Morocco photography: capturing the spirit of the country

Capturing Morocco’s spirit through dramatic night shots and candid market scenes, showcasing vibrant life in Morocco photography.

Capturing the spirit of Morocco (photography)

At nightfall, fishermen sell their fish right outside the port. Morocco has a massive and vital fishing industry that focuses on the production, processing, and exporting of fish in the European market. Morocco is considered the largest fish market in Africa, with the fish production estimated around 1.37 million metric tonnes

Zillions of gulls then raid the area to get some grub. Nicknamed “the City of Seagulls”, Essaouira attracts large population of gulls. The fisherman are known to clean and process their daily catches out in the open, leaving the seagulls to enjoy an easy meal. I took the above shot from a weird angle, way below the platform where the men were standing, scaling the fish. This gives a more dramatic feel to the shot.

A hungry seagull proudly captures its dinner, walking along the edge of a fishing boat in Essaouira Morocco

Capturing a moment in the village souk: A motorcyclist ready to ride, locals conversing, and the sun casting dramatic backlighting, giving a journalistic feel to an ordinary day of trading.

As we visited a village market (a “souk”) I was carrying my camera but it’s hard to take pictures there. There weren’t any tourists in the market place. People sometimes get pretty iffy if you take a picture of them. I took this shot at arms’ length and didn’t show what I was doing.

The backlighting and the man on his motorbike as well as the strange angle give a journalistic turn to that still. You’d almost feel something bad was happening whereas it was a normal day in a normal village with loads of men doing their shopping and selling their wares.

The setting sun creates a background of silhouettes over the Sqala du Port in Essaouira

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Yann Gourvennec

I'm a photographer and watercolourist. I have practiced photography since childhood and digital photography since 1995. I turned it into my main occupation in 2021. I own a photo studio in Paris, France.
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Je suis photographe et aquarelliste. Je pratique la photographie depuis l'enfance et la photographie numérique depuis 1995. J'en ai fait mon activité principale en 2021. Je possède un studio photo dans le 15e arrondissement de Paris

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