Oaxaca

Took a quick long weekend trip down south to Oaxaca, Mexico with my wife and another couple friends. The plan: drink lots of Mezcal, try Oaxacan cheese (preferably in tacos), eat mole, and soak in the culture walking around the city.

After flying in late and grabbing a great dinner with some drinks, we rested up and started exploring the city in the day time. Our first stop was the rooftop terrace of the Airbnb. All photos taken on a Minolta X700 on Kodak Ultramax.

I always have some odd obsession with "first of the roll" shots. I always feel like it has to be a banger to take full advantage of the film burn on the bottom. I'd say this one worked out quite nicely. Overexposing a substantial amount to get the aperture wide open but luckily C41 film is very forgiving.

This long succulent climbing the Airbnb wall caught my eye as well.

After exploring the terrace for a brief moment, we set out to explore the city.

The colors of all the buildings were very unique and bold. No two buildings had the same overall color schemes or style; everything was individualistic and colorful.

I have a weird affinity towards the typography of cities. I was lucky enough to grab this shot of two men in the process of writing some signage on the side of a building.

The city was such a dream for color film. Pastel tones everywhere and the overcast skies made for soft and even lighting everywhere we went. I also noticed a lot of these hanging, paper-like, installations over busy streets. It gave the illusion of floating color between buildings.

Bit of a boring photo, but a part of me loves the colors and simplistic lines here. I loved the thin, but intricate street lamps all over the city. It took a while to find a good one to photograph until I stumbled across this one next to this deep red windowsill.

Had coffee and breakfast at this rooftop cafe.

Love all the tones here.

Was obsessed with everything about this outdoor sink. Taking inspiration for my future vacation home.

The trip wouldn't be complete without my wife petting street dogs around the city. There weren't as many as I had thought there'd be, but we stumbled across more than a few. The ones we interacted with were all friendly, but it's always important to read their body language to see if they want to be approached.

Ventured to a wine bar with a wall of vinyl for some drinks and board games. Took a risk taking this one at 1/30 wide open but it surprisingly came out sharp enough. I think the contrast of warm and cold tones here turned out nicely.

Taking a trip with friends makes for more interesting foreground subjects as well. I tried my hand at a few "Abbey Road" type photos around the stunning Oaxacan streets. I didn't even put any effort framing these up. Everything is so picturesque, pointing a camera anywhere yields a worthy shot.

On our way to dinner, we stumbled upon what we initially thought was some sort of parade. Upon closer inspection, it looked to be someone's wedding!

Hundreds of people were walking down the street throwing out containers and candy to catch! I had no idea this was a tradition here. Actually, thinking about this more, I think there was another wedding the previous night. We heard similar music and crowds but were too far to properly see.

I loved the energy and colors of everyone parading down the street. I have no idea if everyone was a part of the wedding or if it was customary for strangers to join in. Nevertheless, I was grateful to have stumbled across it!

Few final shots around the city as the clouds rolled in heavy and we got poured on. Quick and tidy trip in and out. Had some delicious mole at dinner with mezcal cocktails. I will say, I gave it a good effort but I don't think I'm quite a mezcal boy. I'll stick to tequila. Overall, Oaxaca is a very photogenic city with lots of culture and good food to discover. Highly recommend! Bring a camera!