Point of View: Stage left
As Haitian vendors rearrange their wares in a Dominican border town, a photographer captures the bustle in a serendipitous shot.
Haitian vendors selling shoes get a jump on hawking their goods the day before the big market day.
Melanie Stetson Freeman/Staff
The raucous border town of Dajabon in the Dominican Republic lies beside the Massacre River, which divides the nation from its much poorer neighbor, Haiti. Each day, vendors from the Haitian side cross over to sell their goods, usually ferrying their few wares on their heads.
I had arrived in Dajabon in late afternoon and headed over to the streets nearer the border where the market materialized each day. The golden light of dusk shone onto brightly colored walls as the Haitian vendors reorganized their piles of shoes, hoping to make them more enticing to last-minute customers.
I lined up my photo and pushed the button. Just as the shutter released, someone walked into the frame. Sometimes, rarely, these unexpected intrusions improve a photo rather than ruin it. As it turns out, the woman looked straight into my lens – making an everyday shot much more interesting.