Eric B Photography

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Bogota

Bogota is a vibrant, passionate city with so many opportunities to experience culture, art, history and a little madness. When I first arrived, I made the mistake of going to the most crowded part, Simon Bolivar Plaza. I had not seen so many people outside of a concert in a long time until then. I was a little overwhelmed. It is large city with about 8 million in the centre and 12 million in the greater metropolitan area.

By the second day, I explored other areas and was more comfortable getting my camera out in a stealthy manner.
While it is generally safe in this area, There is a saying of "No dar Papaya". It figuratively means do not flash fancy things in public, do not let your guard down and don't make yourself a target. I have a vest that hides my camera until I am ready to use it. When I am ready, I check the area, see who is watching and if I am comfortable, take the camera out and get the shot before hiding it again. This is good advice for many places in the world where there are a lot of tourists and crowds.
Bogota has many different neighbourhoods from very Low socioeconomic places to ultra wealthy and lots inbetween. I decided to get a place in the gritty, historic area of La Candelaria for its colonial architecture, museums, art galleries and abundance of great chances for street photography. Within moments, you can get pictures of lovers walking hand in hand to dogs fighting and then soldiers stationed on the corners. The variety is incredible! Bogota is the capital of Colombia so when protests happen, they happen here. Soldiers can be seen every day and there is a heavy police presence. You'll see some in my upcoming posts.

Remember to click photos to get a closer look at them.

A view of my neighbourhood, my place has the green door.

I am no longer in Bogota. I am visiting a dear old friend from the ships in his nice northern suburb of Cajica. He and I were roommates in 1993 and have not seen each other since. I still have more posts of Bogota to put up. I am playing catch up.

Eric B Photography

Eric "at" ericbphotography.com.au

+61 467 937 391

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