on the recent trip to jamaica, after the shoots i had a little bit of time to myself. i wasn’t sure what i was going to do if i wasn’t making pictures… i could tour a rum factory, jump off a cliff (really), climb up a waterfall, go swim in the ocean. instead, i decided to go out and meet people in their community and shoot more. i remember during the drive from the airport mobay to negril, heading down winding dirt roads through little villages, seeing well-dressed school children standing in the afternoon sun outside of colorful small homes. a hiring commercial tour operator wasn’t my thing, and i decided to instead take a taxi into town to see what the morning had to offer. i called a cab and into town. on the way, the driver picked up as many people as the car would fit. racing down unpaved roads with the windows down and some folks singing along to the reggae music on the radio; i loved listening to the passengers conversations and picking up bits of their patois language. i got to my destination where i planned to meet up with a friend and we walked around. i saw residential neighborhoods, wild goats, old lada cars, and lush hilly terrain. i saw so many old motorcycle taxis, some riding three up, and i wanted to go for a ride. while the movie rockers takes place in kingston, the culture displayed in the movie isn’t much different than what i saw during my visit. my friend and i went to lunch at a small local bar and i tried some sorrel juice which was sweet with a bit of spice, maybe ginger. one of the most memorable times was meeting a family and photographing a new mother and her three week old daughter. the word in jamaican patois for child is pickney/pikni. the close-knit people in their community that i met were so nice. today i sent some 8×10 prints to the people i was introduced to and photographed. for these photos i used a 24-70mm lens and available light.
