This past weekend I had the privilege of traveling to Mexico to photograph Dia De Los Muertos. It was around 5,500 miles (8,850 kilometers) from Manchester to Puebla City, consisting of 12.5 hours flight time and a couple of buses along the way. It was totally worth it and I enjoyed it so much I felt it made sense to share my experience.
My Gear
I pride myself on traveling light, both for my personal belongings and photography gear. To photograph Dia De Los Muertos I took the following gear with me.
- Fujifilm X-T3
- Fujifilm 35mm f2
- Viltrox 23mm f1.4 (full review)
- Fujifilm EF-X8 (Flash)
- 3 NP-W126S batteries
In regards to my lens choices, the Viltrox was going to be my main lens. It’s wide enough to capture candid style shots and get plenty in the frame. It’s also useful when taking full length portraits.
This is because you often need to work in tight spaces due to the number of people in attendance. If I had more space, or wanted to make a tighter portrait, I switched to my 35mm which is around 51mm full frame equivalent on the X-T3.
The Fujifilm flash isn’t the most powerful. But I like it and it certainly can do a job in low light, as you’ll see from the images I share.
I packed all this in my PGYTECH OneGo Rope Strap bag. It’s a very comfortable bag and you can read more in my full review.
Dia De Los Muertos Vlog
Understanding Dia De Los Muertos
For outsiders like me, especially photographers, Dia De Los Muertos is quite the spectacle. However, we must remember, for local people in Mexico it’s an event that is deep in tradition and emotion.
It’s an opportunity for people to remember those who came before us. To pay respect to the dead and offer gratitude and love as they pass on to the next life, whatever that may look like.
It’s also an opportunity for people to process their grief. To think about how losing people impacts them and for them to manage it in a healthy and positive way.
All this to say it’s important tourists don’t jump in without being mindful of the process the people around them are going through. This means not jumping in aggressively to take photographs, being gentle when requesting a street portrait and keeping a respectful distance when people are engaging with the events happening on the day.
The Day Before Dia De Los Muertos
Halloween is very much a thing in Mexico. While it’s a different event to Dia De Los Muertos, it’s slowly blending into being a three day event of a mixture of the two. For example, people were already dressed in their Dia De Los Muertos clothing and out on the streets.
Being Halloween things are more relaxed. The streets were filled with a range of horror-themed characters and children were out getting as much candy as they could.
I spent a couple of hours photographing the crowded streets, turning to my flash to illuminate my frames. The only concern I had is that the illuminator on my X-T3 (which is designed to help the camera get focus before the flash pops off) seldom works, so I had to compose and expose on instinct…I think I did a decent job.
Dia De Los Muertos Day One
After a good night’s sleep in my comfortable and affordable hotel (a travel photographer’s dream) I was up early to explore Puebla. In preparation for the week’s activities, the streets were filled with vibrant, multi coloured decoration. They themselves were truly picturesque.
Not many people were out and about at this point, so I went for a cup of coffee and made a plan of how to manage the day. My plan as always was simple: walk around aimlessly and see what came my way. It’s worked for the longest time thus far.
Later in the day, the streets became flooded with people. The artistic attention people make to the makeup on their face and the clothes on their body is truly remarkable.
I spent most of my time soaking up the atmosphere, which can be quite the distraction when your primary intention is to create photographs. As always, I waited until an hour before sundown to really start image making. This was mainly because I wanted to get some street portraits, and to do this I didn’t want harsh sunlight creating unflattering shadows on my subjects.
There were several street parades throughout the day. From live bands to historical expression, people filled the pathways with the goal of getting a glimpse of the action. This wasn’t ideal from a photographer’s perspective as getting a clean shot was difficult – but I got some.
Dia De Los Muertos Day Two
Day two was slightly more subdued in comparison to the previous days. It was a flatly lit, gray day too, so hardly inspiring to make photographs. However, I remained determined and for one key reason; I was still seeking the shot.
The risk of a travel photographer is they travel thousands of miles, only to be disappointed with the shots they create. This wasn’t quite the case in this instance. I was satisfied with the shots I had, but I just wanted one or two that, for me, was the best representation of the Dia De Los Muertos.
Thankfully the photography Gods cut me a solid. As is often the case, the opportunity came, not from hunting for the frame, but instead waiting for it to come to me.
After spending about half an hour in a similar spot, I noticed two striking subjects. Through their clothing, vibrancy and makeup, they stood out from most other people out that day. It turns out they’re mother and daughter, and they were celebrating together.
In my opinion this sums up the event perfectly. Generations coming together, expressing themselves artistically and remembering those that came before them. I was happy with these street portraits, and the best news is, they were very happy with them too.
Signing Off
The trip to Mexico was totally worth it. Not only from a photography perspective, but from a human standpoint too: experiencing an event so unique should be part of everyone’s bucket list.
I’m pleased with my images and feel even more inspired to create more. What did you think of my final frames?
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