Postcards from Cartagena, Colombia – the city of colours
Over the course of six months backpacking the South American continent, I must have taken at least 5,000 photos. Armed with my trusty Olympus, I put my extremely limited photography skills to use wherever we went, but there was one specific occasion where I purposefully left the hostel on a photography mission. It was in Cartagena, a colourful and colonial Colombian city, where temperatures soared to 35 degrees by 8am. With this in mind, I set off at 7am with the hope of photographing locals heading to work, school, or just living their lives.
What I loved most about Cartagena was its positive and colourful vibes, from the smiles on peoples’ faces, to the achingly fresh seafood, the gorgeous colonial buildings, interesting street art, and flowers sprouting from the many terraces.
Unfortunately, 7am was already a bit too late in terms of ideal lighting, and I didn’t last long before the heat overtook me that day. I still managed to get a few shots I was happy with, but I know I have a long way to go in terms of street photography. I’m also very bad at editing photos, so these are pretty much unfiltered. Any tips are very welcome!
Sculpture meets painting
Just playing
Grabbing a snack before work
Morning stroll
Catching a break from the unbearable heat
A tourist, taking in the sights and smells
Sandia para todos
Nap time
All photos taken with my Olympus OM-D EM10.
Do you have any tips and tricks for street photography? How do you translate the vibe of a city into a photograph?
Airline magazines are good to follow travel photography. I think some of the tricks are
1. Capture faces when you can.
2. Describe them in context of where they are and what they are doing
3. Don’t clutter up pictures of landscapes. Focus on one thing
4. See if you can get color contrasts
Etc
Thanks for sharing this Kiran. I’m so excited to visit Colombia and would love to know more about Cartagena. I’m also a newbie with photography but I think it often works well when you don’t shy away from getting up close (or use a great zoom lens!) as I love seeing faces and expressions, and I’d agree with Ashok above about focusing one one thing at a time.
Look forward to reading more about your trip!
Reena
http://www.lifestyleenthusiast.co.uk