Morocco street photography with Fuji x100s

Marrakesh, such a buzzing city. A different culture, different values. I was expecting to walk around and take hundreds of photos, but I was wrong. As soon as you take a camera out from your camera bag you hear “no photos, no photos” and If you manage to take a photo you will be asked to pay for it. It could be the only way, bring a wallet full of euros and you will get something nice images. But again, portraits will be very staged and that’s not what I was trying to get during my stay in Morocco.

I have tried a few different techniques, but when a random guy grabbed my camera demanding to delete photos I have realised they just don’t want me to take photos! I just walked away thinking Eh that’s not right. But again, imagine yourself living in Marrakesh, you do your work and every few seconds you get a tourist pointing a camera right in your face. I would get mad probably. And there are thousands of tourist, every single one of them with a camera or a mobile phone taking photos or videos.

So I came up with a brilliant idea. I was walking around the same streets for a few days and the locals started to recognise me. People will stop asking you to buy scents etc. Then talk to them. Yes, talk to them. I have learned some words in Arabic and that mixed with a smile just did the work. I even ended up drinking a mint tea with a local shop owner.

The only camera I took with me to Marrakesh was my little Fuji x100s. It is my new street companion. It forces you to think slightly more before you take a photo. Very similar experience to shooting with my old Canon AE1. The x100s it’s light, small and the quality of the images is great. There are many newer cameras, but you can get an x100s for a couple of hundred of pounds so you can’t go wrong with it. It’s great!

I visited some other places outside Marrakesh. One of the places was Ouzoud Waterfall. I couldn’t believe my eyes that such a breath-taking waterfall can be found in that part of Africa.

I also went hiking in the High Atlas mountains to see some Berbers villages.

I need to admit that on day one I was thinking that I shouldn’t visit Morocco and travel somewhere else. But after a few days, I realised how beautiful the place is. But most importantly you start thinking of what you have in your life and how you live in general. Definitely, everybody should visit Morocco and Marrakesh.