My 2013 Trip to Cuba
10 Days with Lee Frost group
I first learned about Lee Frost, a photographer and tour guide, in a photography magazine I subscribed to. He’s based in the UK, and I wrote to ask if my living in Denmark would cause any logistical issues if I were to join any of his tours. He answered that he has people attend who live all over the world. At the time, he had availability for trips to Burma, Cuba, Namibia, and Iceland.
Ironically, when we were still married, Christine wanted to visit Cuba, but I had been too nervous to do so. It seemed like a dangerous place to visit, given how little either of us know about the country. I could picture all manner of scary things that probably only happen in films.
Lee, however, had been doing a tour in Cuba for 10 years at the time and I correctly assumed that I would both be and feel safe visiting with his group. Plus, since Lee takes amazing photographs, the trip promised to improve both my photography and travel skills.
I’m quite pleased with the pictures I took on this trip, although I feel that Lee deserves a lot of the credit for them.
Not that Lee spent time teaching. His approach was more “lead a horse to water”. Once at a good location, he left it up to us to find our own pictures. Occasionally, if I happened to be near him when walking through a town, I might see what he was shooting and take inspiration from that, but otherwise, I liked that he did not attempt to impose his style or philosophy on us.
I’m certain, however, that without his guidance, I would never have found so many interesting subjects at the right time of day to ensure great natural light. This often meant getting up before dawn and having breakfast after a few hours of shooting, and knowing when to take a break from the boring mid-day sun.
I learned a lot about how to arrange my day when travelling solo.
I was also happy to learn that the people in Cuba were very kind to photographers. As Lee put it, they live in a beautiful country and they are proud of it. We never encountered any complaints for taking pictures. It was especially wonderful to take pictures of children without anyone becoming distrustful. As one of my fellow travellers from England put it, as we took pictures of the uniformed children making their way to school, “We’d be put in jail for doing this back home!”
I ended up joining Lee on trips to Morocco and Iceland (in the winter), both places that I didn’t feel comfortable travelling solo at the time. I took a lot of inspiration from his work when I planned my solo trip to Namibia.
Our route
Pre-trip thoughts - Sunday, March 3, 2013
Copenhagen 18:13
So, for my trip to Cuba, I think my goal should be to stay present and try to shoot what I see. I hope to avoid panicking and feeling that I have to shoot, when I don't really see anything worth shooting. I want my interest to truly lead me.
I notice, sometimes, I feel uncomfortable waiting and just start shooting, which, while in Utah, made me feel that I hadn't really seen my surroundings.
SATURDAY, MARCH 9, 2013, 17:27
My goal for this vacation is to enjoy myself and the process of making pictures. I don't know if we will be sharing our work with others [during the trip, like we did in Utah], but I really want to put aside any need to compete or feel inadequate, and just enjoy the opportunity to capture what I can of my vision of what I see.
I do want to learn, of course, and sometimes that may require frustration, though I want to remember at the same time that this is something I choose to do for its own sake, not to meet anyone else's criteria.
Day 1 - Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Hotel Seville
The ghost behind the machine
A Boy and his Dog
Vacation Dreaming
First Morning with Lee
Seeking Clarification
Morning Traffic
Grumpy Passenger
Dirty Windshield
Cruising
Yellow Light and Taxi
Fatherhood
Shop Scene
Japanese Water Painting
Jennifer Rock
Happy Days
Lots to think about
Scary Dog
Between the Lines
Content Couple
Random Havana Beauty
Friendly Native
Parked
Cuban Painted Ladies
Sweet School Girls
FIDEL
Fidel
Stairway
Beauty in Decay
(even) Scarier Cat
Moving Past Che
Into the blue
Bunnies Front and Back
Barcardi Building (puddle reflection)
Considering the View
Door Step
Mischievous
When will he call?
Color Coordinated Catnap
Furrowed Brows
Unexpected
Going Green
Headless
Day 2 - Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Striped
Wet Runway
Taking My Keys and Going
Three Columns
Asking Directions
Blue with White Stripes
Long Wait
Commanding Attention
Imprisoned Bishops
Window on the World Walking By
Havana Days
Urban Cowboy
Time for a Drag
Can we go upstairs and play in the forest?
Piña Colada on the way
Bug Eyes
Day 3 - Thursday, March 14, 2013
Before Sunrise
Glad to be rid of it
Bus Window Reflection
Glimpses
Red Cap and Hand
End of the Road
Sidecar Rejected
Commuter
Parallel Parking
Six in the Sky
Happy as a...
