candid

Street Portraits of India

I am currently travelling around India taking photos and experiencing this amazing country. One of the aspects of photography that I am focussing on whilst here is portraiture. I am trying to improve my portrait photography by asking strangers if I can take their photo whilst I travel around India. Half of the battle for me is approaching people in the first place. Fortunately the majority of Indian people seem to be very friendly and don’t mind having their photo taken. In fact you often have to turn people away as a lot of people start asking for a photo… In addition to ‘environmental portraits’, which are often taken candidly without the subject knowing I have also been taking more ‘head shot’ style portraits, in which I normally ask for their permission first. Click through the slideshow below to view some of the street portraits I have taken so far on my trip through India:


All of the portraits were taken using a Canon 5D (Mark 4) with a Canon 50mm 1.4 lens. All of the images were taken using natural light and without the use of a flash.  The images were often taken with a shallow depth of field to create a pleasing background and draw attention to the persons face.  I use a single point to focus whilst doing these close up head shot portraits and focus on the closer eye if the head is at an angle. Images of people from around the world fascinate me, I think that they are especially important to build up a picture of a place in travel photography. My travels in India started in Bangalore in the state of Karnataka before flying to Kochi for the Kochi Art Biennale 2018. I then made my way South down the beautiful Kerala coast through the backwaters of Alleppy and Munroe Island in Kollam. Next I stopped for a relaxing week in Varkala before taking the train to the very southern tip of mainland India, Kanyakumari. After witnessing the sunrise at the bottom of the World I travelled to Madurai, the City of Temples. Next up was Chennai before flying to Calcutta where I currently am. It has been a fantastic trip so far, the people are extremely friendly and the country is fantastic for photography with something going on all the time to capture.

More of my travel photography from India can be found on my website, Instagram, Facebook Page and my Flickr account.  If you would like any more information about any of my images please send an email to: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.

Travel Portraits by Geraint Rowland

During my travels I often capture people around the world in a candid manner in their natural environment.  As my confidence has grown and my photographic skills have improved I have begun taking more portrait photographs.  These are often what are called 'environmental portraits', a portrait taken in the subject's usual environment and which normally include the surroundings as well as the person.  More recently I have also started taking 'head shot' style portraits, a tighter cropped image where the focus is on the persons face only.  For my head shots I normally ask the person for their permission first.  Click through the slideshow below to view some of my travel portraits:

With the majority of travel portraits above I asked for permission for the image to be taken. Often in touristy areas you are required or asked to pay for such portraits as was the case in Cusco, Peru, and Havana, Cuba.  The image of the Mexican girl in the Day of the Dead makeup and the final image of the Bolivian lady were the exceptions as both were caught candidly.  The beauty of head shots and or tightly cropped portraits is that you minimise the clutter in the background of the image.

All of the portraits were taken using a Canon 5D (Mark 2 or 4) and the majority were with the Canon 50mm 1.4.  Other lenses used were the Canon 85mm 1.8 and the Sigma Art Lens 135mm 1.8.  All of the images were taken using natural light and without the use of a flash.  The images were often taken with a shallow depth of field to create a pleasing background and draw attention to the persons face.  Images of people from around the world fascinate me, I think that they tell you more about a place than a landscape ever can.  In the future I want to focus more on portraits and improve my skills in this area of photography.  

More of my travel photography can be found on my website, Instagram, Facebook Page and my Flickr account.  If you would like any more information about any of my images please send an email to: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.

Down by the Sea, Senegal

I recently spent a couple of months in Senegal, a country in West Africa.  I spent the majority of that time in the capital Dakar, mainly at the beach town of Yoff.  The town is built along the broad beach at Yoff Bay which faces the Atlantic Ocean, directly north of the city centre of Dakar.  In West Africa the beach is much more than a place to relax and soak up the sun.  Click through the slideshow below for some of my travel photos taken at Yoff Beach in Dakar:

The beach at Yoff is used as a means of transportation with Horse & Cart transporting people and produce along the beach.  In the afternoons the beach becomes a huge gym with hundreds of Sengalese coming to exercise in groups or alone.  Several football games take place along the stretch of sand and men practice the Sengalese form of wrestling by the shore.  Yoff is also a place to pray with one of the biggest Mosques in Dakar situated overlooking the beach.  

The most important function of the beach however is access to the ocean for it's fish.  At the far end of the beach lies the fishing centre where many colourful fishing boats line the sand.  On the shore women wash and prepare the fish, old fridges lie around storing the catch of the day and locals visit to make a purchase.  Everyone here seems to be involved in some way with fishing, be it transporting, cleaning, cooking, catching or selling the daily catch.  A very lively and colourful place it was great for photography.  The beach also has regular and consistent surf, another good reason to visit and spend a few days there...

