A super busy market in downtown: how to photograph

Some photographers detest the markets. Because we think of cliche photos, full of clichés. And also because it is not easy.

I have been a photographer for many years in the markets. This is because my daily life is very much linked to these places. In the markets I find much of the essence of Mexican street life. In fact, the very life of many popular neighborhoods is viscerally linked to the activity of the market, to the point of influencing a lot of its identity. Let's think of places like Tepito but also where I live which has a market that shows up three times a week. And it's right in front of my house. At the market you will find everything. And you can also eat delicious food.

I was there with my wife on Christmas Eve to make some gifts. The streets between Corregidora and Correo Mayor are very popular and super busy.

I approached this popular place in the historic center with the idea of capturing the essence of what I received in being there. Again is the sense of the place to inspire my photography. Photographing in a place that I haven't experienced very much adds adrenaline.

The special day full of families does not take away the consideration of being behind the government building. If you meet police at the entrance then in the streets where I am, especially Correo Mayor the feeling is completely different and I am with a camera. But I photograph. As much as I can.

I'm interested in the faces. The expressions. Gestures. And I like to show the chaos of people and products lying on the ground. When you are in such a busy place you can only take pictures at close range. I'm not hiding. I am a guy who stands there with a camera and photographs the life around him. I would certainly not bring my students here: unless it is someone who is already at a certain level with street photography.

To photograph there is challenging. I have to take still the measures to a place like that, because despite I am used to photograph in busy places like that, any place is different: it changes the energy and the dynamics, it is also a matter of personal mindset. To feel yourself familiar with a place is different from a place where you don’t.

OK, arrived to this point I want to choose my favorite photo made there:

Yes, it's a very chaotic photo, but I think that's exactly why I manage to portray the place where I was well. The photo has points of interest within the image that make it meaningful. I think in the end the photograph is made by the little girl in the foreground.