Happy Independence Day to every citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. On our 56th birthday I want to pay tribute to a part of Trinidad I love, San Fernando. The City was shaped by our once-booming sugar and then oil industries, but due to its ever changing nature a lot of history has been lost through the years. Now, I've been to world-famous cities before...okay more like a world famous city; yes New York City is amazing, but something about San Fernando holds a special place in my heart.
I grew up a few minutes away in Gasparillo and I didn't get out much as a teenager (#strictparent), but when I did leave the house it was to go to Sando. I must have walked up and down High Street just about 5 million times, sometimes aimless; sometimes with purpose and sometimes aimlessly despite my purpose. I always felt like I needed to be there, even for a little while. I only realized it was real love when I moved to St. Augustine while I was studying at UWI (University of the West Indies). Tunapuna didn't have the same charm, its streets saw my feet maybe 5 times, even though it was just a 5-minute walk away. For those years, I missed just being in Sando; knowing the faces of the street vendors, being harassed by the same one near Republic Bank asking, "Ras, yuh eh want a sweetie today?". Hearing the voice on the P.A. beckoning shoppers to the Rattans basement, or hearing the "SOCKS!" man shouting.
In secondary school the island in front of the library was my own personal runway, and we made jokes that falling there would mean moving to another country. It was where many school children met, and where friends and enemies were made. Walking down High Street is like a nostalgia tour for me, even though I'm not that old (I think), but things change quickly in this world and I like to hold on to the familiar...maaay have some abandonment issues, but lets not get into that.
So it had been a couple weeks...maybe even months since I got to the city because I was a regular slave during the week (a 9 to 5) and a slave to my dreams on the weekends. When I saw my love last month, it was like for the first time, but some things had changed. A few stores closed and others took their place; it was a little quieter than usual but it was also the week before month-end so the quiet wasn't too out of the ordinary. It was still love but this time I wanted to capture it, I don't know how or why I've never thought of it before, why not do a photo shoot in the city I love?
And that's exactly what I did. I took my camera and small crew and we took over the island for a few minutes. The taxi drivers in the background didn't let us stop them from asking everything that moved if they were "traveling today", including each one of us. The experience in itself was entertaining but I'm happy to have gotten some great shots.
The next stop was King's Wharf in chase of the setting sun. We got there just in time...to see it go beneath the horizon, but "The shoot must go on!" and I was still able to capture some of the glow.
I will definitely do it again so stay tuned for more. Check out the photos below with the gorgeous aspiring model La-Shauna Charles. Like, share, subscribe and thank you for reading.
Take photos of the things you love!
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