More of my travel photography from Senegal can be found on my website, my Instagram, and my Flickr account.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.

Black and White Portraits in The Gambia

I recently spent two months in Senegal, during that time I travelled south to the Cassamance area staying in Ziguinchor.  From Ziguinchor I travelled north to spend a couple of weeks in The Gambia.  I spent a couple of weeks living in the Serekunda area some 11 km's west of Banjul, the capital of The Gambia.  This set of black and white photographs were taken outside a traditional Gambian home.  Click through the slideshow below for some black and white portraits I took of the local Gambian children there:

All of the above photos were taken with a Canon 5D2 and a 50mm 1.4 prime lens.  Some of the images were taken candidly whilst others were obviously posed.  I converted the images to black and white using Lightroom as I preferred the overall mood of the resulting series.  

The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa that is completely surrounded by Senegal except for it's coastline on the Atlantic Ocean.  Despite a third of Gambians living under the poverty line, the people there are extremely friendly and welcoming.  In fact The Gambia is often referred to as the 'Smiling Coast of West Africa'.  I hope to return soon to explore more of the country and take more photos.

More of my travel photography from West Africa can be found on my website, my Facebook and my Flickr account.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.  

Street Art Around the World (Photo Essay for the Fifth Issue of Dezine Magazine)

One of the first things I do when I arrive in a new country is search for the local street art and graffiti.  I love the different styles around the World and the way the paintings provide colour and life to the streets.  

“Some people become cops because they want to make the world a better place.  Some people become vandals because they want to make the world a better looking place.”
– Banksy (Wall and Piece)

Street Photography in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead Parade.

Street Photography in Mexico City during the Day of the Dead Parade.

I try to combine street photography with street art in a complementary way.  By adding a human element into the frame you can often enhance the artwork that already exists.  Through timing and placement you can end up with an image in which life imitates the art itself.  Here is a selection of street art photography from various places I have travelled around the World.  Due to the bright and vivid colours of the street art I prefer to present the images in colour as opposed to black and white:

1.  Taken in the multicultural neighbourhood of Raval in Barcelona, Spain.  The art on this wall is constantly changing, I like this fleeting moment of life mimicking the art.

2.  Long faces in the historic centre of Mexico City.

3.  Synchronisation on the streets in Santiago, Chile.

4.  The dog and his double, Valparaíso, Chile.  

5.  A Day of the Dead reveller walks past some crude but poignant graffiti in Mexico City.  'La Historia es Nuestra Venceremos/History is ours, we will overcome'. 

6.  A street performer practises amongst the graffiti in Barcelona, Spain.

7.  A Storm Trooper attacks in the Condesa neighbourhood in Mexico City.  

More of my street & travel photography can be found on my website, my Instagram, and my Flickr account. If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.

The Floating Uros Islands of Lake Titicaca (Photo Essay for the Third Issue of Dezine Magazine)

At almost 4,000 metres above sea level on the border of Bolivia and Peru lies Lake Titicaca.  Lake Titicaca is impressive being both South America's largest lake and the highest navigable lake in the World.  

A Peruvian Child in colourful clothing plays on one of the floating reed islands on Lake Titicaca.

A Peruvian Child in colourful clothing plays on one of the floating reed islands on Lake Titicaca.

Seven kilometres from the shores of Puno on the Peruvian side are the floating Uros islands, home to the Uros or Uru people.  These unique islands are built entirely from the totora reeds that grow in the shallows of the lake.  The reeds are also used to build the homes they live in, the boats they travel in and handicraft they sell to visitors of the islands.  The semi edible reeds are even eaten by the locals who playfully refer to it as Uros icecream.  Some 1000 Uros people live across forty two islands on the lake where the younger children even attend school.  The island people make a living from fishing, textiles and in more recent years through selling crafts and tourism.   (Click through the images below)

The Uros islands are easy to reach with regular boats leaving throughout the day from Puno.  The islands are now firmly on the South American tourist trail, however they are well worth a visit.  Lake Titicaca has some of bluest skies I have ever seen and the islanders are amongst the most colourful.  I took these images over the course of a few days when I visited the islands last June.  Due to the vivid sky and the striking clothing of the locals the imagery is best portrayed in colour.  The Uros Islands really are a picture perfect travel destination.

More of my travel photography from Peru can be found on my website, my Instagram, and my Flickr account. If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.