Markets, especially produce markets, are excellent venues to witness locals engaged in the time-worn activity of shopping for meal ingredients. I love the variety of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried spices and grains, cooking utensils and pots on display. They make colorful, sometimes almost abstract photographic subjects in and of themselves. With the addition of active sellers and buyers, documentary-level market drama is possible. Not recordable via still photography, the sounds and smells of markets can add to the overall experience, often to an intense if not overwhelming level. I avoid meat markets like the plague: with the flies, odors, poor hygiene, and vivisectioned animal bits and bobs, they are reminiscent of mediaeval abattoirs and appear to be exactly the place where plague would take refuge. Contrarily, fish markets, however smelly, can be a delight to photograph with arrays of colorfully arranged fish glistening in the light. Still, produce markets remain my favorite.
Village markets are often outdoors or under a large roofed, but open sided pavilions. City markets will typically be in buildings with stalls, skylights, and open windows for ventilation. Regardless of the venue, the light contrast and concomitant dynamic range will be extreme. Shoot on ISO priority and set a high enough shutter speed to avoid blurring. Then just adjust your aperture to moderate the depth of field for your composed scene. I also typically shoot burst mode because there is so much action going on that timing shots guarantees missing shots. I don’t bother with bracketing because you will be guaranteed to have at least one blown-out, blurry image in your bracket series. I typically have a long, moderately fast lens on one camera as well as a wide-to-normal zoom on the other.
In addition to buyers and sellers, the market is a great place to sit back and watch (and photograph) people coming and going. Sometimes just finding a quiet, unobtrusive corner can lead to some wonderful photographic explorations. Looking for an expressive backdrop for people to walk in front of can be photographically rewarding as well. Witness: exhibit A.
The market in Dibrugrah, Assam, India is a large, sprawling affair encompassing a couple of open air buildings as well as shops fronting several surrounding alleys. The produce section of it was a noisy building crowded with vendors’ booths, crisscrossed with hustling suppliers carrying large boxes and burdens on their heads or shoulders navigating the narrow paths between stalls without bowling over the copious meandering buyers (and occasional photographer). The burgeoning, frenetic atmosphere made it difficult to compose, much less remain composed. After making a circuit and taking very few images I departed and began wandering the alleyways, eventually meeting up with our intrepid tour leader, Nathan Horton. The alleys provided some interesting photo ops and were much more pleasant to stroll than the actual market and we stopped to photograph a shuttered stall painted with the words “Refoo Centre” in striking colors. Lovely, filtered light streamed from our left. Nathan gestured down the alleyway to a colorfully clothed woman who was approaching us. In Assamese, our local guide asked the woman if she would consent to be photographed, which she did. We positioned her in front of the closed shop, head looking toward the light, beautifully illuminating both her expressive face and her brightly hued sari. I took many more shots that morning but this one made the whole outing a success.
Words / Image Jeff Clay