Favorite Faces, in Chacala

I think my life in Chacala has changed me in some small ways. Like about really looking at people.

Maybe I have never looked at faces very closely before. I don’t like my face, and possibly that has resulted in me not looking at people’s faces very closely. But using the camera kind of changes things. People’s faces look so different sometimes in the camera. And often I think I can see things in the photo that I hadn’t noticed in real life.Of course, some people are just lovely to look at, camera or no camera.
This little girl, whose parents are Huitchol Indians, an group who come down from the mountains in this part of Mexico to sell their art.

I just fell in love with her face. She Is just so beautiful. I was drawn to her face the minute I saw her. I never expected her father to let me photograph her, but he did. And I was glad I could offer him a fee for the privilege.Lately I am especially drawn to the faces kids and older people. And somehow it’s easier to take satisfying pictures of them. The past couple of weeks I have been trying again and again to take really nice photos of two different adults whose looks I really like. And I haven’t been successful yet.

I don’t know what I am doing wrong. I guess it’s either some people don’t photograph well, or there are some people I don’t photograph well. Or both.Marta, at Tres Mars, one of my favorite restaurants, has a lovely face. I love to see her. Plus she is very affectionate and friendly, and a good hugger. I like that. Marta was asleep when I took this photo. I showed it to her the next day, after I had it printed out. I told her she could tear it up if she wanted to. But she didn’t want to. I think maybe she thought it was funny to see herself sleeping in the hammock.This is Adolfo Diaz, a wonderful saxophone player, who has been playing the last few nights at Majahua. I love his face when he is playing, and I could never get it right. I took maybe 100 photos of him, and never got what I was looking for.

The same with his wife, Gayin, who has voice I really love, and who sings many of my favorite songs. I couldn’t capture the magnetism, or wildness, or something she has when she is singing. I kept trying. And I will probably try again this afternoon.It’s so frustrating. When I finished this post I am going to study my camera handbook. I am thinking that maybe part of my lack of success may be partly due to a lack of technical knowledge. As opposed to not having a good eye or good timing or something.

I had no idea how satisfying taking photos could be. I feel so lucky to have such a nice camera, thanks to my lovely son and his wonderful Dad. But it’s frustrating too. Especially not being able to take a really nice picture of someone I really like.

I have a nice time the last few days dropping off photos to the families of the little kids around town. I don’t have the cash right now to print out my favorite adult photos. Maybe in a few weeks. I am actually glad I couldn’t get them printed when I did the kid’s photos. Because now I realize that photos of adults need to be really flattering, or they don’t like them. And I am just learning how to do that. With only occasional success.

I have gotten pretty good at making photos of rentals look better than they look in real like. I just realized I was doing that a few days ago. So now I am going around and taking more realistic photos of some places. And, of course, some places just plain look good. Like Mirador, Villa Celeste, Mar de Jade, and Majahua