I consider it a privilege to travel. To see and photograph a people and a land so different from my own. To make an image of something “normal” in that country… but when viewed back home it represents something completely foreign, bizarre.
I consider it doubly an honor to visit one of these places twice. Compound that with the sentence “in less than a year” and I almost don’t know how to explain it.
These cameras and I have walked in the shadow of this tower twice.
The King Hassan II Mosque, one of the largest in the world outside Saudi Arabia. (And yes, I tilted that photograph. On purpose.)
Morocco is securely within my Top 10 favorite countries I’ve ever visited. Probably within my Top 5, maybe. That’s up there with Israel, Greece and Cuba.
Beautiful spot for a car advertisement, I’d say.
Along the same lines as visiting the Taj Mahal a few days ago, we have to visit a few of these absurdly cool structures while we’re around.
.
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If I haven’t already mentioned, we’re in Casablanca today. Well… we were.
And I know this looks like it says a strangely misspelled “Miami Plague” but it is really saying “Miami Beach.” The locals here are a little obsessed with the American things.
The gate to the left has little M’s on it. Yes, that is for McDonald’s. There’s a T.G.I.Friday’s across the street.
There are additionally hotels and neighborhoods named after states and cities. “California” is a affluent neighborhood out toward the airport.
Not only these names, but most of the young people here are familiar with the international names in film and music.
I wonder what it would be like to be Liv Tyler and happen upon your face 10ft tall on the side of a building.
Still, we are in North Africa. The twin tower in which this hotel is situated is reported to be owned by the Gaddafi family. At least that’s what our fixer told me.
This will be a whirlwind tour of Morocco. Last time I was here for nine days. This time, it will be compressed to four.
Does anyone look tired? Of course not!
These colors are a little bizarre at times. Talk to the camera and the lens, I’m pulling them down from the card and posting them.
Except for the black and whites… those are film response curves in Lightroom3.
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Definitely not stripped grayscale, I assure you. Usually my B&W is done with Ilford HP5 preset. Its a cheap film, but I always loved the result in the lab and I love it now.
But… maybe… it could just be the sky is that awesome Mediterranean blue? Because, in Rabat… looks to be the sea is that blue!
Yes, Rabat was next.
A visit to a tomb…
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…and a visit to the medina.
See? There’s that blue again. Though there is a little haze here…
Lunch…
…and moving on to Meknes.
Almost seems out of place…
This doesn’t…
…nor this.
Because, tomorrow we will be in one of my favorite CITIES in the world, Fes.
Fes is almost unlike anywhere else I’ve ever been. Darjeeling was like a dream. Fes is like a movie. It doesn’t seem real. It seems like it should be at Disneyworld. But its real and strikingly authentic.
For that, stay tuned…
-Noah D.
