Crab Ladies — Portraits
Kep is a small fishing village on the southern coast of Cambodia. The main catch is crabs, which are brought in and sold by a collection of remarkably graceful and colourfully dressed crab ladies. Early one October morning in 2013 I photographed the crab ladies at work and these shots have remained some of the most evocative I have taken in the far east. In 2023, almost exactly 10 years later, I returned to Kep to spend a week photographing the work and activity of the village, and the regrettable changes that have been wrought on it by developers. Fortunately the crab ladies turned out to be as elegant, strong and beautiful as ever.
This first series of shots are portraits of the crab ladies at work or waiting for the catch. I could swear that some of these faces are the same as I shot 10 years ago, but who knows. You can see the 2013 photos in the “street” dropdown above and check for yourself.
Photographs in this album include: Crab lady portraits at the jetty, waiting for the catch, at work, and more.
For camera settings, techniques and equipment used in shoots like this, see the Technique posts on mcaughtry.photo.