Hands of Laborer, Countryside, Cuba, 2018

The printing of my time in the Cuban countryside continues this week, reliving the memories made with each image is a remarkable experience. Each represents a day in my life, and a lesson learned from the subjects. Ask about an image and a conversation begins... the gift of photography continues.

Etsy 

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Portrait in a Chair, La Habana, Cuba, 2018

Algunos dirían que esta forma de fotografía no es documental, que mover una silla o tener una conversación sobre vestuario y peinado es ocultar la verdad. Algunos dicen que esto es artificial, mostrando algo diferente a la realidad.

Les digo que todo el mundo tiene sueños y que su realidad está fuera de su control. ¿Por qué no hablar con ella y entender cómo le gustaría que la fotografiaran? ¿Por qué deberíamos imponer las nociones del mundo de su país y su sociedad? ¿Qué pasa con sus pensamientos y sueños?

Esta joven viene del campo y vive en un pequeño grupo de casas de madera. La gente de la ciudad llama a estas comunidades 'llegan y ponen', viniendo a la ciudad desde los pueblos y construyendo casas improvisadas ilegalmente.

Sin embargo, son como migrantes en todas partes, buscando una vida mejor para sus familias. Conocimos a su comunidad mientras Idiovel me conducía por el campo y terminamos conduciendo hasta su pequeño pueblo. De alguna manera terminamos frente a la casa de sus abuelos y nos invitaron amablemente a entrar.

Durante las próximas semanas regresamos muchas veces, tuvimos múltiples sesiones de fotografía con la comunidad, grabamos un video musical para su primo (una aspirante a artista) e hicimos este retrato muy especial de una joven sin paralelo en su belleza y fuerza.

Note: Negative exposed with a Hasselblad 501CM/100mm combination, printed in the darkroom onto Ilford 11x14 fiber paper, toned in selenium for permanence.

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Cubano, Campo, cuba, 2018

Lo sorprendente de este país es que en la mañana podríamos estar en la ciudad con los bailarines más talentosos y luego en la tarde con la gente noble del campo.

En este retrato hay un hombre amable que se detuvo por un minuto para permitir que se hiciera su retrato. Como no teníamos nada planeado para la tarde, decidimos salir de la ciudad. Buscábamos personas que trabajaran con sus manos y encontramos a este hombre con su caballo.

Hablamos unos minutos y él accedió a ser fotografiado. La cámara estaba en el asiento trasero, lista para usar. Lo instalamos y rápidamente hicimos su retrato, para que él pudiera ir y alimentar a su caballo con la hierba que acababa de cortar.

Estos son los momentos mágicos para mí, tanto por la hora como por la memoria.

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Cuban, Countryside, Cuba, 2018

What is amazing about this country is that in the morning we could be in the city with the most talented dancers and then in the afternoon with the noble people of the countryside.

In this portrait is a gentle man who stopped for a minute to allow his portrait to be made. Since we had nothing planned for the afternoon we decided to drive out of the city. We were looking for people working with their hands, and found this man with his horse.

We spoke for a few minutes and he agreed to be photographed. The camera was in the back seat, ready to use. We set it up and quickly made his portrait, so that he could go and feed his horse with the grass he had just cut.

These are the magical moments for me, both because of the hour and also because of the memory.

Toddler + Wooden House, Managua to León, Nicaragua, 2017

A few days before my departure we visited this village for the second time, and were beyond fortunate to have had a quiet moment to photograph this young boy. At first his mother had held his hand while he stood next to her, then I placed a bucket upside down for him to sit down... and he did so ever so calmly. Amazingly he sat still for about ten minutes while his mother and I made as many photographs as we possibly could!

He and his family live in between Managua and León on the old highway, the same path my father would have taken as he arrived in Nicaragua. He would have passed by this village as well, perhaps passing by the grandfather of this young boy as he was a toddler himself. The people in this tiny village welcomed us as they would have welcomed family. After the photography on both days we talked for hours about topics ranging from rural life in Nicaragua to their experiences in Cuba.

Two of the men from this house had traveled to Cuba in the 1980s, giving us plenty of subject matter to talk about other than our mutual history in Nicaragua. They loved my old passport, and the picture of me when I was somewhat the age of this young boy. It was the link between the present and the past, something tangible which brought us closer together.

I do hope that the film contains at least one image comparable to this digital image, and look forward to seeing the film images once processed in a month or so.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M3.

