I spotted these fellows in Speightstown engrossed in their game and walked up to them, asking if I could watch. Dominoes is very popular in Cuba, too, but when I was there I tried to photograph it on the sly, whereas in Barbados I wanted to photograph the players openly and learn something about dominoes through conversation. It is also through something as common and simple as a game when I find it the easiest to slip in my culture-related questions without sounding too interrogative, like a reporter, and take photos. I asked permission, and they weren’t bothered by the camera after I hung out with them for a while.
Several of them taught me how the game is played, passing on various strategies while I chatted with them about fishing rights, hurricanes, ladies, and whatnot. They would slam their dominoes down on the table so hard it made the tiles (“they’re called cards”) jump, but they toned it down a bit for the camera instead of the other way around — I know this because I watched them play from down the street before I introduced myself. I could hear the slamming from that far away!
