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<p class="gutenify-section-dda8a5b0-bc8a-11ee-ace1-a99347344b76">I just got back from a cruise in the Caribbean, and my brief experiences of life on the islands made me realize what I like to shoot, at least when it comes to people and the social world. I begin with what put me off. You arrive in a port on a big cruise ship that is really a floating resort. You walk down the gangway to the pier, and exit into the street or the area beyond customs. You are assailed by fifteen to twenty taxi drivers offering personal tours, or trips downtown for X dollars. The shops immediately around the pier are aimed at the well-to-do. In many cases, they are the brand names, the multinational corporations that are geared to those with lots of disposable income.  There is a tedious sameness about the glass and chrome establishments, often aimed at women's fashion or women's make-up. Some of your fellow travelers are clearly interested in shopping there, and going to the bars and restaurants meant for the same clientele. Why would anyone travel so far, and spend any time in something they could find at the local mall?</p>
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<p class="gutenify-section-f9a67370-bc8d-11ee-ace1-a99347344b76">What is most objectionable about all this? I think it is the insular character of it, the sameness, the tediousness of consumption, the middle-class self-limitation. The multinationals, through media and commercial power, are homogenizing culture, making every place a location for a Wendy's or a Dolce&amp;Gabbana. The truly local, individual, "mom &amp; pop" retail world is receding. Everyone wants to look like an Instagram "influencer." Etc.</p>
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<p class="gutenify-section-75d665e0-bc98-11ee-9f71-41edda1147b7">Over time on the islands, I also saw a fair amount of poverty, usually in one or two-room shacks with a sheet for a front door, and so forth. I have to admit that grinding poverty and obvious demoralization can be as boring and dissatisfying, aesthetically and in other ways, as upper-middle-class consumerism.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large gutenify-section-ef56ea60-bc8f-11ee-ad4c-f7a3ce72507a"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/L8A3742-683x1024.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9276"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">An old man at the park, who asked for a couple of bucks before I could take his picture.</figcaption></figure>
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<p class="gutenify-section-52a7c2f0-bc91-11ee-bb9e-e599e3ddb8b8">So what do I like to shoot? Some things can be pleasing in some ways, but they are contrived "local color," something prepared for visual consumption by tourists. I may shoot it because my eye sees a composition that works, no matter the subject, as I did for the image below. But that's it. Though the mural draws me in, the cliché wagon wheel and the brightly painted restaurant leave me cold.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large gutenify-section-66afd2f0-bc92-11ee-bb9e-e599e3ddb8b8"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/L8A3373-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9278"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">A colorful shot in an area geared to the tourist</figcaption></figure>
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<p class="gutenify-section-5ba1aa40-bc93-11ee-9aee-4137dc31079f">I realize that I'm searching for "authenticity." The elements in the image below were not carefully arranged, but they appealed to my eye in any case: the color, the shapes, the worn rubber and the painted and rusted metal -- everything works because it is <em>not</em> curated for me, it is not part of an attempt to get me to buy something or to make an impression. It is not arranged like this to "look pretty." It just looks like real life.</p>
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<p class="gutenify-section-9ea8da90-bc91-11ee-bb9e-e599e3ddb8b8">It's the same difference I seek when I photograph people. I want them to get beyond the nervous smile for the camera. If I'm shooting a portrait, I want the subject to be a little bored, or at least beyond any initial self-consciousness. My wife (below) has posed for me many times, sometimes under protest. She was agreeable this time, and I got what I think is a great image, with its juxtaposition of color and leading lines, among other features.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large gutenify-section-e489be20-bc97-11ee-bbf6-0b1fee59320b"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/L8A3421-Edit-1024x721.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9283"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Edith among the ruins</figcaption></figure>
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<p class="gutenify-section-bf1b1210-bc97-11ee-bbf6-0b1fee59320b">I am not saying that people shouldn't smile. But they shouldn't smile <em>for the camera. </em>Joking around can generate a smile that lights up the eyes, as opposed to the smile that only shows in the mouth. Sometimes, someone takes up the challenge of the camera to defy it. John (below) and I talked quite a while before he went back to his stand and gave me this answer to a request for a photo. Ha!</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large gutenify-section-be59f6e0-bc95-11ee-9aee-4137dc31079f"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/L8A3854-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9285"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">I chatted at length with John, but he gave me this for a portrait. Ha!</figcaption></figure>
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<p class="gutenify-section-5bdb30d0-bc93-11ee-9aee-4137dc31079f">I met a fellow by the name of Borden as I wandered around the port town of Castries, St. Lucia. </p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large gutenify-section-d75822c0-bca4-11ee-bb82-417b0218863f"><img src="https://christopherhumphreyphotography.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/L8A3773-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-9294"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Borden at home</figcaption></figure>
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<p class="gutenify-section-5c0ca110-bc93-11ee-9aee-4137dc31079f">Borden had worked on the cruise lines in the past, and he is working now "in the hospitality industry." Since tourism is the main source of income for the people of the islands, he has a job that will meet his needs. He warned me not to continue in his neighborhood, as it was a haunt for thieves and robbers. He himself had a knife, just to frighten away would-be attackers. The area is called "the graveyard," and he says that the police don't go there; they stay in the downtown core. He understood my desire to shoot in the rougher areas, but he said that the robbers would take my camera, my camera bag with all its lenses, and even my shoes. They would use a knife if I demurred. He walked me along the border of "the graveyard" and we chatted. An interesting guy. I told I couldn't pay him (as I was running low on cash), but he said he didn't want money; he was just happy to escort me. We said good-bye and went our separate ways, but not before I got this shot of him. Again, an expressive gesture. This is what people do when they don't know what else to do.</p>
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<p class="gutenify-section-324d2160-bca7-11ee-9b27-a9d1508115ec">So what do I find most appealing in photographing the human environment? I like things that show individuality, but without the horrible self-consciousness of "expressive individualism," which is a way of hiding from others. Here's an example.</p>
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