Category: Travel

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Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Travel

Blue Splash in Havana

Blue Splash - Havana - 2013

This is one of my favorite images from Havana – taken on our second morning out in the streets of Old Havana.

He was just standing in this doorway – getting ready for work and watching the world go by. I was just learning the techniques of street photographers – how to connect with a potential subject, how to gain a quick, non-verbal agreement with them about taking their photograph. He was such a great sport – happy to see us and happy to have us take his photo – and, I think, it shows in his attitude in this image.

In the years to come, I’m hope to remember a lot of special memories from our amazing week in Cuba – and one of the special ones will be my memory of this painter on our second morning out into the streets of Old Havana. Wish I had gone over afterwards and just given him a big hug!

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Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Travel

Lady in Red

Lady in Red - Havana - 2013

One of the best days we had in Havana was a Sunday morning walk through the Central Havana neighborhoods. Some of the best images of the whole trip we captured that morning. Here’s just one example!

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Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Travel

Che in my Cup

Che Guevara - Cuba - 2013

We saw lots of images of Che Guevara in our walks around Havana. But my favorite was this one.

We had one day out of Havana during our week there. We headed to a beautiful community – Las Terrazas – about an hour west of Havana. After lunch, we stopped at Maria’s Coffee and I ordered a Cappuccino. It arrived with this image of Che cast in dark chocolate – a great after lunch drink!

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Cars Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Street Photography Travel

Look Through My Window in Havana

On the Street - Havana - 2013

Here’s another “window shot” – this time looking out my hotel room window at the street corner below.

On my last day in Havana, I woke up really early, finished packing for the trip home and then looked out my window at the street corner intersection below. Loved the light – and took this shot! I processed it as a square image to better focus on the car lights, etc.

Only thing I wish had been different is that the car had been one of the older classic cars seen almost all the time in Havana!

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Cuba Nikon Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Travel

Picture Window – On the Highway back to Havana

Picture Window - Havana - 2013

We took one excursion out of Havana – on Monday – to Las Terazzas. Coming back on the bus, I started shooting with my Nikon D600 out the window of the bus at interesting subjects passing by.

Here’s one of those shots – our bus was passing an “open air” bus off to our right. These kinds of shots are so random – I was lucky with this one – catching that small window in the center of the frame. I think it captures the countryside – as we headed back into the heart of Havana!

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Cuba Nik Software Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Photoshop Travel

Seeing Learning at the University of Havana in Cuba

Learning - University of Havana - 2013

During our first full day in Havana, we visited the campus of the University of Havana. While exploring the hilltop campus location, I came across this student having a conference with what I assume is one of her professors. They were sitting near the end of a long hallway and the natural light was streaming in from the north – giving her face that special kind of diffused glow.

To complete the processing, I cropped the image significantly, using empty space as an offset in the darker area down the hallway on the left. I finished it using some Lab color tweaks in Photoshop along with a slight luminosity adjustment layer created using Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 (see Doug Kaye’s technique for this).

I originally thought I’d process this as a monochrome image – but I loved the contrast between her reddish shirt and her teacher’s blue dress and wanted to maintain that look in the final image.

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Cuba Lab Color Nik Software Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Photoshop Travel

Up Early in Havana for Dawn Patrol

Dawn Patrol - Havana - 2013

On our first morning in Havana (January 24, 2013), I headed out on Dawn Patrol (our leader’s term for departing the hotel at 6:15 AM sharp). We walked down to the harbor and then worked our way back. Along the way back, I snapped this image of a Havana street scene just waking up.

I processed this image using Doug Kaye’s Silver Efex Pro luminosity adjustment technique before bringing it into Lab color in Photoshop for some final adjustments.

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Black and White Cuba Monochrome Photography Photography Photography - Black & White Photography - Nikon D600 Travel

Printmakers at Taller Experimental de Gráfica de La Habana

Printmaker - Havana - 2013

On Friday, January 25, 2013, we visited the Taller Experimental de Gráfica de La Habana and watched several graphic artists working on their projects. This printmaker was just getting ready to pull a print as we arrived – and I was able to snap a sequence of shots that culminated in this one of him pulling the print off the press and holding it up for us to see. I decided to post-process it as a monochrome image – to focus the viewer’s eye on him and the print.

Here’s another image – of another print maker adjusting one of his images before pulling another print. The texture of this image is powerful – his look, the tattoos, the hair on his arms and the needle in his hand. It’s one of my favorite images from this particular day in Havana!

Adjustments - Havana - 2013

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Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Travel

Dawn Patrol – Our First Morning in Havana, Cuba

Castillo de la Real Fuerza - Havana - 2013

On our first morning in Havana on Thursday, January 24, 2013, we headed out on “Dawn Patrol” – leaving our hotel in a group at 6:15 AM.

We headed east toward Plaza Vieja – and then north to Plaza de Aramas and up to Castillo de la Real Fuerza.

We left the hotel in the dark – but I lingered behind the group and arrived just as the morning light was beginning to wash over Castillo de la Real Fuerza. I put the camera through the fence and captured this image.

Nikon D600, 24mm, 1/25 at f/3.5, ISO 800.

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Cuba Photography Photography - Nikon D600 Travel

Honor Guard – Museum of the Revolution – Havana

Honor Guard - Havana - 2013

Last week on Sunday morning, a group of us visited the Museum of the Revolution in Havana.

Shortly after we got into the old Presidential Palace (now the museum), patriotic music began playing and we could hear marching soldiers.

I peeked out a second story window of the Palace and saw this honor guard, marching over to the eternal flame adjacent to the Granma Memorial.

I loved the shadows they cast! With Doug Kaye and others in Havana a week ago. More of my Cuba photos are here.

Nikon D600, 85mm, 1/1000 at f/8. ISO 400.