20-SEP-2009
Tour group, Montreal, Canada, 2009
Old Montreal, the city’s historic district, continually echoes to the tread of tour groups. I saw this group coming from some distance away, and quickly found an appropriate background – an old building now housing a photographic company. I liked the incongruity offered by the large incongruous photo posters on the building’s façade. As the people approached, I noticed that their guide was lecturing them as they walked. I made this image from just across the street, using a 135mm telephoto lens. I put my camera on burst shooting, and kept firing as they passed me. In this shot, the guide leads the way with two outstretched fingers. Meanwhile a large hand on the building wall incongruously points its own finger at the tour guide’s head. The people follow like sheep, leaving us to wonder if and how they will hear the story the guide is telling here.
26-JUL-2009
Charting a course, Newburyport, Massachusetts, 2009
Tourists spend a lot of time trying to figure out where they are, and where they might want to go. I found this woman seated in a hallway of a shopping plaza, with her purchase in her lap and her map in her hands. I waited until she raised the map towards her face, which abstracted her and asks the viewer to wonder how she may be reacting to what she is learning. I frame her with abstracted people on either side. The woman at left wriggles a toe upwards in her sandal – she may be anxious to get going. The man at right, however, seems completely relaxed.
24-JUN-2009
Checking out, Port Angeles, Washington, 2009
We’ve all been there – overwhelmed by our stuff. I caught photographer and friend Tim May deftly nudging his Baggalini (an amazing carry-on bag) into action while maneuvering at least six other bags, parcels, cases and a camera into position at check out time. Such is the lot of all those who dare to shop as they travel.
25-JUN-2009
Mime hug, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, 2009
This mime entertains departing and arriving ferry passengers, hugging them as they pose for pictures. I photographed this ritual of tourism from a distance and off to one side, capturing the pleasure of a child and the artistry of the mime. The photo also makes us wonder how he knows when a picture is being taken of him? His glasses appear to be utterly opaque.
24-JUN-2009
Passing time, Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry, 2009
Tourists spend a lot of time in transit from one place to another. Such is the case here, on the hour and a half ferry ride between the US and Canada. I found a woman listening to her iPod with great concentration, shutting everything else in the world out except her music. Meanwhile, the folks just behind her have even shut themselves out – they appear to be sound asleep. I put them in soft focus, to intensify their dreamy state.
24-JUN-2009
Photographer at sea, Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry, 2009
Several hours after I had made my previous image of Tim May’s hectic checkout (
http://www.pbase.com/pnd1/image/114573965 ), I photographed him on the fantail of a ferryboat bound for Canada. He seems to be master of all he surveys here. The wake of the ship streams past him, pointing to the stormy State of Washington in the background. The flag provides a layer of primary color as it whips over his head. It is a touristic image that we can feel – the cold, wet wind cuts through us as well -- as the wideangle frame adds a touch of frigid grandeur to the scene. (And he doesn’t even use the hood on his jacket!)
18-MAR-2009
Corner of Wall and Broad Streets, New York City, New York, 2009
Standing on the steps of Federal Hall, I was able to use my high vantage point to stress the separation between a tourist who seems to bent on figuring out where he wants to go next, and the other bemused tourists who seem to be studying him from a safe distance. By separating themselves from him, the group at right might be implying that they might know something that he doesn’t.
20-MAR-2009
Shipboard, New York Harbor, New York City, New York, 2009
This group of tourists is randomly connected by where they happen to be standing as they sail to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The man at right watches me make this picture, the woman next to him tries to finish a snack, the man behind her stares stonily off into the distance, the fellow wearing glasses seems to be checking out his digital photographs, and the man at far left has apparently forgotten that he has a drink to finish. They are bonded by the space and journey they share, yet each of them passes the time in their own way.
05-NOV-2008
Jupiter, Bardo Museum, Tunis, Tunisia, 2008
The Bardo is the most important museum in Tunis, offering one of the finest collections of Roman art in the world. One of its most impessive exhibits is a giant head of Jupiter, which once stood in the main temple at Dougga. I waited for a tour group to throng below its niche, and photographed it from across the room just as one of its members raised her camera in homage to Jupiter. They stand in awe of its size and its age – it dates from 161 AD, the year Marcus Aurelius became emperor of Rome. By filing this image with abstracted tourists, I contrast the ancient and modern worlds. Jupiter was one of Rome’s most important gods, and he still causes conversations to cease and cameras to rise.
13-NOV-2008
Italian “Berbers” on camelback, Douze, Tunisia, 2008
Throngs of tourists spend a half-hour of their lives in the Sahara Desert at Douze, riding camels. Some exercise the option of wearing Berber costumes as they plod over the sand dunes. This group happens to be from Italy. I photographed them coming over a rise, looking very much like a scene from a 1930s movie. For the moment anyway, these tourists are living a fantasy, and much of tourism is designed to do just that.
13-NOV-2008
Sunset on the Sahara, Douze, Tunisia, 2008
I abstract these camel-riding tourists as they head off into a Sahara sunset by backlighting them. In doing so, the scene becomes timeless, something out of a dream. A routine camel ride for tourists becomes, for the moment anyway, an scene of ancient beauty.
07-NOV-2008
Backache, Sousse, Tunisia, 2008
I traveled in Tunisia with my friend Tim May, a fellow pbase photographer. I found Tim resting his sore back outside of a tourist mall in Sousse. His discomfort is evident – for once his camera is at rest. I used a 24mm wideangle lens and aimed the camera at Tim, yet the security guard at right prominently remains within the wide frame as well. I don’t think he realizes that my picture is as much about him and it is about Tim, although he seems cautiously aware of my camera. He is upright, while Tim is not. He looks at me, while Tim does not. The resulting tensions enhance the emotional content of the image. Aches and pains are often part of the touristic experience. Such is the case here.