by René Timmermans | Aug 27, 2010 | Photography
This summer we spent a week at the west coast of Sweden, near Falkenberg in the province of Halland to be exact.
The weather forecast promised sunshine and warmth, so we packed our camping gear and headed westbound… and we were not the only ones. The various campsites were completely packed with caravans, mobile homes and tents, and most campsites had a big sign “FULL” in front of their reception house. Stupid enough we had not pre-booked a place, so we drove from campsite to campsite to find an available spot. Eventually we were lucky and were given a good spot on a campsite with good facilities.
We had some wonderful days, the weather was indeed great and during the days we relaxed. In the evenings I took my camera and headed for the coastline. In front of our campsite was an interesting seaside with some spectacular sunset views. The rocks at the shore made some good foregrounds to bring some depth into the photos. The two photos in this post were taken during the same evening, at the same place, but in various directions and with a slight difference in time.
We enjoyed ourselves until the weather changed… a storm came with heavy rains and strong winds. Spending time in a tent is fun when it is about 20+ (C) degrees with sunshine, but the fun quickly disappears when you need to hang on the tent poles and ropes to keep things in place. It does not become much better when you look at the secretly smiling faces from your neighbors looking down at you from their caravan window. Thus, it did not take long before we packed our dripping tent and went back eastwards towards Stockholm. In the car it was my turn to smile, because I knew I had some great photos in my camera!
by René Timmermans | Nov 9, 2009 | Photography
As mentioned in a previous post, while I was in Cuba I spent a lot of time on the Malecón, the 8 km long boulevard along the coastline of Havana. It turned out to be my favorite place to photograph and to get in touch with the locals.
Evening ghosts at the Malecón.
Especially in the evenings the long boulevard gets busy with tourists and locals. The sun sets just behind Vedado creating amazing and colorful panoramas. The local youth comes out to swim from the rocks and platforms when the sea is calm. This creates some fine photo opportunities.
Going for an evening swim.
Many fisherman come to the Malecón with their equipment to catch an evening meal.
Fisherman at sunset.
One evening I got in touch with a young man selling baseball caps to make a living. His story was kind of sad. He claimed to have been part of Cuba’s national baseball team, traveled and lived in Canada for a year to play baseball and learn English. When he had returned back on Cuba he was eager to leave again as he enjoyed live in Canada better and he decided to try and go to the US.
As this is not possible to do for Cubans, together with two friends he arranged for a small boat and they tried to flee the country and were heading for Florida. Shortly after they had left the shore they were captured by the Cuban coastguard and sent to jail for three years. He was kicked out of the national baseball team and as he expressed it: “I screwed up and threw away the biggest opportunity I was given in life”.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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My initial planned itinerary will take me from Havana to Santa Clara, Trinidad and Cienfuengos, but changes might occur. I will keep you posted.
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