by René Timmermans | Oct 30, 2009 | Photography
…it does not get any better than that!
This week I returned from a three week trip to Cuba. I traveled from Havana to Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuegos. All went well and I had an enjoyable stay. Photography wise I could have limited my traveling to Havana and Trinidad, as the people and environments were strongest to photograph there.
Hanging out at the Malecón.
The Malecón, the 8 km long boulevard along the coastline of Havana, is a wonderful place to stroll along and watch people hanging out, swimming and fishing. I spent much time on the Malecón on early mornings and sunset evenings.
The people of Cuba have in general no problem with taking photographs of them. They are very friendly and were always ready for a chat to practice their English or help me with my Spanish skills. Their curiosity is enormous, and they are always interested to know where you come from, what your name is, what you think of Cuba and of course if you are interested to buy cigars.
An old woman over-thinking her daily worries.
Compared with my first trip to Cuba in 2002 I can see many differences. Obviously the Dollar has been exchanged for the Euro. The number of old American cars has decreased and been replaced by new Korean cars. There are more modern shops, supermarkets and fancy restaurants, although for the local people there is still a limited possibility to purchase goods (an average pension is about 9 Euro a month and a young cigar roller earns about 6 Euro a month.) The mobile network works well through big part of the country, but not many locals use a mobile phone. Internet access is widely available for foreigners in hotels or the Etecsa (energy and communications company) offices.
What has remained is the charm. It is enjoyable to walk the streets in the evening and watch the people play a game of chess or domino, while others watch and throw in various advices. And sometimes an odd stranger walks by, dressed in cameras, but that does not take away the concentration on the domino stones…
Domino is the national game.
If you are interested, my website is updated with new Cuba galleries (www.renetimmermans.com), but more will come on this blog in the coming weeks as well…
by René Timmermans | Oct 5, 2009 | Photography
Exactly a year ago I was traveling to Jodhpur in India. Although I had looked very much forward to photograph in “the blue city”, not much of that happened unfortunately. We actually enjoyed just one day of sightseeing, which was supposed to be three. My wife and I both fell terribly ill and had to stay in our hotel room for 48 hours before we were allowed to travel onwards from our local doctor. I will spare you the details, but it was not pretty.
.
Thankfully we stayed in a wonderful hotel, the Ajit Bhawan Palace Resort. This beautiful residence of the family of the late General Maharaj Ajit Singh is turned into a heritage hotel, and I could wish no better place to be ill. I highly recommend this hotel might you be planning to stay in Jodhpur.
The one day we did spent in the city was to view the fort. In the early morning we traveled towards it and first enjoyed the view from a distance. Some local musicians and dancers were entertaining and I managed to make the attached environmental portraits of them.
.
After the visit to the fort we went literally and figuratively downhill, and had to go to a local pharmacy to pick up some medicine. In the small street in front of the pharmacy I had to hide between two cows to disguise what nobody wanted to see… 30 minutes later I was happy to just be in bed and let Jodhpur for what it was. I would love to go back to Jodhpur and shoot much more of the city, despite the memories I have from this place, but not this year…
Tomorrow I will be off to Cuba for a three week journey. I hope I will stay well and able to shoot some more compelling environmental portraits in a completely different part of the world. It will be quiet for this coming period on my blog, as I do not know how well Cuba nowadays is equipped with internet access, but please come back end of October to read on.
Have some great weeks!
by René Timmermans | Oct 1, 2009 | Photography
As you probably can imagine after reading my previous post, I am currently in full preparation for my Cuba trip.
Photo: “Guerrillero Heroico” by Alberto Korda
The can-not-live-without Cuba Lonely Planet Guide book is bought. I actually have had this for a while in order to detail plan my travel plans while in the country. It is amazing how much (practical) information these guide books contain. I have had these guide books with me on almost all my travels and this collection takes quite some space on the bookshelf by now.
My tourist visa was arranged last week, which went very quick as I could wait for it while at the Cuban consulate here in Stockholm. Usually I have to wait a few days when I apply for a visa as I have a Dutch passport, but apply with the consulates in Sweden.
In the last month I have tried to brush up my Spanish skills by following a Rosetta Stone course. It is fun to do, but I doubt if this is the best course as you just look at a bunch of photos and do not get any explanation what so ever. With me on my iPod Touch I have the Michel Thomas and Pimsleur Spanish courses as well, so I will be able to continue studying while traveling. Lets see how much that will happen though…
But by far the most pleasure I have during the preparation, is with researching on Ernesto “Che” Guevara. There is an incredible amount of information available about him on the net. The most well known piece of documentation is without a doubt the photo from Alberto Korda (see on top of this post), which is considered the most famous photo in the world… ever!
During last week I watched “The Motorcycle Diaries“, a movie about Guevara traveling through South America with his friend, Alberto Granado, on a motorbike. During this journey Guevara gets shocked by the amount of injustice he sees and this lays the ground for his future efforts to improve the world by participating in and starting revolutions. That part of his life is well documented in the movie: “Che, part one“, which is about the Cuban revolution and “Che, part two“, in which Guevara leaves from Cuba to start a revolution in Bolivia, where he sadly gets captured and executed by a group of CIA trained agents. Although I am not an expert on Guevara or Cuba, in my view the movies give a good insight on his personality. “Che, part one” gives a good insight in the reasons and goals behind the Cuban revolution and helps me better understand the Cuba we see today.
.
Above is a photo I took in 2002 of the icon Ernesto “Che” Guevara on Plaza de la Revolución.
by René Timmermans | Sep 25, 2009 | Photography
Ever since our successful trip to Cuba in 2002 I have wanted to go back there. Not only to drink more rum and smoke more Cohiba’s, but to experience the country again, talk more with the people and try to understand it even better than before. In October I will be traveling for three weeks in Cuba again.
.
Of course, returning after seven years also gives the opportunity to see changes, if any, since Fidel Castro gave over power to his brother. From what I read on the net and in guidebooks there has been a new phase in modernization in the country, and I should expect more internet access to be available and better coverage and usage of their mobile networks.
On my end the difference will mainly be the type of photographic equipment I will drag with me. Back in 2002 my main camera was a Nikon F100 and I shot positive slides. I had just purchased my first ever digital camera, the Nikon Coolpix 885 and I shot jpg’s. (The photo above was taken with the Nikon Coolpix 885).
Now I will travel with my Nikon D2X and D300, and a Canon Powershot G9, and all will be shooting in RAW, giving me more freedom to enhance the images afterward. Instead of returning home with a bag full of film rolls and waiting for a week to get the developed slides back, I will come back with a handful of compact flash cards and a portable hard-disk with a 4″ screen to view the images instantly.
.
My initial planned itinerary will take me from Havana to Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuengos, but changes might occur. I will keep you posted.
by René Timmermans | Sep 16, 2009 | Photography
The days are clearly getting shorter, the temperatures in both the day- and nighttime are dropping and the first yellow leaves can be found on the trees here in Stockholm. Although the sun is still shining during a large part of the day and doing its best to warm up things, it is inevitable… the autumn is coming!
It has been a great summer, with early mornings and late evenings to catch the best light conditions. The weather has been good also, from time to time too warm to stay indoors. And that is the advantage from the months ahead of us, it will be cold and dark large part of the day, so that means time to spend behind the computer and post-process those images taken earlier.
I am currently testing some Photoshop plug-ins from onOne Software and Nik Software. From what I have seen so far it is great stuff with lots of opportunities to enhance my photos in a fast way, while remaining with great control over the creative process. Check out their websites for the latest software packages. You can download trial versions for 30-days of use.
Below an image taken in “Nackareservatet” from a few years back to get into the mood for the autumn colors.
This image was taken with a Nikon D70 and a Nikon AF-S DX 18-70mm lens @ 69mm; f/6.3 – 1/160sec – ISO200.
Recent Comments