Children are very good at expressing emotion

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

On my last visit to Jacmel, while wandering aimlessly I saw a little girl on the balcony of an elegant gingerbread townhouse. I try to shoot candidly as much as possible when I am on the streets. However, when I asked her if I could take a portrait, she went back inside and came back out with her mother—a very nice woman who agreed that I photograph her daughter. It's important to get the children you are photographing as comfortable as possible, and striking a conversation helps them to relax and even smile, which I wanted for her portrait. 

The other Jacmel - Gouter Aux Voyages

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

"Looks like everything is beautiful in Jacmel, on a Sunday morning, the sound of Chinese motorcycle wound closed, breaking the sudden intensity of customary agitation days of bésé levé, faithful indicators of small hassle and small joys of daily life" Jean Euphele Milcé - Complete article can be read here

Seeing familiar places with new eyes

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

The assignment in Marigot was done a day early, the client was happy with the pictures I emailed and there was nothing scheduled for the next day. Late the following afternoon, I ended up in Jacmel where I have gone numerous times to photograph Carnaval. With 2 hours of daylight left, I had to get rid of my creative block. I needed to look at Jacmel differently, I needed to be like a photographer on his first visit. We sometimes go to places that have been photographed before, and it's important to view what has already been done. So I began to look at my surroundings with fresh eyes,  and noticed stuff that I failed to see in previous visits. There is so much beauty in the ordinary, everyday sights that we overlook - the time of the day we go out to shoot is as important, I have walked up and down the road where I made the photograph above and never noticed the beauty in the deteriorating old house, the mood late afternoon can produce.

Blue Afternoon

photo © patrice dougé All rights reserved

Certain assignments once completed are merely opportunities,almost pre arranged,to capture through personal work moments of conscience @Haiti with the eye of the heart, moments that just can’t be re experienced.