El Carmen - Behind the Scenes (day 2)

In this video Andy and I head to El Carmen to do our version of Help-Portrait.  The concept behind Help-Portrait is take a picture of someone less fortunate and hand deliver their photo.  After a delicious lunch at Cata's finca located about 30 minutes outside of El Carmen,  Andy and I jumped on a local bus and ventured to El Carmen not knowing what to expect.  We arrived in El Carmen with the Backpacker's Studio strapped to our back, a 25 lbs Vagabond, a 1600 Alien Bees flash and a small Canon printer.

more after the break...



El Carmen is well known for it's handmade tile factories and the we felt like we were stepping back in time.  Workers carry supplies with horses and donkeys, the smell of fresh empandas fill the dusty air and the sound of Vallanato music playing everywhere.  Andy and I heard that there was street lined from head to toe in tile;  we were in search of the famous street where tile has been sold for the past hundred years.   Once we found the street lined with intricate tile designs we were in search of locals that would like a printed portrait.  At first we were a little disappointed because we seemed to have a problem finding someone to say yes to having their picture taken and we were beginning to get a little tired of toting around a bunch of gear (particularily the Vagabond and Alien Bees).  Note: it is very rare for people in small Colombian pueblos to have their picture taken;  some people we talked to had never had their picture taken. Also note that we are gringos and don't speak their language.  After about 5 minutes of asking different people we found two young girls that reluctantly said "yes."  

Once the lightstand was popped up and the printer pulled out, people on the streets began to take notice.  In a matter of minutes there was a mob of Colombians surrounding us ready to have their portrait taken.  Andy and I decided to hire a young boy to help us carry our gear because it was mad house in a matter of minutes.  Several other locals volunteered to hold the softbox and one lady even helped with finding models!  The response was overwhelming and before we knew it, three hours had passed.  Andy got stuck with the job of printing because I haven't brought myself up to speed on how to use the damn thing.  But,  he did manage to pull off a few photos at the beginning of the shoot.  Several occasions Andy yelled out over the 50 or so people swarming over us, "Stop taking pictures because I can't print that fast and everyone is demanding a picture.  We are also going to run out of ink soon!"  Andy and I were so touched to make so many people smile that day.  It made dragging the Vagabond and printer around worth while. Imagine 50 people all around you...kids, moms, workers, grandfathers and babies all gleaming and cheering after each photograph was taken.  When the printer began to run out of ink, Andy told one the little kid that picture would be grainy and green. The little kid didn't care,  he was just so happy to have a picture of himself.  I have never seen someone so happy.

Notes about the video:   this is definitely a behind the scenes approach.  We shot a bunch of random video and pictures on day 2.  It was hard to come up with transitions and we really weren't focused on the video.  The trip to El Carmen was about taking pictures of other people;  it was their day, not ours.  We happened to capture a few funny moments and just sort of pieced this one together.  It is meant to inspire you to get out and shoot.  Taking photos is not always about building a portfolio, sometimes it is about giving and enjoying making a difference.  Also,  we included a slideshow of random pictures from our adventures of the past couple of weeks.