A photo with the DSLR in the barrio

Canon Rebel T7 or Canon EOS 2000D is one of the best affordable DSLR cameras for beginners: I am not a beginner but I love this camera.

The road has a slight slope. Virtually unnoticeable. I want to take a photo that shows the daily market in the barrio and I want to show the mountain in the background. When I see the girl I decide to shoot. I wait for her to approach. A little more. Here you are. I bring the viewfinder to my eye, frame and shoot.

My Rebel doesn't betray me.

I erased the Canon logo with a black marker. This way it attracts less attention on the street. The camera becomes anonymous. Exactly what I want. I put on a neck strap that is orange with a traditional Mexican pattern. If it seems ridiculous to you I tell you that at least a couple of times I have heard the word Canon behind my ears. And even if whoever did it wasn't someone with bad intentions it is a clear sign that the logos attract attention and offer information. I am a no logo guy: I don't like flashy brands. I do not choose shirts with the visible brand. And I have removed the marks from both my bike and my backpacks. I am leaving the Rebel trademark: I really like that Canon has decided for the American market to name their entry level. The word Rebel defines me.

Real colors and vibrance is just what i obtain from my cameras. Much more vibrant but in a natural way than other camera manufacturers. From a purely operational point of view I am working in shuutter priority. Counting with a 9-point phase-detection AF System along with AI Servo AF that uses a single cross-type point workflow I have the camera ready for street shots. This set-upn helps Canon T7 perform great in most of the cases. I am happy with this fast AF System that achievess to get all the crisp details on the main subject. 

The girl is perfect set within the frame. Her posture, her straight gaze, her hand in her pocket and the other offering dynamism. She fills an imaginary of a girl from the barrio, a subject that interests me as a photographer.

The T7 is a perfectly sized camera with a perfectly balanced weight and size for the work I make. In fact it has become the camera that I carry with me on my explorations in the barrio, while maybe I have to go shopping and have lunch. Gone are my whims on the fact that a reflex is not recommended in a popular neighborhood. I have accustomed people to my presence with the camera and even when I'm in unfamiliar places I don't care now. The mirrorless would be more discreet but using it with a wrist strap would be really inconvenient for the errands to run. The Rebel hangs from the neck and then with a lens like the 24mm is the perfect camera for the barrio. The camera is light and always ready: this is the most important thing.

The photo is deliberately unbalanced to keep that mountain in the background. On the left side we see a man buying with his face hidden in the shadows. Not all photographs need to have the entire frame full of pre-weighting elements. I am currently deliberately focusing on the subject, blurring the rest a lot. I am perfectly aware that it is not something shared by most street photographers, but I just have to go along with what I want to do and propose in my photography.

One of the lightest DSLR cameras in the market is giving me a liable companion everywhere. I can remember the performance offered to me in my 3 days trip to Pachuca this year. The comfortable and robust feel while gripping and the pleasure to frame by looking throug an optical viewfinder make me say that in 2022 it is still possible to work with a reflex camera, despite the market laws and the fashion of being a cool photographer say the opposite. If this camera is perfect choice for beginners in need to learn photography, try to figure out what can be in the hands of an experienced photographer. Do I need to talk about batteries? 600 shots for a completely charged battery is an impossible dream for any mirrorless camera.

When I first came to Mexico I always left my Nikon DSLR (D60) at home. Today I am using a reflex without any hesitation or fear. I feel to have the perfect barrio camera.