First Sights and Scents
One of the first things I noticed upon arriving at the market was the enticing smell of smoke from a barbecue grill. It immediately drew me to a vendor grilling chicken. I wanted to capture the swirling smoke, so I chose a low angle to allow sunlight to diffract through the clouds. Using a small aperture blurred the background into oblivion, keeping the viewer’s attention focused on the charring pieces of chicken and the wisps of smoke rising from the charcoal.
Inside Market Buildings
Moving inside, I wandered the aisles lined with booths displaying their wares. I was struck by the vibrant colors and the repeating rows of goods. By getting closer and adjusting the aperture, I could control the depth of field, deciding what remained in sharp focus and what guided the viewer’s attention.
Market Dog
As I rounded the corner at the end of one building, I encountered a calm dog quietly watching customers pass by. I knelt down to shoot from the dog’s eye level and snapped a few frames. I’m not sure what caught its attention, but the moment it turned fully toward me produced what feels like the strongest portrait of the dog.
Fellow Photographers
Heading back outside, I spotted a couple of students taking photos and decided to capture one of them. I like how the afternoon sun cast long, angled shadows behind the subjects. In hindsight, I wish I had shot vertically to better apply the rule of thirds.
Lighting and Shadows
I began seeking out interesting shadows cast by the bright sun and noticed a clever juxtaposition: the shadow of a fork looking like it was coming from a shovel.
Nearby, I observed the clean lines of some pipe racks and their crisp shadows. While experimenting with compositions, a man stepped out of the shop, creating a perfectly framed moment as he looked directly into the camera. The multiple layers of shadows and framing draw the eye straight to him, turning the scene into an informal portrait.
Perspective
I then spotted a toy fire truck for sale on the ground. I moved around it to practice different perspectives: normal, bird’s-eye, and worm’s-eye views. The bird’s-eye shot—looking down the ladder into the focused cab—uses leading lines and converging perspective to pull the viewer toward the truck’s interior.
The parking lot
With only a little time left before meeting back at the bus, I headed toward the buggy parking area. I immediately noticed a bright scene visible through an open doorway. I took several frames at varying exposures and depths of field. This image employs the rule of thirds, along with framing and layering, to create depth and interest.
Following that “light at the end of the tunnel,” I reached the doorway and was greeted by a tired horse. It took several shutter clicks to motivate him to turn and look my way. I kept the wall in the frame for context and to lead the viewer’s eye toward the horse. Positioning his eye at the intersection of the thirds helped emphasize his curious, straining gaze as he peered toward the source of the noise.
Since it was time to meet at the bus—and I didn’t want to be late—I walked toward the parking area, scanning for last-minute shots. Noticing cracks in the pavement, I paused for a quick point-of-view photo before boarding.
The rest of the group hadn’t arrived yet, so I photographed details around the bus. I liked the abstract composition of a wheel sliced in half by the frame, with just a small corner of recognizable school-bus yellow paint. Nearby, the black and yellow stripes along the side created converging lines; getting close made them appear to stretch into the distance.
As a group of students arrived to board, I incorporated them as clear subjects into the scene.
Featured image
This final image of a kitchen wares seller uses framing and layering to convey her story and her routine every Friday. A large aperture created a shallow depth of field, softening the surroundings and preventing distractions from the main subject as she peers out from behind her goods, watching passing customers. The hanging tag in front of her face is slightly distracting, and a small upward or downward tilt could have better applied the rule of thirds for stronger composition.