Remembering Mexico

I was going through my pictures and I thought I'd post some photos taken during my Mexico trip in 2001 stay.

I really like this photo of this young mother. Look at the wonder of the boy's face, seeing a foreigner for the first time. The mother's body curved around to protect the child. Her face is generous and welcoming. This somewhat symbolizes motherhood for me.  This was shot with a Mamiya C330 twin lens reflex medium format. I enjoyed shooting that camera. Very quiet shutter, and built like a tank. 

This young girl's eye caught my eye. I liked the background with the bus and the people. I was waiting patiently for something to happen in the foreground.  The girl turned to see what I was doing. This was shot with a Hassleblad with a waist level finder.  The finder came in handy for this shot because it allowed me to raise up the camera so that I can show the group of people entering the bus. 

A little girl running in a playground. Shot with a Hassleblad and 80mm CF. Had the shutter speed at 500th second to capture the motion. 

In a small market square.  Love his facial expression. The contrast of his jacket and the washed background really makes him pop. Hasselblad 500cm with 80mm CF. Many people think that medium format cameras are not practical for street type of photography. Sure, it has its drawbacks. (for me slow film changing is the biggest drawback. Yes, if you have extra magazines it would be quicker than lightning but I like to travel light) I found that the Hassleblad is quite capable in street type shooting. specially with the waist level finder, you can be very low key. The noise... yes its loud, but when you're outside its not that bad. 

This was downtown Morelia. Beautiful city. Wonderful architecture, and known for their candies. The state is also known for the monarch butterfly migration where, I think ALL of the monarch butterflies fly there once a year. Caught this group of nursing students between the rushing traffic.

This little vendor girl was so bored. Tzin Tzun Tzan, the island is called. They have their own indigenous government. This island was never conquered by the Spaniards. They're so proud of that fact, that they've erected a large statue made out of stone to commemorate that part of history on the top of the island. By the way, if you are not indigenous to that island, you cannot stay there overnight. You need to leave before nighttime. That mentality of being weary of foreigners is still embedded into their culture. The people are very friendly and welcoming to visitors, just abide by the rules.  The girl is selling fried something like anchovies. They're plentiful in the surrounding rivers.

I love the textures in Mexico. The horizontal lines of the stairs and the vertical line of the subject makes an interesting composition I think.

I will always remember my time in Mexico and I always think of the same thing, 'I should have taken more pictures'.