In May 2013, having almost finished my classes at Aarhus University, I decided to go on a trip to the Dominican Republic. I hadn't planned anything except that I'd be living the first of three weeks with an american named Brian and his girlfriend Ica in a small town called Las Terrenas on the Samana Peninsula. I didn't plan on taking any pictures besides the usual tourist shots. Being May, during the low season, I found there weren't a lot of tourists in my age group, so I ended up spending a lot of time with my camera, taking portraits of people along the streets I walked. The photoes below are for the most part taken in Las Terrenas, but also in Carberete/Sosua, Las Galeras and the capital Santo Domingo.  

 

The banks are gated up and a security guard stands next to the ATM 24-hours a day. You get scammed out of 25 dollars the first night because you're a bit naive. You meet the man who scammed you the next day, you shake hands with him. His name is Luis.

You meet people who are happy despite not having much. You meet people who don't have much, who drink or smoke themselves to fleeting moments of happiness. You drive by people living in straw and mud huts in the jungle. You drive by the presidents palace. Fashion is revealing, colorful and tight fitting. Sanky panky's are young dominican men who have relationships with older white, mostly european, women. Tourists isolate themselves in luxury resorts.

While on a walk in Las Terrenas on a particularly hot day, I walked by a group of men about my age. They were sitting on a platform beside one of the handfull of painter shops in Las Terrenas. As usual I was asked to stop and see the shop, which I did. Inside I talked to Junior, who turned out to be one of the painters. We got talking and Junior told me he and his cousin had painted most of the paintings they were selling. Junior then showed me some of his paintings and I said hi to his cousin, who was in the midst of painting. 

After a few minutes I asked him if I could take a photo of him and he agreed. I took out the camera, turned a few dials and asked if he was ready, he said he was and immediately closed his eyes. I stood for a few seconds waiting, expecting him to open them again. As he didn’t I took a quick photo and started smiling, asking him why he was closing his eyes. I can’t remember his response, but he started smiling and I took a few more pictures, but the first one was my favorite by a mile! I couldn’t buy one of his paintings as I had no room in my backpack, so I decided to give him some pesos as thanks for his time and the photo. I still don't know why he closed his eyes.