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Strangeness is what attracts Robert Widdicombe to Mexico—the vibrating colors, the religious images, the people and their demeanor. To capture his impressions, he takes his photographs at night, using a flash and a slow shutter speed. The flash flattens surfaces and intensifies color, and once the flash fades, the ambient light brings out the shadow images, registering Widdicombe’s amazement that just across the border everything can be so different.

Puerto Angel, Oaxaca.
Photograph by Robert A. Widdicombe
Chilapa, Guerrero.
Photograph by Robert A. Widdicombe
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo.
Photograph by Robert A. Widdicombe
Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Photograph by Robert A. Widdicombe
Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo.
Photograph by Robert A. Widdicombe
Villa Diaz Ordaz, Oaxaca.
Photograph by Robert A. Widdicombe