Bearing Down
Ancient Device
Stogie
Good ol' Boys
Brush Strokes
Inside Joke
Friendship
Dinosaurs
Combatientes
<3
Innocent Coercion
Impasse
Far Away
Day 4 - Friday, March 15, 2013
Little Hut on the Prairie
Smoke in the Valley
Weathered
Look of Wisdom
Look of Youth
Tobacco Farmer Standing
Losing it
Tobacco Farmer
Young Farmer
Brothers
Horse Drawn and Hand Drawn
Stripes
In Flight
Che
Swan Song
Dugout Scene
Put me in, coach!
3 S 3
The Wind
Hangout
Sunbeam
Touched
Take a Seat
Siblings
Portrait with Phone
Day 5 - Saturday, March 16, 2013
When Dreams and Reality Mix
Sunrise in Paradise
Green Hat on the Highway
Quick Cart
Primal Scream
Green Leaves, House, and Car
Light Angles and Curves
Planning the Day
Red, White, and Blue
On Watch
What Once Was
Daily Gossip
Bashful
The Emperor and His Dog
All I want for Christmas
Sun in her eyes, wind in her hair
Spectacle
The Guys
Hanging out with the Guys
Synchronicity
Boys
Hide and Seek
Streets Lined with Gold
Prisoner of a Puddle
Day 6 - Sunday, March 17, 2013
Starry starry night
Shredded Sunrise
Before the morning commute
Strung Together
Morning Revelation
Love in the morning
Reverse Mohawk
Splashes of Green
Three's a Crowd
Baking
4x4
Double Bass in the Corner
Day Glow
Et tu, Che?
Serious Game
Street Girls
Youth Knows No Bounds
Just Hanging Out
Out Walking Her Shadow
Wall Art
Concerned
Impromptu Shop
On the Catwalk
Interest and Contemplation
Dance of a Single Veil
Nonchalance
People of Your Neighborhood
3 Generations and a Puppy
Out on His Own
Drive by Posing
Cherry Red
Day 7 - Monday, March 18, 2013
Family Portrait
Morning Paper
Open Door Paradise
Shades of Blue
Desperately Seeking Shade
Hidden Che
Dark Way to Che
Shadow of Light
Does this shadow make me look fat?
Lollypop
Innocence
Family
Wherefore art thou Romeo?
Flying Fingers
Hands in Motion
The Bass and the Ice Box
Line Drawing with Light
Light in Darkness
The Shadow Dimension
Pipe Dreams
M3 Power
Swedish Dream
Cowboy in Profile
Working towards Full Bloom
Day 8 - Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Alien in my bathroom
Fuzzy
Birdcage
Seeing Spots
Lean
The Horseman Cometh
Ruby Slippers
Homeward Bound
Army Boots
Passages
Hangout
Wing Hat
Yellow and Green
455
Portrait
Blue Dodge
Blue Boy
Parallel Parking
Gabriel's Trumpets
Abstract Art
Coming home to Grandma
Secure
Street Corner
Time to Think
Table for Two
Last Supper
Sunday Best
Uninterested Spectator
Sittin' here restin' my bones
Blue Dog
A Friendly Face
Natural Model
Ponder
Blue Dog
Music to go
World's Best Pina Colata
Day 9 - Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Path through Paradise
Waves
Spot in the Shade
Back in Havana
Nine
Passing the Guys in the 'hood
Up on the Roof
Hide & Seek
I think we're on
Traveling Trombone
Wave
Capturing the Moment
Day 10 - Thursday, March 21, 2013
Conference
Morning in Havana
Second Hand Smoke
Halo
Smokin'
Side Light
Drive into the Light
On the Corner
Peepholes
Blue Eyes
Pastels
Ballet Students
False Horizon
Mini-Project - Phone Keypad
Before starting the trip, I was a bit concerned about getting overwhelmed and being unable to find interesting subjects.
Looking back, of course, that seems quite silly, but I didn’t know that at the time.
I gave myself a small project, for times when I didn’t know what to shoot. I wanted to take pictures of all the numbers from 0 to 9, plus the asterisk and hash symbol, then put them together as a collage that would look like an old style telephone touch pad.
Although I allowed myself to take pictures of actual printed numbers, I really wanted to find numbers hidden in other shapes. I mentioned this to some of my fellow travellers and they started seeing numbers everywhere too. I took a picture of the last number I needed on the last day (the number 5… I had to resort to taking a picture of a printed 5).
Cuban Phone Pad