and enjoying a total change in culture seemed like a perfect break. My exploratory Googling had seen me build up a list of possible areas to visit, but I wanted to try something different and focus more on travel photography rather than wildlife, because this was supposed to be my holiday too!
Fast-forward a few months, and we were sat on the roof of our riad, the table laid with wonderful, colourful Moroccan dishes. We took breakfast in what can only be described as oppressive heat, and discussed the fact that we really need to improve our bartering skills before we hit the medina. Of course, in previous months I had folded in my ambitions to resist the wildlife photography urge, and had gone and packed a telephoto: a fatal mistake if I wanted a relaxing break.
Monkey see
Wandering the streets I soon found myself watching the local wildlife. Three hours spent getting in the way of all the other tourists on a single staircase in a medieval fort was the first real photographic treat.
It was a rather perfect spot to take in the views of the white storks that were breeding on the old wall, bringing in new nesting material from the surrounding urbanized area. Many tourists didn’t appreciate the storks as a holiday highlight; some people made images over my shoulder before realizing this wasn’t on the prescribed tour, tutting and walking off.
A few memory cards later, it was time for lunch. Heading back to the main square, we dodged our way through the approaching restaurant owners to finally settle on a place to eat. Two tagines ordered and with much water downed, I was eyeing my next subject: the monkey vendors.
Barbary macaques are enslaved, dragged around by their owners and forced onto tourists – some willing, some not – in order to demand payment for a photograph. I knew of this activity before heading out and, having given into the pressure of my inner wildlife photographer, I knew I wanted to capture the wildlife trade in action.
Dodging the macaque gangs in order to make documentary images is certainly not your general holiday activity. If you’re not paying them, they will chase you down rather forcefully to demand money and put a stop to your photography.
Luckily I was armed with my secret weapon: not just the 70-200mm, but my girlfriend – the perfect human shield and tourist camouflage! Over the next few days, we had numerous ‘conversations’ and suspiciously long browsing sessions around the squares’ store fronts, while I shot intermittently over her shoulder to capture the images I was after. It was not really the holiday I had promised and, after a few close encounters and being followed by a group through the streets, time was called on my so-called holiday activity.
So this year I’m committed to the holiday: no wildlife gangs or long hours in awkward spots trying to make images, just a beach and a book. But hey, there’s still always time to pack the tele!
Dodging the macaque gangs in order to make documentary images is certainly not your general holiday activity