Model + Farmer, Guanabacoa, Cuba, 2016

Thanks to Alejandro Godinez we found this incredible space, and so much more in this small village. It so happens to be where his son also lives, and he is somewhat of a star in the area after this summer's worth of models visiting with us!

In this image is the timeless Patricia, someone who has collaborated with us in the past and continues to do so without reservation. She always greets me over the phone with a gentleness and always accepts our invitation to be photographed. We documented her on this day in Yudel's magnificent creations, the supremely gifted clothing designer in the beautiful city of Havana.

While we were making this image a local man was working in the field behind Patricia. As he moved we moved, so as to include him in the images. She happened to notice that and without turning around spoke with him in a sweet way, prompting him to stop and allow us to photograph in this spot for a few more seconds.

She was and is something else, and I for one look forward to documenting more of her next summer!

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100III mounted next to and triggered at the same time as a Hasselblad analog system.

Campesino + Perrito, Manzanillo, Grannma, Cuba, 2015

Last year we had the chance to travel to the other side of the island while, at the same time, taking one of our new families back home after their summer vacation. We stayed with the family for three days, photographed their children and then headed back through the countryside on our way home. The plan was to photograph in the mornings, continue onto another town to photograph in the afternoon.

This image was just one from our drive back, less than an hour away from the family. We had noticed an incredible set of homes, and stopped to speak with the families. The houses were constructed entirely from wood, in the most traditional style of the island. Alejandro decided to let me speak with the family on my own, and smiled as a young boy led me to the house.

The family was quite receptive and allowed me to begin photographing the houses. Their warm response gave me the confidence to ask for their portraits. They allowed me to photograph the young boy in various settings, and then the older man allowed me to photograph his hands holding a puppy. At first he resisted, thinking that perhaps his entire frame was going to be included. He was so sweet, but also a bit shy.

So I showed him the viewfinder, and stood in front of the lens so that he could see my hands and nothing else. He then allowed me to make this image, and held the puppy in the most gentle fashion while doing so. I was sincerely touched.

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Note:This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/100 mm combination onto Kodak TMX film.

Campesino + Manos, El Campo, Cuba, Verano de 2015

Last year Alejandro was able to fix his car during our second month and we headed out to the countryside more frequently than our first four weeks. We would photograph our families in the morning and then head out to the countryside for the afternoon. We did this because our afternoons were never very predictable regarding the weather.

We ran across the most wonderful people, and slowed the process of photography down quite a bit. This was a relief actually, and allowed me to reflect much more so on my vision. It also allowed us to speak with the people much more, and select the moments when we wanted to photograph.

This wonderful man lived in a town east of the capital by at least one hour. We were on our way back from the far side of the island and decided to take an exit and explore. We saw a home and decided to photograph it. As we finished we noticed this handsome man sitting next door. We walked over and asked to make his portrait, and he responded most eloquently and positively.

We talked for some time while he enjoyed his cigar, then made our way to the back of the home for his portrait. His demeanor won my heart immediately, and I am overjoyed to see the success of his portrait in these two samples from the proof just scanned last week!

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Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Kodak TMX film.

Campesino + Field, San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, 2013

When we drove by this man in the field, he was making sure that the water flowed freely. We decided to stop and ask for his portrait, and were glad we did. He was working for the owner of that plot of land, and earned barely enough to support his family living less than a hundred meters from this very spot.

He had taken a break to speak with Alejandro, and I took advantage of the moment to get down on the ground and make photographs in the style of the Soviet era masters, placing themselves below the workers. Knowing Alejandro's propensity to converse at length with his fellow campesinos, I had plenty of time to compose the images.

What moved me most was to be in the midst of this incredible conversation, and to be unnoticed while making a visual record of the audible. We did return that same day incredibly to hand him the photographs, and were able to see his home adjacent to these fields. He worked the fields for someone else, and barely made ends meet as described above. He told us that sometimes the youth come by at night and steal the crops to sale the next morning on the road, that in one hour they steal enough to make more than he does working in the hot sun all day.

He pointed out to us that almost all of the workers in his area were older men, while the younger men had fun during the day, and stole the crops by night. Only by having such conversations can I learn about such difficult lives. Only by being with Alejandro would this man have ever shared such intimate details of his life with a stranger from up north.

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Note: These images were made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/60 mm lens combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Horses + Field, Countryside, Cuba, 2015

The past three days have been spent scanning the 600 or so rolls of film from last summer. During our last two weeks we ventured more so into the countryside, slept where we could and woke up early each day to catch the morning light.

