Mexico street photography, capturing the unique and mundane aspects of everyday life in the desert beach town of La Paz, Baja California Sur.
La Paz, Mexico is the largest city in Baja California Sur, it’s located on the Sea of Cortez. It’s about a 2 1/2 hour drive north of Cabo San Lucas. A drive I make each time I visit. This was my fourth time visiting La Paz. My daughter lives here which gives me a great reason to keep returning each year. During my visits here I totally fell in love with this city. It has an abundance of natural beauty like coral reefs, sand dunes, and pristine desert beaches. I also really enjoy its relaxed atmosphere. A great thing about this city is that it’s not very popular with tourists, so it’s never crowded with visitors but it also has a lot to do and see for visitors. I enjoy coming here much more than Cabo San Lucas or San Jose Del Cabo.
Since I bought my Leica M262 several months ago, I’ve been jonesing to use it to capture some street photography in La Paz. I find Mexico street photography to be one of my favorite genres of photography. I think that is because of my familiarity with Mexico and my semi-romantic view of the country. I’m aware that life isn’t always romantic in Mexico for the millions of people that live there, I don’t romanticize that aspect of the country. It’s the tight family structures and proud heritage and traditions they have. Also, I notice that conformity is strongly encouraged in some aspects and extremely discouraged in other aspects. In ways that are very different from the United States.
My Approach To Street Photography
Most street photography I have looked at seems to either focus on unique random situations or on the aesthetics of the scene such as the colors, shadows, and contrasts. I generally find both of these approaches to be lacking, I long to go deeper than aesthetics or a chance moment. I want intimacy with the area. That’s how I attempt to approach my street photography. I like to photograph scenes that have a sense of permanence. Scenes that local people experience every day which may or may not be unique to the viewer. Scenes that reveal something deeper about the people there. Photographs that make it feel as familiar as home.
Great pictures! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you very much, Aunt Lynn! 🙂
Love the pics! I was just there for the 1st time and I can’t wait to go back. Been to the Cabos way too many times, La Paz is much more. Can’t even describe it. Thanks for sharing
Thank you Monica! Yes, I totally agree, La Paz is so much more interesting than Cabo. I really like the mountains and beaches of Cabo but the city is far less interesting. La Paz has beaches and mountains too and is rich in culture, nature, authentic restaurants, and much more. They have a few amazing art and anthropology museums there as well.