Topic: 3 days in Havana

[hookstrapped]

I spent three days in Havana last week. I couldn't use ATMs or credit cards or debit cards because American banks so you have to bring in all the money you need. By the last day I was broke and hungry just like the people I met. Embargo'd.

I met more people in three days in Havana than in a dozen trips to the DR. People love to talk and their Spanish is easier to understand than Dominican. But there's usually an angle -- they want money, a meal, they want to sell you a home cooked meal (the pic of the baby is at the house of a woman I met taking pictures who asked if I had eaten and invited me over so I paid her mother for a meal her mother cooked, then returned another night).

Cuba has a dual currency system. CUC pesos are what foreigners exchange for and they're ironically pegged to the dollar. People need the CUC hard currency because some things are only available in CUC and because of their 24:1 exchange rate with the moneda nacional pesos Cubans use. But despite this, people are also genuinely nice and open and want to talk - talk about how the revolution is dead or how it still lives.

There are no internet cafes, your phone doesn't work, and as mentioned no way to get money. This compounds the feeling that you're in a different world, a different time, a parallel universe. It's pretty trippy.  Can't wait to go back and explore the provinces and meet more people.

[02Pilot]

Really good shots - very atmospheric. The stitched-pano look suits them well.

[FrankE]

love the stitching it really helps to capture the feeling
very nice shots
your images really capture the mood

had the privilege of visiting Havana myself once in the past
lots to photograph
but like anywhere else hard to do it well

[Late Developer]

Wonderful photos. The place looks fabulous.  If we can save up the money, Lara and I are heading there next year.

From what we can gather, because the local farmers can't afford the heavy chemicals that are used in most developed countries, the sea and coral around Cuba is as good as it gets and superb for scuba diving.   Havana seems like some old, run-down Spanish colonial city with a weird mix of battered American and former Soviet bloc cars.

[hookstrapped]

Wonderful photos. The place looks fabulous.  If we can save up the money, Lara and I are heading there next year.

From what we can gather, because the local farmers can't afford the heavy chemicals that are used in most developed countries, the sea and coral around Cuba is as good as it gets and superb for scuba diving.   Havana seems like some old, run-down Spanish colonial city with a weird mix of battered American and former Soviet bloc cars.

The car culture there is very strong.  The old American cars are the majority, with Soviet Fiat Ladas that look brand new making up the rest.  It's funny that in the third photo the Ladas and a rabbit/golf were parked on a street with relatively new art deco buildings, which are not that common - my ode to cubism. Most of the old American cars are taxis, and they range from battered and wheezing to pristine original condition.  Also common are Jawa motorcycles with sidecars, again mostly taxis.

This is where I booked my flight
http://www.mycubatrip.com/Cuba/Home

[Alan]

Absolutely fantastic set of images
love those scenes, and the not so perfect stitching works brilliantly.

We are most likely taking a trip to cyprus later this year and I will
employ this technique.

Very well done

[hookstrapped]

Doing the stitched panos is a lot of fun.  When I have the scanned pics ready to put on a background, I'm giddy with anticipation to see if it will work out.  Moving the images around, moving the layers around... Good times.

[Alan]

yes I have done a few before, it is enjoyable.

they dont really have to line up perfectly, just enough to get the essentials correct

[hookstrapped]

An interview with the worldphoto.org people is up

http://worldphoto.org/news-and-events/wpo-news/collection-photographer-interview-peter-brian-schafer-1/

[hookstrapped]

series up on a new site

http://www.positive-magazine.com/photography/featured-story/3-days-in-havana/

[hookstrapped]

auf Deutsch

http://www.i-ref.de/2014/07/25/53966/

[hookstrapped]

This is a cool site worth signing up for their daily emails and worth submitting to for their weekly Eye of the Readers feature. They just sent out this week's with my Havana series. My prior experience with them is they generate a lot of website referrals, so it's better than most in terms of getting your work some exposure.

http://www.loeildelaphotographie.com/2014/10/25/the-eye-of-readers/26465/send-us-your-portfolios--21?

[hookstrapped]

Bumping in celebration of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba.

Yay!

[jojonas~]

Bumping in celebration of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba.

Yay!

Yay indeed I hope it goes well

I heard that last weekend during the international filmfestival in Cuba they had a viewing of Todos Se Van, that is based on the book Everyone leaves by Cuban writer Wendy Guerra, a book that never has been released in Cuba.

[Late Developer]

I know it seems like the right thing to do but I must admit to being a bit ambivalent on the subject if it means that there'll be a seismic economic shift, and Cuba ends up being invaded by Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, big hotel chains (etc, etc) and millions more tourists.

This means that if we are able to afford a holiday there next year, we will do it.  I know it's selfish but I want to see Cuba as it is now - before the almost inevitable infationary and destabilising impact of foreign investment sloshing around.

[Gareth]

I know it seems like the right thing to do but I must admit to being a bit ambivalent on the subject if it means that there'll be a seismic economic shift, and Cuba ends up being invaded by Starbucks, Hard Rock Cafe, big hotel chains (etc, etc) and millions more tourists.

This means that if we are able to afford a holiday there next year, we will do it.  I know it's selfish but I want to see Cuba as it is now - before the almost inevitable infationary and destabilising impact of foreign investment sloshing around.

I was chatting to my Dad about this exact thing this evening. He went to Cuba a few years ago and loved it. I have had a yearning to visit and shoot a few rolls so it looks like early 2015 would be the time to do it, just incase it develops as you say.

Beautiful photos and write up here though has really re-ignited my fire to visit soon.