Beautiful scenes such as this were everywhere, as the island is a truly magnificent place. This year my hope is to explore much more of the countryside, and document this life before the tourists leave their collective mark. Of course few tourists visit such spaces, remaining more so in the capital and on the beaches of Varadero. Nonetheless change is inevitable, and the lure of the countryside has grown over the past year or so.

The excitement is already building for this summer. My trusted friend and driver, Alejandro, will be invaluable for this experience. We will hopefully have access to his knowledge and 1954 Chevrolet, going from one village to another for a few weeks. Hoping for the best, and knowing that at least the families will be waiting for us!

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Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination.

Two Friends + Pinar del Rio, Cuba, Summer of 2015

Alejandro and I drove West one afternoon, trying to get away from the clouds in the city. This seemed to work sometimes, as we drove in the direction of Pinar del Rio and found sunshine on many occasions. 

We drove for quite a while and were unable to find faces to document, stories to tell. The search because desperate, especially when two sets of clouds started to come together, creating a tiny sliver of space for the sun to set. Just as we almost gave up, we found this beautiful home and decided to stop.

We then stepped out of the car as we realized the people were looking our way. The women were about to walk home, but decided to remain and listen to our request. We asked permission to photograph the home first, knowing that their curiosity would get the best of them.

It was raining lightly as I exposed a few images of the home. To my immediate left a chicken was guarding her eggs carefully, making me feel a bit uneasy about the location of the tripod. Everyone eased my mind though, and saw it as quite comical.

This made it easy to ask for their portraits, and resulted in the smiles we see below. We photographed the man of the house first, a marvelously powerful farmer whose spirit transferred to film perfectly I hoped at that moment.

The women were great of course, laughing all along and helping each other along the way. My experience has always taught me that acting a clown helps very much, it lowers barriers and allows others to see a lighter side of the photographer. The smiles in this image were the result!

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2. 

Campesino + Machete, Matanzas, Cuba, 2014

This year especially Alejandro and I will be heading out into the countryside, certainly to put as much space between us and the wave of tourists certain to flood the capital this summer. We will however search for that timeless face of the island, more prevalent in the countryside than anywhere else.

Driving into the countryside with Alejandro is so rewarding. We chat the entire time, we stop whenever we like for something to eat, we drive up dead-end paths looking for that illusive face and meet workers on the sides of the roads all of the time.

This was the case when we met this man, as we were heading deep into Matanzas. Alejandro noticed a coal farm to our left and we decided to enter. The men were working at the time, and directed us to the boss for permission. The boss happened to be a woman, and after a few minutes of conversation she allowed me to photograph the men.

The sun was high, so we decided to make abstract portraits and images rather than the directly lit portraits. These two images were the result of the encounter, and have taught me much about using whatever light is available to tell the story.

The man was great, and allowed me to both make his portrait and his hand up in the air with perhaps the most iconic symbol of the countryside on the island. Whenever a Cuban seems these images, the first thing they say is 'Cuban!'

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Note: These images were made by a Hasselblad 555 ELD/180 mm combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Two Girls, Small Village in Matanzas, Cuba, Summer of 2015

The previous post featured a young, local spirit… while this image features two living in rural Cuba. This past summer we had the privilege of once again visiting this village, and being welcomed like never before thanks to the photographs shared with the people.

Last summer we found photographed this village thanks to the look the girl on the right gave us as she walked across the street. We had finished with an abandoned train station and were backing out of the dirt path when she crossed the street and gave us the most intense yet carefree glance.

This immediately forced me to ask Alejandro to stop, and go back. Long story short, an older man helped us find her home and ask her neighbors for permission to make her portrait. Fast forward one year, we visited her village a few times and made her portrait once again. She was enamored with the idea of it all, running back and forth between us and her house asking about her wardrobe, and her hair.

In this image she stands next to one of her neighbors, another wonderful spirit photographed. She was kind to her younger friend, and helped her remain at ease throughout the process by herself posing beautifully. This image was more of a candid image, on a day when we did little photography due to the clouds above. We had a few minutes however during our visit and decided to make some color images for the girls.

I'm glad that we did, and look forward to visiting once again next summer.

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Note: This image was made with a Sony RX100M2.

Ballerina + Countryside, La Habana, Cuba, Summer of 2015

This past summer introduced us to a few new girls, this young ballerina being one of them. We were waiting for one of our dancers to finish classes one late morning when we noticed this young girl with her father. They arrived on a bicycle, and he was one of the few fathers in the crowd… most being the dancers' mothers.

