CONRAD LOUIS CHARLES

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti. Originally, the island was inhabited by the Arawaks and was encountered by Christopher Columbus in the year 1492. It remained a Spanish colony until 1795, when it ceded to France.

The Dominican Republic was ruled by Haiti after 1821 and became independent in 1844. The country had a turbulent history during the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo Molina (1930-1961). The Dominican Republic today is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean.

A boy sitting along a dock at a beach.Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
  
A glass of juice on a table by the beach. Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
   
Playa BonitaLas Terrenas, Dominican Republic
     
  
Boys diving.Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
   
Bayahibe, Dominican Republic
   
A fisherman and his catch of the day.Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
     
  
A chair by the beach.Barahona, Dominican Republic
   
A fisherman resting after pulling his boat onto the beach.Guayacanes, Dominican Republic
   
A boy sitting in front of a store.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A woman praying by the ocean after sunset.Guayacanes, Dominican Republic
   
A carnival dancer in costume.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
While shooting a carnival parade in Santo Domingo, I saw this young girl walking with a beautifully colored costume. She was carrying an umbrella decorated with red ribbons. I got underneath the umbrella to photograph her just as the sun broke through some rain clouds.Dominican Republic
     
  
I was taking a portrait of the boy in the foreground when at the last minute his friend jumped into the photo. They had just finished dancing in a carnival parade.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
CarnivalSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
Boys covered in oil and paint for carnival.They were dancing around in the streets to merengue music.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A boy covered with oil and red paint sitting down and resting after dancing during a carnival parade.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  
A boy painted and covered in black oil for carnival.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
A man dressed in a costume and made up with glitter and brightly colored make-up for carnival.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A young woman covered in a mixture of motor oil and black paint. Many kids cover their bodies with oil for carnival and parade in the streets, occasionally rubbing up against people to get them dirty.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
A boy playing around saluting me while taking his photograph. He was covered with motor oil and his face painted with a white make-up.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
  
A Dominican soldier sitting by a window guarding a national shrine in the colonial zone of the capital.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
An old man on a wheelchair in the Colonial zone of the capital.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
Shadows of people walking by from the inside of an abandoned truck.Santo Dominigo, Dominican Republic
   
Zona ColonialSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
Two men painting a billboard.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
Women sitting by a river praying before bathing in a river outside of Bani. During the month of June, many festivals and processions take place in the countryside to honor Saint John the Baptist.Bani, Dominican Republic
   
A woman praying after an Easter Sunday mass at the Church of Las Mercedes.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A Haitian boy looking at a pre-lental procession taking place inside of a batey.Bateyes are camps where Haitian sugarcane laborers work and live in very poor and difficult conditions.La Ceja, Dominican Republic
   
A girl watching a religious procession in front of her home.Bani, Dominican Republic
   
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A man walking past a red wall during the final seconds before sunset. My favorite time for shooting is minutes before the sun goes down. Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
Colonial ZoneSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
A boy standing on some rocks by the ocean just before diving.Boca Chica, Dominican Republic
     
  
Boca Chica Beach
   
A boy pulling a fishing net out from the ocean at Playa Bonita.Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic
   
A dog playing in the waves.Cabarete,Dominican Republic
     
  
Store frontSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
Shadow of a boy walking past the wall of a grocery store.Barahona, Dominican Republic
   
A woman carrying water.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A woman inside a taxi van at a red light.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
Boy doing a flipBoca Chica Beach
   
Boy inside a busSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
Fruits on a table at Mercado ModeloSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
While looking through my viewfinder to take a photograph of mangoes, a young boy walked into my frame and rested his head on the table just as I was about to press the shutter release. Mercado ModeloSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic
   
A woman praying outside a church.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
     
  
A Dominican soldier strectching out after falling asleep while guarding the entrance of a museum.Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic