Cuba

I was a young boy growing up in Florida when the Cuban revolution occurred. I remember Cuban refugees coming to South Florida at that time. We had a painter at our house working and I remember my mom telling me he was a medical doctor in Cuba but could not practice in our country, so he became a house painter. A great many Cuban people started coming into our lives at that time.

They brought music, food, and the Spanish language which my young senses took in. Being only 90 miles from Cuba we could easily tune in to Cuban am radio and hear their broadcasts. Not many years later came the Cuban missile crisis. It was a scary time for people in South Florida. I remember seeing railroad cars passing by carrying what seemed like a never-ending train of army tanks. I traveled to Cuba in 2013. Fidel Castro was still alive; remnants of the revolution still were visible even in a new century. I loved the people, and they all exhibited a spirit of making the best of their lives under the conditions they have had come to endure. The Soviet presence of decades past was visible, and some of the people I met were of mixed blood having Russian fathers and Cuban mothers.

Projects started by the Soviets stood abandoned and in vine covered decay. I found it all fascinating because of my boyhood memories that kept surfacing. The whole country is a photographer’s delight. From Havana to the beautiful countryside, it was all lush, colorful and rich in culture. The further out from the cities it became a time warp into the colonial era. Everyone enjoyed having their portraits done and I felt very welcome. Cuba is a special and unique place on the globe.

I packed light with two small cameras. Developing skills as street photographer was required. It was a fun challenge. Of the two cameras it was the Sony RX1 that became my favorite. I usually set the camera to 400 iso with an aperture of f/5.6 using aperture priority.