There was something about her eyes, how she looked at the scene around her, that prompted me to include her in this project. So we talked about our approach, and just when we decided to talk with her father they were gone. 

So we continued to wait for them and were treated to a surprise when they returned on that bicycle. We talked for a few minutes and agreed to revisit the conversation when her mother was also present.

A few days passed and we thought that we'd never connect until one day we were approached by another young girl and her mother. They happened to know me, and walked over with the very girl we were trying to contact. This was an incredible surprise to me, and we went back and forth trying to understand how we knew each other.

The previous summer I had met a man while walking in the city. When he found out that my photography included ballerinas, he called his neighbor to come over with her daughter. The mother and daughter who then walked through his door were the very two standing in front of us a year later. Trust was almost instantaneous and numbers were exchanged.

This image represents my second session with this dancer. We chose to photograph her in the countryside, to give her a better chance with regards to the sunlight. With trees all around us, she was quite comfortable being photographed in direct sunlight, and performed flawlessly.

When we ended the session, her mother came up with the great idea of using the house nearby as a backdrop. We asked the family and they agreed immediately, resulting in this image.

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Note: This portrait was made with a Sony RX100M2 using available light only.

Young Dancer + Truck + Horse, Guanabacoa, Cuba, 2015

We were reunited with the truck from last year, and the horses from the neighborhood a few weeks ago. She had changed so much since last year and has grown up into an incredible dancer, even more incredible in front of the lens.

The neighborhood is just outside of La Habana, but might as well be hours away. The homes and the people are quite different, more like the countryside than the city. Photographing in the area is quite special, as my friend's son lives in the neighborhood. When we see a spot, or a truck, we ask permission and are granted such immediately.

The girls love this spot, and making photographs of dance quite different than the norm… rather than the theater. They get to perform to a different audience, and the people in the area get to see a performance in their own backyard!

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Note: This was made with a Sony RX100M2.

Father-in-Law, Guanabacoa, Cuba, Summer of 2014

One day last summer Alejandro took me to his first son's neighborhood where we planned to scout some spots for our dancers, and perhaps also make some images of the neighborhood. Although this was certainly a rural area, it was less than one hour away from Havana. As we parked the car and walked down the driveway to the gravel road, Alejandro met this man and they spoke for a minute. I of course was thinking immediately of his portrait, and Alejandro recognized this as well having worked with me for the past five years or so.

We asked to photograph him, as he turned out to be the father of Alejandro's daughter-in-law. He of course allowed us to do so in the very spot he was standing, and had a comical, kind perspective on the experience. The sun had just come up from the horizon, and cleared a few trees… yet was blocked by a few others as well. This produced the most magnificent highlight/shadow contrast and has taught me once again about the beauty and unpredictability of sunlight. 

I look forward to seeing this man in two weeks, and to handing him this portrait!

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Note: This portrait was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/50 mm FLE combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Guajiro + Machete, Countryside, Cuba, Summer of 2014

When we decided to leave Havana for the countryside, we were taking a serious chance. In the city the faces were everywhere, and represented the entire island. Working in the countryside meant that we would need to drive greater distances in between photographs, while being guaranteed nothing.

We decided to take that chance and ran across this man and his comrades clearing a field. It was a matter of a simple question and then we were immediately allowed to photograph as they worked. The spontaneity of the countryside meant that my work would take on an entirely new approach, and one which has me very excited to return.

This meant wide angle lenses rather than the portrait ones, lower angles rather than face to face, inclusion of the environment rather than exclusion and so on. It's never too late to adapt it seems! 

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Note: This image was made with a Hasselblad 555 ELD/50 mm FLE combination onto Fuji Neopan Acros 100 ISO film.

Friend's Father-in-Law, Countryside, Guanabacoa, Cuba, Summer of 2014

The day was spent in the darkroom printing amongst a few negatives this beautiful man's portrait. We drove to Alejandro's neighborhood to visit his son, and ended up meeting his son's father-in-law as we started on our way to photograph the village. When I asked to photograph him, both Alejandro and this exquisite man had some fun with it. He allowed us immediately, and then went on his way to tend to his land.

This past summer was different, in light of the two months on the island. We had more time to talk with the families, to accept their invitations to birthday parties and to indulge ourselves with just driving away from the big city. In the countryside life was very different, allowing us to breathe a bit while taking in the changes. In six months I look forward to yet another summer in Cuba, and to furthering this work as only this incredible land has allowed me to do.

www.halimina.org

According to Wikipedia:

The town of Guanabacoa is found situated in the province of La Havana, some five kilometers to the southeast of La Havana (city) and south of the city of Regla. It rests on a small hill bordered by rivers.

