Photojournal - Streets of Havana (Photo Essay for the Sixth Issue of Dezine Magazine)

I recently spent a week photographing the streets of Havana, the Capital of Cuba.  It is an amazing city for photography: full of colourful vintage cars, beautiful people who are full of character, and interesting ramshackle architecture.  This blog was published as a photojournal for the online magazine Dezine.  Click through the slideshow below to view my Cuban travel images from the capital:

1. Classic pink car in front of an orthodox church in Havana, the capital of Cuba.

2. Portrait Photography in Cuba.

3. Photo journal - Streets of Havana (Photo Essay for the Sixth Issue of Dezine Magazine).

4. Cuban Street Photography, Musicians in Havana.

5. Horse & Cart on the streets of La Habana, Cuba.

6. Street Portraits in Havana by Geraint Rowland.

7. Fisherman on the beautiful malecon of Havana in Cuba.

Cuba is a country located in the Caribbean, south of the US state of Florida, west of Haiti and north of Jamaica.  Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and has over 11 million inhabitants.  Havana is the capital city and leading commercial centre of Cuba.  Below is a description of the photos in the slideshow above in the order they are seen with links to the individual images on my Flickr account:

1.  Havana is full of colourful old classic cars.  Here one causes a splash after a rainfall in front of an Orthodox Russian Church along the seafront.  

2.  The city of Havana attracts over a million tourists annually, subsequently the entrepreneurial locals have figured out ways to cash in such as posing for photographs with the local cigars.

3.  The streets of Havana are full of energy and life.  Here a taxi driver stops to buy some fresh fruit, while a man on his bicycle sells freshly cut flowers.

4.  You hear music everywhere in Havana, here some street musicians play the classic Cuban song, 'Guantanamera'.

5.  Along with classic cars you will find many other forms of transport in Havana including the Horse & Cart which is used an an alternative form of taxi for the locals.

6.  Evidence of Cuban's communist past still exist throughout Havana.  Here a local poses as Che Guevara for the benefit of the tourists.  

7.  Havana is full of beautiful, colourful, old colonial buildings, many of which have fallen into ruin including these along the seafront.

I have written two previous photography blog posts from my trip to Cuba, the first being, 'Street Portraits in Havana, Cuba', and the second, 'Cuba and Cigars'.  More of my travel photography from Havana can be found on my website, my Facebook and my Flickr account.  This photo journal, 'Streets of Havana' can be viewed in full here in the sixth issue of Dezine magazine.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com. 

Cuba and Cigars

Cuba is famous for it's cigars, and in Havana they are everywhere.  People smoking them, or posing for photographs with them, or trying to sell you them.  Cuban cigars are rolled from tobacco leaves found throughout the country of Cuba and are said to be among the best in the world.  Despite American trade sanctions against Cuban products, cigars remain one of the country's biggest exports.  In 2016 Cuba exported $445 million worth of cigars worldwide.  Here are some portraits I took in La Habana, the Capital of Cuba of Cubans with cigars, click through the slide show below:

A beautiful elderly Cuban woman poses with a Cuban Cigar.

A man dressed as Cuban hero Che Guevara smokes a local cigar on the streets of Havana.

A large Latina women smokes a cigar on the streets of La Habana, Cuba.

A friendly cuban in a bright red hat poses with a Cuban cigar.

All of the above photos were taken with a Canon 5D IV using natural light.  The lenses used were the Canon 50mm 1.4 prime lens and the Sigma Art lens at 135mm.  Some of the people I captured in Havana were there for the tourism and received money in exchange for photos, but a couple were strangers in the street whom I asked if I could photograph.  I like the additional prop of the cigar in these head shot portraits, it adds a particular Cuban feel to the images.  

More of my travel photography from Cuba can be found on my website, my Facebook and my Flickr account.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.  

Street Portraits in Havana, Cuba

I recently spent a week in Havana, the Capital of Cuba.  It's a great place for photos, full of old classic cars, interesting architecture, and a lot of colour.  Whilst in Havana I also took several portrait shots of some of the locals.  When I first started taking photos I took mainly nature shots: flowers and landscapes.  I then became interested in Street photography capturing people around the World in a candid manner.  A friend once told me that the best photographs are those which contain people and I now tend to agree with that more and more.  Click through the slideshow below for some black and white Cuban portraits:

A black and white portrait of a curvy Cuban lady smoking a cigar.

A black and white street portrait of a friendly man smoking a cigar in La Habana.

A black and white portrait of an elderly cuban lady with flowers in her hair and a large cuban cigar.

A black and white street portrait of a man in dungarees and cap in Havana, Cuba.

A head shot portrait of an elderly man taken on the streets of Havana in Cuba.

All of the above photos were taken with a Canon 5D IV using natural light.  The lenses used were the Canon 50mm 1.4 prime lens and the Sigma Art lens at 135mm.  Some of the people I captured in Havana were there for the tourism and received money in exchange for photos, but a couple were strangers in the street whom I asked if I could photograph.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words and with street portraits I believe you get an even more interesting story from an image.  I was happy with the head shots I got in and around Havana and plan to take some more in the future.  I converted the images to black and white using Lightroom as I preferred the overall mood of the resulting series.  However, Havana is a colourful place and it is often nice to see the images in colour.  One of the cigar smoking ladies can be seen in colour here, whilst the cigar smoking gentleman can be viewed here.

Cuba is a country located in the Caribbean, south of the US state of Florida, west of Haiti and north of Jamaica.  Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean, and has over 11 million inhabitants. Havana (Habana or La Habana in Spanish) is the capital city and leading commercial centre of Cuba.

More of my travel photography from Cuba can be found on my website, my Facebook and my Flickr account.  If you are interested in purchasing any prints, using an image online or would like further information please send me an email at: geraintrowlandphotography@gmail.com.