1. What is your first name: Jorge
2. What city are you from: Trinidad
3. What country are you from: Cuba
4. What do you do: Bartender
5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why: Would like to go to any socialist country and work.
6. What’s your dream and why: For the USA to lift the embargo and release the 5 Cubans that the US government has locked up.

FOGG Notes: Jorge was working a at a bar that we were walking by and the first thing I noticed was that he didn’t look Latin.  I know that might sound bad but it’s the truth, so much that I think a lot of Cubans look American or European a lot.  Is that just me or does anyone else agree?  Anyways, he had this real classic look to him that just oozed 1950-era style about him.  What I mean is that I could have converted these photos to Black & White and said my grandfather had taken this photo back in the war and you wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference.  Then again a lot of Cuba oozes 1950 and guess it’s what makes it so unique.

I did find it funny though that Jorge wanted to visit any socialist country in the world to work in.  Coming from a communist nation and at war with a capitalist country (USA) made me think why?  Maybe he was splitting the difference and seen the worse of both extremes, thus his logic was the middle ground.  Again this is where I wish I knew more Spanish so I could ask more about that.  He was to my surprise the only Cuban that I met while there that stated he wanted the embargo lifted by America.  To my surprise, after doing some research after coming back, that one of the single biggest factors for the embargo not being lifted is because American-Cubans don’t want it lifted.  I thought that was strange but if you really think about it does make a little sense, seeing how all these people were kicked out of their country by Castro.  Can’t blame them if they still have a bad taste in their mouth from it.

1. What is your first name: Gerardo
2. What city are you from: Trinidad
3. What country are you from: Cuba
4. What do you do: Painter for the last 10 years
5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why: Travel to Brazil to watch a soccer game there and to get with some Brazilian women (who he thinks they are hot!).
6. What’s your dream and why: Wish to one day display my art work in a large gallery, so that I could sell more paintings.

FOGG Notes: I met Gerardo while interviewing a lady on the street next to his shop.  At first he walked up and tried to sell me and a friend a painting but quickly stopped when he saw we were focussed with the interview with the lady.  He stepped back to his shop and watched us very intently while we were with the lady and never took his eyes off us.  When we wrapped up the quick interview we turned to walk up the street by and seen him smiling at us.  So I figured the least thing I could do was stop and see what he had to offer.  I was really surprised by his art work as it was actually quite good!  We talked for several minutes and finally I asked if it would be ok to shoot a few photos and ask him a few questions.  At first he didn’t want to do it but I told him it would be a way to display his art on the internet.  Then it was a 180 degree change of mind and I began to ask him the standard questions.

I remember at one point though when I asked him what his dream was he just looked at me with a really weird look and thought about it for a minute.  Then he said “You are asking some really hard questions you know!”  I couldn’t help but smile but told him to take his time and think it over, as there was no rush.

1. What is your first name: Silvia
2. What city are you from: Trinidad
3. What country are you from: Cuba
4. What do you do: House wife (although she is single).
5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why: Travel to Mexico because I like Mexican men (and she was dead serious when she said that!).
6. What’s your dream and why: To take care of her children and support them.

FOGG Notes: I was interviewing her when Gerardo was trying to sell me a painting.  She was the only person in Cuba that approached us versus us approaching them.  We had circled the streets of Trinidad about three times looking for someone interesting and willing to do an interview with.  As we walked by her on the street she saw my camera and stopped us.  I didn’t know what she was saying at first but she had a big smile on her face and just seemed genuine.  She was a real bubbly person and when I asked if I could photograph her she was very excited about it and even more when we asked her the interview questions. She seemed like the kind of person who had a wild younger life but now that she is older she still longs for those days.  The sheer aspect of telling us without a flinch that she loved Mexican men pretty much summed it up… she was and still is a wild women.  Grandma’s Gone Wild comes to mind!

1. What is your first name: Miguel
2. What city are you from: Trinidad
3. What country are you from: Cuba
4. What do you do: Sell trinkets on the street to tourists
5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why: I’m happy in Cuba and don’t want to go anywhere.
6. What’s your dream and why: I have no dream and am happy!

FOGG Notes: I saw this guy on the street selling purses/bags made out of straw.  He was with another guy and they took a break to sit on the street curb next to the restaurant I was eating at.  I kept an eye on these guys because they had such a weathered face to them and the fact that they were peddling purses of all things.  After I finished my meal I walked outside and sat on the curb with them.  I got out my pack of smokes and offered them both one.  They seemed a little surprised but graciously took one and we both sat there for a minute smoking our cig, watching tourists walk by.  I was leading this all up to an introduction to see if I could photograph these guys.  I pulled out my camera and snapped a few photos of street life going on, then turned it my left and smiled.  They didn’t run and seemed ok with it but both put on a model look while I snapped a few photos.  I quickly looked at the photos on the LCD screen and then showed them both but they just both nodded at me, as if I was their grandkid and did something that I thought was great but they didn’t really care.

I didn’t ask these guys for an interview then and there but saw them later sitting on another curb in the shade.  I figured what the hell and worse thing they could do was say no but since I had buttered them up already and they seemed ok with photos I figured I might have a good chance.  Again, I offered them both a smoke and asked if it would be ok to ask them a few questions.  They both seemed really hesitant but my friend explained that it was the same thing we ask everyone and only took a minute.  Miguel said ok in a 1/2 “I could careless” way and so we asked him what his first name was.  The other guy started shaking his head while smoking and by the time I asked Miguel what city he was from the other guy walked off repeating “No, no, no!”  (see photo of the other guy here) Thought I was done for the interview but Miguel kept going but his answers were so cold and closed.  Basically the only thing he would say is that Cuba is the happiest place in the world and he didn’t want to leave it.

This was a perfect example to me of the Cuba repression you see while there.  It boiled down to only two reasons for the coldness I got when I tried to ask anything:

1. Afraid of the Cuban Government: because if he said something bad about Cuba they might come after him for it
2. He’s a proud Cuban: because he thought I was going to use his photo and info to show how bad Cuban life is to the world and make his country look poor.

Either one is probably true (if not both) but it just struck me as funny.  Never have I been somewhere where people were so worried about what might be written that they couldn’t express themselves because so.

I shot this photo from a moving bus on the first day in Havana, Cuba.  It was one of the first pictures I took while in Cuba and might well be one of the best shots I got while in Cuba.  The look of the boy standing with a straight stance and the framing made it come together but it lacked that pop to make it stand out.  When I loaded the photos from the day and seen this I couldn’t help but think he looked like a kid in training.  That today he was standing their like a solider and in 15 years he would more then likely be standing their again, only this time in his uniform and weapon.  All males must join the Cuban military after graduation.

As you can see below there is a big difference from original to the edited version.  I wanted to show how rugged the wall he was standing next to was so that it would highlight him more.  There was so much going on in that wall and wanted to make sure all the shadows, tears and multi-colors were the second focus spot for the photo.  The boy would be #1 for sure but if you look at the before photo the wall doesn’t really draw the eye much does it?

So, I started with clicking on the “Adjust Brush” in Adobe Lightroom and selected the wall to add more contrast and clarity.  I then selected the background to darken the street behind him some.  Not a lot but just a little to make it feel more moody.  Last, I highlighted everything except the boy and upped the contrast and clarity.

You can see the histogram on the upper right and the overall adjustments below it on the sidebar.  I upped again the contrast and clarity, plus raised the black level some.  I’ll sometimes do the same thing 3x in one section to get the feel I want (ie; raising the clarity levels over and over).  I thought about turning the tempature down some but liked the feel of it just the way it was.

If you have any questions or suggestions please let me know.  All tips are welcomed!

Click here for more Photography Lessons on FOGG Odyssey!

This is the first of a weekly post I plan on doing showing the Before & After of a picture that I take.  I often read other photography blogs/websites and when I see their work I always wonder how it originally looked compared to after it had been post edited.  It can get really discouraging to the new photographer when he sees work that looks perfect 24/7 but odds are most of the time it’s been edited to get it to that point.

The first two things I always want to know about a photo when I first see it are:

1. What was the photo info: If you highlight over my photos on my website you will see this info (it will look like this: Canon 5D | 24-105mm | 1/100 sec | f4.0 | ISO 100).  This lets me know what type of gear he/she was using, ISO, speed exc and helps me to learn about how to set-up for a similar shot in the future when the situation arrives.  Most people won’t add this info because frankly it takes time to embed.
2. What did it originally look like:  I want to know what it looks like so I don’t get frustrated and want to throw my camera out every time I see someone using the same camera as I do but always has better stock.  Odds are he/she doesn’t capture better images than you but rather is better at post-editing than you.  But it does help reinforce the positional of a shot and will help motivate you to learn more post editing techniques.  You will only see a before and after shot when someone is trying to either A) teach a technique or B) sell a product.  I have rarely ever seen anyone who posts both pictures because most don’t want to show what they did and it takes twice the time to do so.

