"In 2018, I journeyed to Colombia alongside 8 fellow photographers. Previous years took us to India, while this year sees us Staying Home. Our adventures have also led us to Milan, Barcelona, and Istanbul. Colombia stood out because, during my 2011 travels across Central and South America, the warmth and friendliness there were unmatched, making it an ideal spot for street photography."
We started the trip in Medellin, where we got up before dawn to photograph a local fruit and meat market, met the founder of Snog frozen yoghurt who now owns a hole-in-the-wall eatery, and chilled on the rooftop of the hostel where we had city-wide views (and a gym!).
We also visited the "slums" area via cable car. It surrounds the city, up on the hills, and used to be the most dangerous area in the world, but the introduction of the cable car has opened the city up to the slum-dwellers, who previously couldn't travel into town. They now have jobs in the city, and crime is way less than a lot of America. They were even given paint to spruce up their houses, which shows in the colourful photos below.
We wandered around the slums area and discovered it had the loveliest people - they even invited us into their homes, and offered us shelter during a torrential downfall. Ironically the slums of Medellin in Colombia is one of the safest-feeling places I've ever been to, which just goes to show how bad Colombia's rep is, and how much it's changed. We came across epic street dancers, twilight drum lessons in the street, and witnessed the track setup of a world-record-beating MTB race that wound round the streets.
After Medellin, we went to Jardin for a bit of colourful street photography and landscape photography. We stayed in a homestay with hammocks, a puppy and a kitten and views of the jungle. We were a couple of miles from town via a rough dirt track, which gave us the authentic traveller experience when trying to work out how to get back at night! We spent the days going to coffee plantations and playing chess with locals.
After that was Cartagena, which was great for colourful buildings, but very touristy. Then we finished at Isla Grande for a bit of relaxation. When we went to India, we failed to schedule in any rest time, so this time we made sure we took time off from shooting and also added a few days at the end to stay on this tropical island where we spent the days reading in hammocks and swimming in the sea. The island actually turned out to be one of the best places for street photography, because it had no tourists, and the locals lived a very rural life - so many photo ops!
Street photography is all about showing the real side of a country - the people, the daily life, the colour. We explored the backstreets and parts of town tourists don't go to. We ended up in people's houses for a cup of tea or wine, we joined street games of chess, we danced with locals in a tango bar. (The urinals were on the dancefloor - there's a photo of Alex trying to use one while people danced next to him - and while we all watched and took photos...)
Colombia was a brilliant country for street photography - it's so colourful, the landscape is lush, and the people are so welcoming.
Here are some photos of our Colombia street photography trip! The first few are landscapes, followed by street photography of real life, followed by some of us lot, so you can see us in action!
