Woman with sombrilla, Oaxaca, Mexico

After a lengthy absence from posting photos — for reasons that are too common to number — I am endeavoring to return to publishing what I shoot. This image, made in the winter of 2025, is from one of my favorite streetcorners in Oaxaca, a busy intersection packed with bus riders and blessed by lated afternoon western sun.

It may appear that the woman beneath the umbrella is hiding from me. She is not. Woman there commonly shield themselves from the bright, southern sun to protect their skin. Their shelter creates a ready shape for me.

More of my images from Oaxaca.

My Oaxaca — The Man in the Street

When I photograph on the street, which I do often, I wonder if the images I make represent what is really there of if they result from something for which I am looking. In other words, do I find only what I seek?

In my pictures, I see tension and stress and pressure. Of all the thousands of people on the streets, am I only drawn to the tense, the stressed and the pressured? I must be fascinated by their difference from me – or perhaps their sameness.

Amid the crush of the crowds on street corners, on buses and in markets, I see so much isolation. People hold deep into themselves, hearts girded and faces hardened for another day’s battle in a life-long war. Mexico gives nothing freely and yields its comforts only to the most enduring or the most privileged.