I was sufficiently intrigued by the country on my first visit in 2018 to revisit it again in May 2023 (prior to the earthquake south of Marrakech in September). This tour was run by Daragh Muldowney of Explore Light (www.explorelight.com). Starting in Casablanca we drove north to Rabat and Chefchaouen. Then on to Fes and Merzouga to shoot the Erg Chebbi dunes, with various stops along the way. The tour ended in Marrakech.
The first collection is the towns and people (Daragh had set up a couple of model shoots, but we also stumbled into another) with the dune shots in the second collection below. A very enjoyable and photographically productive trip.
As you may see from the other collections, I find the desert scenery compelling. There is a serenity to be found in few other places. To get to Merzouga we had driven through rain and strong winds, and while the rain had stopped we arrived in continuing strong winds and blowing sand. We had two evening and two morning shoots, including an evening with a camel driver and three of his camels. As the sun changes position the highlights and shadows are constantly creating new compositions. There is certainly drama in the high contrast scenes but my preference is for the softer, more sensual images.
