Haitian Seaside

There’s something special about beaches.  Some combination of sand, sky and water in the bright light of the sun.  Maybe it’s some deeply rooted subconcious trace of good childhood memories on vacation, I don’t know.  Anyways, a whole bunch of my favourite shots are from the seaside, and I hope to share some of them on this site.

I took this shot in Haiti last year.  We were on Ile de la Gonave, a small (600 kmsq) island about half an hour’s flight from the capital Port-au-Prince.  Allen (a colleague) and I were due to fly back to the mainland on the little MAF six-seater in about an hour’s time, but the water was so inviting we asked the driver to take us down to the beach to have a quick swim.  It was a wonderful day- in fact, most of our days on the island were bright blue skies, white tropical puffs of cloud, and gentle sea breezes.  The colours were really something else out there.  I have only good memories of the place.

These young guys were boisterous and fun.  Not too many white folks make it out to Gonave- a poor corner of the Western hemisphere’s poorest nation- and Allen and I were oddities, so we got lots of stares and attention.  We swum around for a bit, and then I decided the colours were so great I needed to take some photos.  The kids were only too happy to line up and have some shots taken, and this resulted.  I like it.  It’s a happy shot, lots of fun and energy and saturated colour that reminds that even in the poorest of places, the human spirit can find joy.

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