5 Degrees of Cuba

After flying back to London and trying to get things sorted after the holiday I did not have much time for photography. I decided to set myself a challenge by trying to summarize my experience in Cuba with only 5 pictures and no text.
So here they are, let me know what you think and if there is a need for more text.

Real and Fake

LC1, f2.2, 1/15, ISO 400, JPG, 78mm

One last afternoon in Havana before going to the airport and back to London. The trip here in Cuba was great and I will definitely come back, there is still a lot to see here and to take pictures of.

In the coming days I will update my Dropbox Gallery of the trip so do check back there if you want to see more pictures.

Play Another Tune

GRD, f5.6, 1/400, ISO 100, JPG, 40mm

Back in Havana I decided to take it easy and just walk around using the GRD I only. It was good to get a different approach to things but mostly to leave the heavy and bulky LC1 in the hotel.

Back in Time

GRD, f7.1, 1/800, ISO 200, JPG b&w

The architecture of the houses in Vinales is different from other places in Cuba so a trip there is definitely recommended even if not much else is happening.

Valey of Vinales

LC1, f5, 1/640, ISO 100, JPG, 90mm

Today, I went for a horseride around the Valley of Vinales. It was a great trip, the scenery is amazing. We stopped at a local tobacco farmer who made some of the best Mohitos and also showed how Cigars are made. It was a great trip and well worth doing.

Jesus in his Prehistoric Park

GRD, f4.5, 1/250, ISO 400, JPG b&w

Although I initialy planned to stay only in Havana and Trinidad, people kept recommending a visit to Vinales so I decided to take the 8h taxi journey there.
Vinales is a tiny place surrounded by a fantastic valey with a great landscape. It has again a completely different feel from Havana and Trinidad. There is almost nothing happening but if you like hiking or take a hose ride around the valey it's more than worth the stay there.

If you are in Vinales you should also go and visit Jesus in his Prehistoric Park. He is a great talker and knows a lot to make a very worthwile 30 minutes tour of his park.

Ancon Beach

LC1, f5, 1/100, ISO 100, JPG, 62mm

Ok, I find beach holidays a waste of time and don't like sitting at the beach and baking in the sun. Still, I decided that coming to Cuba I should at least see one of the beaches. While the beaches are very nice it was a horrible experience, there is absolutely nothing to do and unless you have one of the all inclusive badges you can not even buy any drinks. I was glad to leave after only 2h and go to see the national park and the waterfall there.
I don't think I will return to a beach anytime soon.

On a different note, Ricoh has today announced the new GXR 'camera'. You can read my thoughts about it here.

UJC

LC1, f4.5, 1/50, ISO 100, JPG, 58mm

Trinidad might be small but walking around takes longer than you might think. I took this shot while walking back from a short visit to the tiny airport.

In the end though everyone returns to the Casa de Musica where bands are playing all through the day.

Cigar Man

LC1, f3.2, 1/50, ISO 100, JPG, 90mm

Arrived in Trinidad after a 6h bus journey but it was more than worth it. Trinidad is a fantastic place, it feels completely different from Havana though.
Just going for a walk around the cobbled streets is great, people are also different and the pace is slower. The buildings are much better preserved than in Havana so it is nicer to take pictures.

If you come to Cuba make sure you visit Trinidad and while here go to the Restaurant Colonial and ask for 'El Bolo'. He is a real character and can tell you a lot about the place, you can also stay at his house near the historic center of Trinidad.

I have updated my Gallery with pictres from Trinidad, you can find it here.

La Moderna Poesia

LC1, f5, 1/1000, ISO 100, JPG, 34mm

This is my favorite shot from today. I saw the name of the place and the girls walking towards it so knew I had to gt the shot. I almost missed it because of the focus lag and focus priority of the LC1. This is really frustrating but otherwise I think the GRD III and LC1 complement each other very well, if only the LC1 would be lighter and smaller.

Before going off to Trinidad tomorrow I went around Old Havana and to the Capitolio today. There is still so muc to take pictures and explore here but Trinidad should provide plentiful opportunities, too.

Standing in the Rain

LC1, f2.4, 1/100, ISO 100, JPG, 90mm

Today I got wet twice, first in the morning while it was raining, and then again in the afternoon while walking along the Malecon to take pictures of the waves.
In both cases my LC1 and GRD III got quite soaked but kept on going without problems.

This was not my favorite picture from today but being in Cuba for a few days already I had to post a picture of a old car and this I really like. My favorite picture is of the old lady in the yellow raincoat that you can see in my Gallery.

Playing

GRD III, f1.9, 1/140, ISO 400, RAW

Walking around Old Havana is great, there is so much to see and take pictures of. Every day it's different and the people are great.
A lot of life happens outside here, the warm weather and lack of anything to do inside means people are always out and socializing.

Under Che

GRD 3, f2.5, 1/189, ISO 100, JPG

Most pictures you see from Cuba are of colorful buildings, nice cars and smiling people smoking cigars on the beach or in a park. This was what I expected when going to Cuba but the reality is different.
People are poor, the cars and buildings are falling apart and while people do smoke cigars it is not something you see all the time. The smiling people from pictures are indeed smiling because they work for the tourism board.

Cuba is a great country with great people but it suffers from Communism as other countries before it but mostly from the US embargo.

Due to the very slow internet connection and limited time to post I will add my text later and only post the pictures in the coming days.
For more pictures look on my Dropbox Gallery.

Early Morning Call

LC1, f5, 1/500, ISO 100, RAW, 90mm

After the limited photography I could do yesterday, I decided to get up early and start wandering around. The light was very good in the morning and it was also more pleasant than later in the day.

Havana is a fantastic place for photography with the old cars, buildings and the colors everywhere but it is also not easy to avoid taking clichee pictures and staying away from the usual tourist snaps. There is almost too much to take pictures of and for street photography I need to get a better feel for the people and the place, at the moment it's a bit more difficult.

This is one of the pictures I took in the morning, I liked the light and at first only wanted a picture of the guy on the phone but the woman walking past made the picture much better.
The LC1 performs great overall but is heavy to carry around and of limited use when speed is required. The harsh light sometimes is very challenging for the cameras though so I really appreciate having live view to help with the exposure.

Arrived in Cuba

LC1, f2, 1/25, ISO 400, RAW, 28mm

After arriving in Cuba I wanted to get out and take pictures, it was dark already but there were still lots of photo opportunities. Unfortunately I had to sit around and try to sort out the hotelroom.
I still managed to take a few pictures while waiting and after finally sorting the room for the night. Still, with the flight taking up most of the day and the waiting around it was not a good day for photography.

Internet is limited and very slow so updating my blog will be done in batches whenever possible.

You can find the full Cuba Gallery here.