This older woman obviously was flattered by the fact that I took her picture. As I was shooting I kept wondering what stories she could tell me if we could have lingered there.

During the last few days of our trip we decided to go explore the dry “sertao” areas of northern Bahia. Logically Juaziero was my first choice. This boy lives in a small settlement outside of the city. He is collecting trash to recycle for money. Behind him you can see his family’s mud home. The land that they live on they do not own, they simply built there and claimed it as their own.

There is always someone new to meet in Salvador. This week we came across this man, who happened to be skinning a huge eel. Normally fishermen are poor but when our friend saw we were quite impressed he pulled out his brand new cell phone (that puts mine to shame) and showed us a whole folder of pictures of his favorite catches.

Its hard to work when the world around you is so amazing.

Yesterday we went to a rather obscure city out in the countryside – Cachoeira or in english Waterfall. There they have a yearly celebration of African roots and Roman Catholic traditions called “Festival da Irmadade da Boa Morte” or “Festival of the Sisterhood of Good Death.”

In the middle of the square a large crowd gathered to watch drummers. The presentation was interupted with a sudden downpour of rain that left everyone taking cover from the rain in awkward places.

Walking up the hill to the the Hansen Bahia museum, we came across a bunch of kids flying kites or “Pipas.”

We made some friends with some of the kids on the street.

This woman practices the religion of Candomblé – a mixture of Roman Catholic and traditional African beliefs. The truly unique Bahian lifestyle includes animal sacrifice, spirit offerings, and dances.

This young woman seemed very proud to tell us that not only does she fervently practice Candomblé, but that she loves using Facebook, Myspace, and Orkut.

In one of the more tourist ridden, yet beautiful places in Salvador, we were certainly the only people taking pictures of the local culture rather than the typical sights. There is amazing texture everywhere – This man managed to sleep in such an awkward position a few feat away from the busiest intersections in the area, yet he seems to fit very comfortably into the landscape around him without effort.

This woman sat for a long time in front of the Igreja Sao Francisco – one of the oldest churches on the continent which happens to hold millions of dollars worth of gold encrusted onto its walls. Every few minutes or so she would bang on the door. No one answered.

No comment.

A candid kiss between two artists.

We spent the entire day with about 50 different graffiti artists in Salvador. Together they covered an entire wall along the stretch of beach in a short time.

This little boy was the nephew of one of the painters, he stayed within 15 feet of his uncle the entire day and didn’t say a single word.

I took this picture in downtown Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil. His name is Nenen who supports his “Rasta” lifestyle selling homemade bracelets, necklaces and other small things on the street. He has a shinny metal tooth thats easy to see when he laughs or smiles.