The Art of Selling and Haggling

Market criers are known all over the place. Street vendors stand amidst haggling buyers, elaborate piles of wares, and the jingle of money changing hands. Their sales points are as varied as the items they have on offer: in small carts, under tents, and often exposed to open skies; small family businesses, mass productions or self-crafted wares. LFI Gallery photographers visited mini ecosystems in markets around the globe, capturing scenes of the daily hustle and bustle with their cameras. 

1. Sam Bara 
“I met this egg vendor at a traditional market in Cirebon, West Java, Indonesia. He had arranged the eggs beside him, creating a strong visual rhythm. The way the light fell on them reminded me of small moons.

2. Say Khoon Giam 
“Cupping service to stimulate the blood circulation is normally provided at a massage parlour or a traditional medical treatment centre. It was at the Pudu morning market, in an older part of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, that I saw, for the first time, a female cupping therapist offering the service on a public walkway.”

3. Jonathan Jasberg 
“I was photographing the annual Nadaam National Festival in Mongolia, when I noticed a food truck at the edge of the festivities where people stopped by to enjoy snacks and drinks.”

4. Rory Jacobs 
“This picture was taken in Durban, South Africa, which has a sub-tropical climate. It was a typically hot and humid morning in the middle of our summer. The streets were crowded and noisy. I was crossing the street and spotted this fruit vendor looking contemplative and still, as if she were trying to tune out the busy environment.”

5. Serkan Çolak 
“It was the end of a rather cold day at the market in Gemlik, Bursa, Turkey, when the arrangement on this mobile chestnut vendor’s stall caught my attention. The warm cloud of smoke rising in the light of the lantern, created a cinematic atmosphere.”

6. Wei Ma 
“The shop at Village Antiques Mall in Canada is a fascinating maze of history: part antique market, part second-hand store, filled with everything from vintage furniture and used appliances to the most ordinary household items. At the heart of this busy, nostalgic space stood a middle-aged woman, tirelessly juggling between assisting walk-in customers and answering phone calls about the merchandise.”

7. Byung Jo Kim
“In Barsana, India, I took a photo of a woman on the street selling natural gulal powder. The popular Lathmar Holi Festival is celebrated in this city, where the colourful powder is tossed all over the place.

8. Vincent Kondas 
“Among the many roasted chestnut vendors in Rome, this one stood out to me. He was positioned at the edge of the street, facing the market, stirring the chestnuts with focused attention, while the city moved around him.”  

9. Michael Siy
“This scene on the Long Bien Bridge captures the rhythm of daily life in Hanoi. Every morning, vendors wend their way through the stream of motorbikes, balancing baskets of wares as they navigate between tradition and the city’s drive towards modernity. ”

10. Lucas Marrella
“This photograph was taken in Đồng Xuân market, in Hanoi, Vietnam. It was raining that day, a warm and steady rain. My two friends and I stepped inside the market to shelter for a while. As we walked through the narrow aisles, we found ourselves surrounded by stacks of fabrics, forming vibrant waves of colour.”

11. Eric Wong 
“The Pak Khlong Talat flower market in Bangkok opens very early in the morning, and that’s when all the vendors prepare for their day, while lots of people mill around them. Aside from flowers, there are also many food vendors at the market.”