Wandering the vast Paloquemao Farmers’ Market, that covers 10 city blocks in Colombia’s capital city: Bogotá

One of my favorite days in Bogotá, Colombia, was wandering through the Plaza de Mercado de Paloquemao, founded in 1946. Paloquemao Market is Bogotá’s largest farmers’ markets for fruits, vegetables, flowers, meat, fish, dairy, and more.  Jorge, our friend and taxi driver, was gracious enough to assist me as I captured these images of a typical day at Paloquemao. Jorge was a terrific  guide, especially since he was a former photography teacher.  How fortuitous! Jorge held my speedlight with the incredible Rogue Flashbender  snoot (at left) I fashioned to create the selective lighting you see in many of these images. As my friend, Dave Black, says, “If you want something to look interesting, only light part of it!”

I enjoyed watching the vendors prepare, sell and restock their goods as customers hauled off large loads for their stores and restaurants.  Take a look at the food and people who work there. One of my favorite treats were the fresh cheese roll balls, right out of the oven! We found everything from berries to beans to quail eggs to uchuva (a type of gooseberry..delish!). Next post will be the flowers of Paloquemao.

Ordinary Spot – Extraordinary Shot
SQIBB Technique: Studio Quality Invisible Black Background

… two new techniques for Comm 316 Professional Imaging
Notice what this vegetable stand looked like, below. This is an example of one of the new assignments I gave my Comm 316 Professional Imaging students this semester. I challenged them to find an “Ordinary Spot and take an Extraordinary Shot” in that setting. I also practiced a technique I can SQIBB – “Studio Quality Invisible Black Background.” I coined this acronym to help my students learn and remember this technique we learned from Glyn Dewis at Photoshop World. He taught us you can SQIBB anywhere, inside or out. So this means you can create studio lighting in a Colombian farmers market! You simply underexpose the shot and add a snooted light to selectively light only part of the scene.