Photographing the Mysteries of Morocco

Richard Martin's Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens helped him capture the people, colors, and patterns of this exotic African nation.

Article by Jenn Gidman

Images by Richard Martin

When the iconic city of Casablanca is the least favorite part of your photo tour, you know the rest of the tour must have been amazing. That's what Richard Martin experienced when he traveled to Morocco in April, flying into the country's largest city, then branching out to see what he calls the "real flavor" of Morocco. "Casablanca is a really nice, European-style city," he says. "But there were so many intriguing places outside of there, especially for photography purposes."

The tour group traveled up into the mountains to the mysterious blue-walled town of Chefchaouen, complete with the bustling markets and artisans within the town's white-walled medina; the somewhat chaotic city of Fez, Morocco's oldest imperial city, built by the Moroccan Berbers; the unpredictable yet welcoming metropolis of Marrakesh; and Essaouira, a fishing village with magnificent architecture that was used in Orson Welles' Othello.

The Tamron SP 24-70mm VC lens helped Richard capture every facet of this alluring country. "The range of the lens is just what I needed while I was there," he says. "The 24mm end is a very generous wide angle, a little extra kick over 28mm. Going up to 70mm, it's an excellent portrait lens as well. It's become my workhorse lens, especially when photographing in the streets of cities or small towns like I was doing in Morocco."

Part of what drew Richard to Morocco were the brilliant colors and intricate patterns. "That's what Morocco is all about: the mosaics, walls, and tiles, the amazing colors," he says. "They're everywhere. For this picture I took in Marrakesh with the yellow planters, the shade that falls on the floor is from a grid screen—even when the patterns aren't directly in the tiles or on the walls, they're in the shadows."

The mystery of Morocco often lies in its labyrinths of alleys and stairways, which can serve as the backdrop for more developed images. "I like to use lines to lead my viewers into the image, and those steps that are all over town are perfect for that—you never know when you go up them where you're going to come out," Richard says. "But often they're not interesting enough on their own. So I'd usually hang around a little bit to see if anything happened; there were lots of people milling about, so I knew eventually someone would probably go up the stairs. If you find potential in a composition like that, treat it almost like a stage set: Wait around until the actors show up so you can create a more complete story."

The people of Morocco themselves make for intriguing subjects, though it's usually advisable to get permission before taking pictures that are focused more directly on them. "You have to respect people's privacy and the culture of where you're visiting," Richard says. "In some places the people don't mind—in India, people would walk right up to me to get their pictures taken—but in places like Morocco, the residents are more reserved."

Sometimes, though, you might want to capture a beautiful scene before it disappears. "I was having my morning coffee with other folks on the trip when I saw this man enjoying his," Richard says. "I had my camera sitting near where I had set my coffee; I pressed the button and put it in Live View so I could see the LCD on the back of my camera as I was talking. That way I was able to capture a compelling image when the time was right."

Richard often used the 24-70 to create a sense of space with the wider end of the lens and show the relationship between his subjects and their environment. "I took this picture of a man painting his little clay bowls to show the context of what he was doing," he says. "I was standing above him, looking down, and I took the picture at 24mm. The lens served as my design tool, distorting the scene slightly to create drama. It's an interesting composition, because you can see the circle with the ceramics in the foreground, then the circle on his head with the pattern of his hat."

The 24-70's performance in low light, including the Vibration Compensation (VC) feature, helped Richard capture photos he would've had a hard time doing otherwise. "Many of the pictures I took in Chefchaouen are low-light shots, because so many of them were taken in the street canyons and alleys—tight spaces that don't get direct light at all, especially in the mornings," he says. "The kids in the enclosed alley I photographed are one example. I like that you can see the shapes of the kids and their relationship to each other, all in silhouette. This type of image wouldn't have worked in film quite as well because it's so contrasty, but because of the dynamic range my digital camera was able to capture, it came out wonderfully."

The VC also helps Richard keep his pictures sharp and blur-free. "After having that feature on my Tamron lenses over the years, it would be really difficult not to have it now," he says. "I can shoot at shutter speeds two or three stops lower than I typically can, with no blur in my images."

The last stop on Richard's schedule was a little fishing town called Essaouira, and he made sure to capture the fishing boats that make up the heart of the village. "There were tons of these blue boats, and I just got drawn into the pattern of blue shapes," he says. "The range of the 24-70 allowed me to get a nice mix of verticals of the boats that showed depth, as well as horizontals to give an angled perspective of the high density of boats. The men in the boats lend a sense of scale, because you really start to lose perspective when you're just staring at a sea of boats like this."

It was also in Essaouira where he found a photo opportunity that broke free from his scheduled itinerary. "We were coming back from the hotel and taking a break with a walk on the beach," he says. "Out of the blue, this guy came out with a couple of camels. The woman I captured riding one was galloping up and down the beach, while this other guy held the rope and ran with the camel. It was a little crazy. Because I had the 24-70 with me, I didn't have to run way back to get the shot. It was sunset, but I decided to make it a black-and-white because with the silhouette, I was able to get a much stronger contrast of the camel and people and their reflections in the wet sand instead of focusing on the colors."

To see more of Richard Martin's work, go to www.richardmartinphoto.com.