The Trophy Shot and the Personally Expressive Image

This place is a popular tourist attraction, especially for photographers. Who can resist the reflections made in the thin layer of water on the floor and the light from the sky entering through an oculus in the ceiling? I suspect hundreds, if not thousands, of photographers have uploaded their images of the Portuguese cistern to the internet. So how could I expect to make an image that would be different and distinctively mine?

Read More

Olive Tree, Chefchauoen, Morocco

I continue to comb through my archives during the Covid pandemic. This is my latest find.

There is something about old, gnarled trees that resonates with me. They cannot run away from hardship and adversity to seek a better place to live. They must face whatever challenges life presents and adapt as best they can. Yet they always maintain their dignity.

Telouet – Kasbah of the Glaouis

“The Kasbah of the Glaouis is not old, yet it is one of the most important sights of yesterday’s Morocco. The story began during the hard winter of 1893, when Sultan Moulay Hassan was stranded here. He, and his army of 3,000 was well taken care of by the two brothers Glaoui, Madani and T’Hami. In return of their services, they were given political power of Morocco south of High Atlas Mountains. In the years that followed the Glaoui brothers strengthened their position, and when the French came some 20 years later, they started a cooperation with them as well. By the end of the French colonial period, the Glaouis were almost as strong in power as the sultan himself.”
— looklex.com

 After Morocco's independence in 1956, the Glaoui family was evicted and the kasbah was left to ruin. These photographs are of the opulent interior rooms, slowly decaying.