PORTFOLIO
BRENT BLACK
A train winds its way through Ecuador, beginning at sea level in Guayaquil. It used to go to Quito, but due to earthquakes and landslides, the train now travels to the small town of Alausi. During his last visit there, Brent Black said he was locked out of his hotel because everyone was at the Miss Alausi pageant.
Colorful tales from Ecuador
Photographer and art director Brent Black has traveled to Ecuador dozens of times for more than a decade. Once he was photographing elections, and ballot counters would call out the names of vote getters, acknowledging Black's presence by throwing an occasional "Gringo!" into the mix. "At a certain point, they were calling out 'Gringo' so many times, if I'd stayed, I might have been mayor," he said.On one of his recent visits, Black was stopped on a street by a youth of about 20, who told him he'd been watching him take pictures for the last dozen years and thanked him for making him conscious of a wider world. "Then he finally got around to asking, 'Why do you come here?' "
Folk dancers are dressed for a town festival in Alausi.
The Quito woman above was reluctant to have her picture taken until Black purchased some apple juice and gave it to her son.
A government guard in Quito was trying his best to maintain his composure, causing Black to wait 10 to 15 minutes for him to peek at the shutter-crazy gringo in front of him.
At a church in Montecristi, the sky was drab but the gate added interest to the composition of the photo below. A human face made it even better.
This is the top banana in a Manta market. Black said, "Mostly they were playing cards, hanging out waiting for people to come by. If someone did come in, they'd activate for a few seconds, then go back to what they were doing."
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