Some places just enrich your life and linger with you long after you leave them. Havana was one of those places for me.
I remember how calm I had to make myself while taking this photograph. My heart was pounding because I knew I was blessed with this scene in front of me. It was also pounding because it was extremely hot and I was starting to feel woozy from the sun, the car exhaust and other smells circling me. There were construction workers all around me in the tiny courtyard, with buckets and tools I had to maneuver between and step over. I also felt like I needed to hurry so as not to miss that perfectly positioned snoozing cat on the steps.
But you have to calm yourself down when you are behind the lens. Despite your fast heartbeat and the ticking clock, you have to relax your posture and your fingers to avoid any shake, and relax your mind so you can observe the details before you photograph them. Otherwise, the details will be lost, because the lens only sees what YOU see. I took about a dozen variations of this image, emphasizing different details each time, making sure the light looked exactly as I saw it.
I remember how calm I had to make myself while taking this photograph. My heart was pounding because I knew I was blessed with this scene in front of me. It was also pounding because it was extremely hot and I was starting to feel woozy from the sun, the car exhaust and other smells circling me. There were construction workers all around me in the tiny courtyard, with buckets and tools I had to maneuver between and step over. I also felt like I needed to hurry so as not to miss that perfectly positioned snoozing cat on the steps.
But you have to calm yourself down when you are behind the lens. Despite your fast heartbeat and the ticking clock, you have to relax your posture and your fingers to avoid any shake, and relax your mind so you can observe the details before you photograph them. Otherwise, the details will be lost, because the lens only sees what YOU see. I took about a dozen variations of this image, emphasizing different details each time, making sure the light looked exactly as I saw it.
A week after I left Havana, I saw on Instagram that they painted over the mural and over Fidel Castro's words, so the cat was no longer the only element that made this print a limited edition!
I never would have thought that a year later, my Havana collection would decorate the colorful walls of Cafecito Montreal, an awesome new cafe in the Old Port of Montreal near Griffintown. You can find "Fidel" (11x14 inches in a gorgeous rustic frame) along with 25 of my Havana prints (framed and unframed) for purchase at the café.
I never would have thought that a year later, my Havana collection would decorate the colorful walls of Cafecito Montreal, an awesome new cafe in the Old Port of Montreal near Griffintown. You can find "Fidel" (11x14 inches in a gorgeous rustic frame) along with 25 of my Havana prints (framed and unframed) for purchase at the café.
Follow me on Instagram for more about the cafe and a full reveal of our gallery wall!
From my heart to yours.
From my heart to yours.
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