Cuba Trip - Day 2 (part 7)

A few more from day 2. There's more good shots in my library, but I want to move on to day 3 in the next post. I've had a mixed reaction to the b/w renderings. Overall the colors were so strong that they really distracted from the substance of the image. When I get to posting the shots of the old cars, I may try them in color, but I've been encouraged to experiment with b/w processing also. All these shots were on the back streets of Old Havana. I felt safe and unintimidated walking around there. And the people were friendly and eager to try some conversation - they were fascinated to hear about New York City.

Cuba Trip - Day 2 (part 6 - MUSICIANS)

Havana is a city of music. Every club has a band, street musicians everywhere. They live on the tips. Some of the best music I heard during the week I was there was in the hotel's cigar bar which had a different ensemble every night.

In Old Havana the Hotel Ambos Mundos is where Hemingway took up residence before he bought his own home. This is the pianist who played in the bar on the first floor:

Typical street hustler playing tunes and posing for photos, if you gave him a tip:

 Bands like this are everywhere:

Cuba Trip - Day 2 (part 5)

As I work through my images and convert them to b/w, the decision to convert them from color becomes more and more obvious. I 'see' the final image as b/w, the vibrant colors on the streets of Havana are only a distraction. Except for the cars, I'll post the remaining images of the eight days in Cuba as b/w.

Everyone who travels to Cuba to photograph shoots the cars. How could I not, they're museum relics. I'll devote an entire post to them (and the motorcycles) down the road.

For today, the young:

And the old:

                                           

Cuba Trip - Day 2 (part 4)

Wasn't sure how to title this  blog entry. Some new shots and some I've already posted - but as color images. After reviewing with one of my photography instructors the work I did for the first three days
I decided that most of the shots would look best as b/w images.

Yes, Cuba is filled with color. The cars are all colorful, and I took a lot of car photos even though I had it in mind not to. Colorful car photos taken in Havana are all over the internet but my style of shooting - to try to capture some kind of story in the image - works best as b/w. The color distracts from the focus of the image. So I re-did some images I've already posted, and I plan to do more of the same. Here's the first batch. The first one I've already posted in color.

Cuba Trip - Day 2 (part 3)

Color is impressive in Cuba, but I still love b/w processing. I 'see' best in b/w - compose and expose my images with b/w intentions. So here's a set of ........ (wait for it!) ........ B/W:

Live in Havana is relaxed:

Doesn't matter where in the world you are, some things never change:

 And I still get 'the look' when I do street photography:

Cuba Trip - Day 2 (part 2)

More color shots. They each speak for themselves.