Earlier this evening I was at Sicilian Sidewalk Cafe (yes, again — J.A. and I were both there just two nights ago) for a farewell to M.K., and I happened to be sitting beside a few francophones. I’ve been hearing so much French lately, it suddenly occurred to me that I’ve uploaded only a tiny fraction of my photos from Morocco! And by a tiny fraction, I mean out of a library of 1,427 images my photo set in Flickr only held a paltry 34 photos.

Browsing my image library for Morocco (Nov ‘07), I see I shot only the last third or so (maybe even only the last quarter) in RAW format because I didn’t want to use up my SD cards too quickly and be forced to erase shots from the beginning. After processing a few of the photos now, I see how much of a difference RAW format makes to the end result — something I’d dismissed in the fairly recent past because I hadn’t really spotted the difference before — and now it’s persuading me to shoot RAW again. I’ll need to get another external drive quite soon, though, if I shoot RAW full-time (every RAW image file is 10MBs+ each, from my 6MP Pentax K100D).

My biggest complaint before was that the results versus shooting in JPEG weren’t enough of an improvement to warrant the increased processing time, but after reviewing these Morocco pictures edited from RAW files I’m going to have to take that all back. I’ll give some examples later, but for now just take my word for it! I would say the edited images from RAW are crisper and cleaner, but as with anything, Your Mileage May Vary.

See the photo above in a larger size: View On Black

A few more processed photos below. Click on any to view them in Flickr with tags, descriptions, etc.

more…

Volubilis, Morocco
November 2007

View On Black

I’m adding to the Morocco set, which can be browsed using the Pictobrowser:

It is bone-chilling COLD in Toronto right now, so I thought I’d post a photo from a warmer time — November 16. Fez is known for ceramics so my guide, Hassan, took me by petit taxi to a ceramics shop outside of the ancient quarters to give me a firsthand look at the processes. The view from this shop was spectacular, as you can see. It was well outside of the medina walls.

View Large On Black

The light was unusual that afternoon, especially around sunset. View larger.

When I was a kid, I read a lot. (All three of us did.) It was because I couldn’t go anywhere — my parents didn’t have the money to travel, so reading was the closest I got to travel. But I always felt that reading wasn’t a substitute for the firsthand experience.

I still feel that to be true. Even photographs are no substitute, but if they encourage people to travel, I’m pleased to share them.

You may recall on Day 3 in Morocco I mentioned some Moroccan delicacies such as sheep’s brains being cooked up in the food markets — fresh! — right before your very eyes. Well, here are the visuals for any interested parties with a bit of a cast-iron stomach:

Marrakech: I wandered around some food stalls in Djemaa el-Fna, trying to decide on what to eat. I gave the brains a miss. Want a closer look?

Want a closer look?

Want a closer look?

I found a little space between some Moroccan ladies for a clear shot of what could have been dinner, but immediately my reaction was, ‘um, I think I’ll pass…’

The hardest-working Moroccan has got to be the donkey, it’s always overloaded.

If you’re wondering where the Morocco photos are, I’ve been trying to rejig my entire photo library because I shot mostly in RAW format and my hard drive is nearly full. So I’m transferring my Iceland photos over to an external drive and moving folders here and there. What a job.

But I have to stop now because I’m going to a… drum roll… Moroccan restaurant for dinner! (No pigeon pie on the menu, I see. They use chicken! I’ll have to tell you about my pigeon pie experience later.)

Yesterday I walked into the office and blurted out the words, “It’s hard to believe only a week ago I was trying to avoid getting stepped on by donkeys.” I think those words will be following me around for a while; shortly after I said it someone peeked around the corner and brayed.

The most common form of transportation in Morocco is probably the moped/scooter/motorbike, which also gets overloaded but at least they don’t leave poop for pedestrians.

The Morocco photo album thus far: as thumbnails, or as a slideshow.

sugar ‘n’ spice and everything nice

Djemaa el-Fna, Marrakech, Day 2

Curiosity got the better of me at what looked like a dessert stand, so I ordered up something random off the menu. I thought it had chocolate in it, but it turned out to be a very spicy cake with cinnamon and cloves and — ?? — which I washed down with a hot spicy drink.

It was tasty, but was I ever spiced up! I had to eat it slowly….

the spice cake mountain

The vendors carve out servings from the mountain with a scoop, the same way you would with ice cream.

spice drink vat

I was so curious to know what was inside this vat. At first I thought it was hot water for the ubiquitous Moroccan mint tea, but it turned out to be a hot and spicy drink to accompany the spice cake on the menu.

Marrakech

I’m amazed this photo turned out as well as it did, considering the light sources. View larger. It was the only portrait I paid for in Morocco (he stuck out his hand after I took the photo), which is a feat in of itself, so I’m happy that at least it worked out.

I’m still downloading photos off the 5 (2GB) cards, so I thought I’d upload a videoclip to YouTube in the meantime.

I shot these two clips (edited into one) in a terrace cafe overlooking Djemâa el-Fna, The Big Square, in Marrakech on November 12.

One of my favourite things about Morocco was hearing the call to prayer five times a day. Whenever the call was made, I stopped to listen and watch people stream toward the nearest mosque. Even (or especially?) for a non-Muslim, it’s quite a powerful event to witness.

I have even less time than last night to write this, so I’ll try to summarise…

TODAY WAS A BLUR! Literally!

I met Hassan as arranged at 10:00 just around the corner from my hotel, and his presence was invaluable to me for the entire day. In fact, he was with me until after 6:00pm, where we parted ways again by my hotel. I know with absolute certainty that the day would have been interminably frustrating without him. To give you an idea of the labyrinth that is Fez’s medina, there are around 8,000 derbs (dead-end alleys) and 10,000 streets. That’s in an area about 1.5 times the size of Stanley Park in Vancouver. (That is a WILD guess, however, I will check on this later.)

I’m meeting Hassan again at 9:00 tomorrow morning and we will continue our tour for another three hours before I leave for the airport to fly to Barcelona. He’s an official guide with a badge from the tourist office, and I would wholeheartedly recommend using an official tourist guide over an unofficial one, for a number of reasons I’ll explain when I’m not on a meter.

Let me say one thing first: what is a girl who HATES SHOPPING doing in the souks of Fez, anyway? One major impression I have about Morocco is the country is full of skilled artists, and I cannot deny the temptation I have to buy everything in sight because there is a dizzying abundance of beautiful handcrafts here. I would love to buy a big house and decorate it entirely with Moroccan textiles, ceramics, and woodwork — the colors, textures, and attention to detail here is something that anyone can appreciate. The part that I knew that I would have some difficulty with is the process that is the business transaction in Morocco, because every price is negotiable. However, unless you are the King of Morocco, there is simply no way around the haggling.

In short, the entire day was spent alternating between haggling and viewing culturally important sites around the medina. For someone like me, this is perfect because I don’t have the haggling gene that runs through my Filipino blood!

Anyway, I wouldn’t say I made out like a bandit, pricewise, but I decided that I would only buy things I really wanted at a price I could live with, and I did just that… of course, photos forthcoming!

Some highlights of today:

- visiting a couple of ancient medersas
- panoramic views from the mountain-top tombs
- watching tannery operations
- seeing how local ceramics are made
- seeing how carpets and clothing are made
- witnessing praying en masse at the biggest mosques in Fez
- etc., etc.

I also had a wonderful lunch in a restaurant that was so delicious and filling it ended up being breakfast, lunch, AND dinner. You can’t go wrong with that!