cuban photography

Havana Street Portraits: Cuban Girls in the Doorway

There’s something about Havana. The heat, the hue, the hustle. It’s in the walls, the windows, the faces you pass without names. Havana, the Capital of Cuba truly is a photographer’s dream, there are literally great shots to be had around every corner. I took this image, one of my favourite from Havana around five years ago when I was out there exploring the streets. Somewhere on my walkabout I discovered these two Girls, presumably twins sitting in a doorway of their Father’s store or shopfront. It may have been a bakers or a car mechanics, I have no real recollection. I just remember seeing the two girls and taking a couple of shots candidly which captured their great expressions below:

Street Portraits of Havana, Cuba by Geraint Rowland Photography

One of my favourite images from my Cuban trip, I love the way both of the Sisters are looking towards the camera, both with different expressions. The one on the left more stunned and staring, the one on the right starting a smile, both girls dressed in the same clothing. For me this travel image is street photography in its truest form: Nothing added, nothing staged, everything real. I had to crop the image tight as there were some distractions to the right of the girls, but I wanted to keep the aspect ratio at the classic 3:2. Sometimes you have to take the frame of the moment during street photography and candid reportage, as you often don’t have the time to situate yourself perfectly.

The image was captured with my Canon 5D Mark IV, which I had recently purchased second hand, and the ever-trusty 50mm f/1.4 — my street stomping sidearm. The light? Natural. The moment? Unrepeatable. It’s also a quiet reminder — That the streets speak to those who listen. The people of Cuba are very expressive, I collected some great street portraits whilst I was out there, but as always I wish I had taken more! Here is a photography blog I wrote about some of the street portraits I took while in Havana. That photography trip to Cuba did a lot for my photography and paid dividends with the captures that I collected. The obvious one being the low level, wide angle image of the vibrant pink classic car I took down on the seafront of Havana after a rain storm. This image won me a trip to Hong Kong and Macau via the Travel Magazine Wanderlust. You can view that image and read about the win on my blog here.

Cuban Street Portraits in Black and White by Geraint Rowland

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All of my travel and art images are available to license via Getty Images.
💰 Prints & enquiries: www.geraintrowland.com/contact
🖼️ Follow my ongoing street stories on Instagram: @geraint_rowland_photography
📍Location: Havana, Cuba
📷 Gear: Canon 5D Mark IV + 50mm f/1.4

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Miradas Compartidas 24 La Habana, Cuban Photography Exhibition

A selection of my Cuban travel photographs were recently included in an exhibition hosted by Photo Project Pro in Havana, the Capital of Cuba.  My project, "Havana, People and Places" was selected to be part of the Miradas Compartidas 24 exhibition held in the Palacio de Lombillo building in Havana.  This exhibition was a significant opportunity for photographers to showcase their work on a global scale, and my personal project was chosen for the MC Global artist section, a new addition to this year’s event.

The Miradas Compartidas exhibition has been a significant platform for me to showcase my work alongside some incredibly talented photographers from around the world.  Some of the main photographers exhibiting their work at the exhibition included: Dino Latella, Andrea Schettin, and Francesco Lupò from Italy, and Osmany Bonet, Lisbet Goenaga, Marah Góngora, and Claudia Padrón from Cuba.  All extremely talented photographers, I recommend exploring more via their Instagram and personal websites.  The exhibition was a celebration of the power of visual storytelling and the global community of photographers that Miradas Compartidas brings together.

My project, which captures the essence of Havana through its people and the places they inhabit, was an important step in my photographic journey. Through my lens, I aimed to explore the daily lives of Cubans and the vibrant atmosphere of the city, showcasing its contrasts, its beauty, and its stories. Click through the slideshow below to view the first set of my Cuban images involved in the exhibition:

Cuba is a photographer’s dream: full of colourful classic cars and beautiful interesting architecture. Several years ago I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks in Havana. I spent the days roaming the streets capturing my impressions of the Capital City.  From the colourful classic cars, to the ramshackle buildings and streets bustling with happy Cubans, Havana as a location has it all. My following photo of the pink car making a splash in front of a Russian Church on the seafront won a travel photography competition by Wanderlust Magazine and was shared by National Geographic UK on their Instagram page. I have been to many countries in the World and none have matched the photographic potential of Cuba, I look forward to returning one day. I hope you enjoy my photographic memories of Havana. Click through the following slideshow to see the remainder of my Cuban photographs included in the MC Global section of the recent Miradas Compartidas 24 exhibition in Cuba:

More of my travel photography from Cuba can be found on my Instagram, and my Flickr account. More information about the recent exhibition in Havana can be found on the Photo Project Page here. Many of my images from Havana, Cuba are available to license via Getty images here.