Guanabacoa was also the home of a small community of Florida Indians, mostly Apalachees and Yamasees, who, along with Spanish forces, were evacuated from Florida in 1764, following the conclusion of the Seven Years' War

Young Girl + Building, Matanzas, Cuba, Summer of 2014

After talking with the vendor on the side of the street, we drove to his small town in search of faces. When we arrived to the center of town, more produce carts lined the street, along with a group of children playing soccer in front of this building.

We were a little nervous, so I thought the best thing was to make a picture of the building, let people see me out in the open and allow the conversations to begin. Alejandro let me into the trunk, I took what I needed and walked across the field to the building above. The children's curiosity got the best of them and they watched with enthusiasm as small pieces of garbage were removed by this stranger in preparation.

A few exposures were made, then I thanked them for their permission and walked back to Alejandro. We talked for a little bit and then decided to hit the road to the city almost two hours away. We backed the car onto the street and started to move forward when this young girl walked across the street in front of us with the most defiant attitude. In response to our attention, she looked right back at us and produced the most incredibly confident expression.

We drove a few dozen meters away until Alejandro noticed my desire to go back. He knew me well enough to know that we needed to find this young girl, and so turned the car around and drove back to the field. She disappeared up the path adjacent to it, and we parked our car trying to come up with a plan. This was a new place for us, out in rural Cuba and out of our comfort zone.

We decided to talk to some of the older men, and got the attention of a kindred spirit, an older gentleman with kind eyes. As we were talking we saw the little girl walking on top of a two-story building, like she had really nowhere to go. We asked the older man about her, and he said that she lived with her father only, and that he would leave her to the community during the day while he worked as a laborer.

So here was this little girl, left to her own ingenuity, going from one neighbor to another until her father came home in the evening. This made me want to photograph her even more so. We knew that without her father it would be nearly impossible, but pushed forward and walked to her neighbors' houses to have the conversation. It turned out that they were so warm to us, and advised that her father would be thrilled to have her photograph made by us.

The look on her face as we had this conversation about her was priceless. She was so pleased that her neighbors allowed us to collaborate, and prepared herself immediately. We had less than thirty minutes of sun left, and moved quickly. Four rolls of medium format film were exposed on her behalf, and she moved from one expression to another like she had done this dozens of times before.

The image above is from the first roll. I so look forward to our next visit, to sharing these images with her and her neighbors, and to further gaining their trust for yet another round of portraits.

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Vendor + Stand, Matanzas, Cuba, Summer of 2014

As we were driving back from Matanzas the road was empty, and we had very few options to do much of anything but drive straight back to La Habana. Earlier on our way to Matanzas plenty of opportunities presented themselves. Now however we were out of luck.

I then asked Alejandro to take the next right down a narrow road, and this was when our luck changed. To our right less than one minute from the main road this man was selling vegetables and fruits. I thought we could do two things at once, buy from him and also connect for the sake of the photography.

We ended up doing both, but before he put the plantains in our car we made this portrait with them hanging beautifully to his right. These were the very plantains that we ate for the next week.

After this image he pointed us in the right direction, and we found the most incredibly sublime girl just a few minutes later as she was crossing the street. Her story was told earlier in this timeline, but it will suffice to write that she will be followed just like the others in La Habana. We will return to her small village, both for her and for her neighbors… and it was this man that made it all possible.

The second image shows the two of us in front of Alejandro's car, only a few minutes after we met the vendor on the side of the road.

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Elder + Countryside, Guanabacoa, Cuba, Summer of 2014

The day was spent in the darkroom printing amongst a few negatives this beautiful man's portrait. We drove to Alejandro's neighborhood to visit his son, and ended up meeting his son's father-in-law as we started on our way to photograph the village. When I asked to photograph him, both Alejandro and this exquisite man had some fun with it. He allowed us immediately, and then went on his way to tend to his land.

This past summer was different, in light of the two months on the island. We had more time to talk with the families, to accept their invitations to birthday parties and to indulge ourselves with just driving away from the big city. In the countryside life was very different, allowing us to breathe a bit while taking in the changes. In six months I look forward to yet another summer inCuba, and to furthering this work as only this incredible land has allowed me to do.

www.halimina.org