Cuba 2000-2002, Hasselblad X-Pan

I first travelled to Cuba in late February 2000 with the Maine Photographic Workshops. Although I took my large Fuji 617 panoramic camera expecting to shoot slide film, I had just purchased a 35mm Hasselblad X-pan which could convert to a panoramic format, taking a 24x65mm photo rather than the standard 24x36mm photo. Using the f4/45mm lens, this created a 71° wide angle of view. The challenge was to fill the frame edge to edge with interesting imagery. As this was a range-finder camera, the viewfinder showed me more than the actual image would be, so I could watch the action develop on the edges of the frame, and knew when to press the shutter. I ended up using the Hasselblad almost exclusively on the first trip, and as my only camera on the four subsequent trips. Using the 45mm lens, which is a wide-angle lens on a medium format camera (which the Hasselblad was in panoramic mode), and using Kodak negative film at ISO 400, the brightness of the tropical light allowed me to shoot at f16 at 1/125th of a second. This great depth of field allowed me to set the lens at the "hyperfocal" point, meaning everything in the frame was in focus almost all the time. Further, as a rangefinder camera, I could hand hold the camera at slower speeds when I walked on the shady side of the street. Most photographers visiting Cuba are initially attracted by the old American cars, so I start with those images. The chrome on the front of the Chevys reminded me of a shark's mouth. I then began photographing the elementary school students, who in their red skirts and pants with white shirts, were happy to have their photos taken. However, once they traded in their red clothes for the gold of middle school students, they became more reluctant to be photographed. On one trip I went to Trinidad, in central Cuba, and was struck by the quality and intensity of the light, much like French painters describe their reaction to the light in Provence and along the coast. So I end this portfolio with those images.

Photography, Digital Photography, Photojournalism

Speeding Pink Car, Parque Central, Havana, 3/3/2000, (#2624)

Speeding Green Car, Parque Central, Havana, 3/3/2000 (#2623)

Blue Chevy With Teeth, Havana, 3/2/2000, (#2627)

Silver Chevy, Havana, 3/2/2000 (#2626)

Mother And Child, Ave. Cuba, Havana, 3/3/2000 (#2640)

The mother is the young woman on the right and her child is the blond school girl, who is standing of a step, which makes her look taller.

Elementary School Girls, Plaza de Armas, Havana, 3/9/2002 (#2825)

Elementary School Children Lined Up To Return To School After Lunch At Home, Havana, 3/9/2002 (#2817)

Elementary School Children Eating Ice Cream, Havana, 12/11/2002 (#2722)

Elementary School Children At Recess, Calle O'Reilly, Havana, 12/27/2000 (#2727)

Elementary School Children, Plaza de Armas, Havana, 2/29/2000 (#2634)

Middle School Girl Standing on Corner, Havana, 3/7/2002 (#2816)

Two Middle School Girls Standing In Doorway, Havana, 12/12/2000 (#2708)

Woman Being Watched By Men, Havana, 12/11/2000 (#2724)

Boxing School, Calle Cuba, Havana, 3/1/2000 (#2639)

Five Girls Standing In Street, Havana, 3/6/2000 (#2638)

These five girls were walking down the street towards me as a group, and they then separated into these three parts, and I was able to fill the whole frame with the man on the right and the woman on the left.

Shoe Shine Man, Ave. de Belgica, Havana, 3/6/2000 (#2636)

This photo was taken on my first trip to Havana, but I never saw this man again on later trips. On my last trip to Havana in January 2016, I noticed that this building is now missing the roof and is totally abandoned.

Policeman Watching The Street, Havana, 3/3/2000 (#2637)

Couple Entwined On the Malecon Sea Wall, Havana, 12/10/2000 (#2706)

Young Woman Looking Out At The Sea, Malecon Sea Wall, Havana, 3/6/2000 (#2656)

Uloading Bananas, Late Afternoon Light, Havana, 3/1/2000 (#2641)

"Camel" Bus (Self-Portrait), Havana, 12/12/2000 (#2711)

Passengers On "Camel" Bus, Havana, 3/3/2000 (#2645)

Old Man and Jesus Statue In Retirement Home In Converted Convent, Havana, 3/11/2002 (#2819)

"No Waiting", Barber Shop, Baracoa, Eastern Cuba, 2/6/2001 (#2733)

One of the first places Columbus stopped in Cuba was were the town of Baracoa developed. Surrounded by mountains, the city was not reachable by road until 1961. I sat on the floor of this barber shop and took a series of photos. When I was finished I gave them $5US to buy beer after work. On my visits to Cuba in 2002-02, the U.S. dollar was legal tender for tourist purposes.

Boy Who Didn't Want His Photo Taken, Trinidad, Central Cuba, 3/9/2000 (#2650)

Boy Walking To School, Trinidiad, Central Cuba, 3/9/2000 (#2646)

I saw the colors of the wall and the shadows, and stood in the middle of the street (there was no traffic) and waited for the right person to walk into the photo. I was lucky to take the photo at the moment the muscles in both legs were being used.

Stoop Sitting, Late Afternoon Light, Trinidad, Central Cuba, 3/9/2000 (#2647)

Woman Walking To Work, Early Morning Light, Trinidad, Central Cuba, 3/9/2000 (#2649)

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