So this is why I will be starting a once a week before and after shot with a little info on how I edited it.  Feel free to ask questions,give suggestions or leave comments in general as I hope this will fill a void for a lot of people.  We all do better if we learn from each other so I hope people will like these posts.

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This was a great picture I took while in Cuba but knew as soon as I took it that it would need some work to make it pop even though the framing was great.  As you can tell below there is a big difference between the before shot with no editing and the after with heavy editing.  I say heavy but to be honest it only took me about 3 minutes to edit this picture in Adobe Lightroom.  I adjusted the exposure down some and raised the black level up to show the deepness of the photo and make it pop.  Then I started working on certain sections.

Above highlighted in red is what I selected to add detail to in the photo, using Adobe Lightroom.  My #1 tool when editing is the “Adjustment Brush.”  I normally will select someone’s face and color correct the skin tone, raise the contrast, up or lower the exposure and adjust the clarity.  I always select the face nearest to the camera, then work my way back if needed, always finishing by adjusting the background last (see the 3rd photo with the most red).

I threw this picture in to show you the detail when cropped.  You can see what kind of camera gear I use here, but it goes to show you how a DSLR will kick a pocket cam butt any day of the week.  If you’re only going to post pictures to Facebook or a travel blog then they work awesome.  If you want to ever print something larger than an 8×10 though it starts to get complicated.  There is software out there that will allow you to increase a photo size without loss of detail but it’s best to have the detail to start.

Click here for more Photography Lessons on FOGG Odyssey!

1. What is your first name: Michael
2. What city are you from: Trinidad
3. What country are you from: Cuba
4. What do you do: Security Guard for a restaurant
5. If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go and why: Toronto because I want to work there.  I hear you can make good money and would like to go and send some back to my family.
6. What’s your dream and why: To travel the world by plane and see everything I can.

FOGG Notes: He was standing by the front door of a restaurant that we were about to go into and I quickly reached for my notepad to see if I could do an interview.  I hadn’t interviewed anybody yet while in Trinidad and he seemed friendly with a very welcoming smile (even if I didn’t capture it).  The interviews in Havana so far hadn’t been to hard to get but I quickly realized that anywhere else would be for Cuba.  At first he didn’t understand what I was asking or wanting but after a few minutes of explaining that all I wanted was a few questions and a picture he finally agreed.  Think it was more because he was hoping we’d come into the restaurant and spend money versus he really cared about someone interviewing him.

All the answers were very short and I had to be careful about giving him examples of an answer to the questions we were asking, henceforth why his dream was to fly around the world by plane (which I really doubt is his dream).  I used that as an example and he basically said “Yeah thats what I want to do.”  I’m not saying people in Cuba don’t have dreams of their own but I think not many people have ever asked them what theirs is.  I was happy to get this interview but was sad I didn’t really get to know his true thoughts on the subjects.  Time is really the true factor in any personal interaction, as in the more time you spend with someone the more you will know of them.

One thing about Cuba that’s like anywhere else in the Caribbean is that they have some awesome coastlines.  The Caribbean has some of the best beaches in the world, with their blueish-emerald waters, with white sandy beaches, that make you feel like you’ve been transported into a postcard.  The beaches in Cuba aren’t for surfing but more for relaxing and forgetting the world.

There are two types of beaches in Cuba; one for tourists and one for locals.  Tourist can go to local beaches but locals can’t go to tourists beaches.  Normally the nicest beaches are reserved for the tourists and have plenty of security on them but the locals beaches are more fun and have a greta vibe about them.

The thing I like most about the beaches in Cuba were the sunsets.  Don’t know why but they are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen and got some great shots of them.  Also sitting around the beach all day drinking Cuban rum and veggen-out might have had something to do with swaying my vote a little.

I’ve been following a photo blog from Thailand for some time now.  Gavin Gough has a knack for getting images that most people only dream about.  One thing I have seen him do is get an imagine of an object (person, car, bike exc) that is in focus while the background is blurred out.  I find this style of photography leaves so much to the imagination, adds a new dimension to ones work and creates motion.  To see examples that Gavin does with this technique click on the links below.  I especially recommend checking out his post “Postcards From Delhi” with the photo of the little girls in the rickshaw.

While in Cuba I thought I would try and get a photo like Gavin does.  I tried to remember the settings he uses and spent about an hour on the street shooting.  The pictures above and below are what I got that day.  They don’t quite have the feel that Gavin’s does but I will be working on this technique more in the future.

The trick I have found is that people running or bikes on the street, is to set your camera up in manual mode to 1/15 to 1/20sec.  Then you put the focus on the subject (if a person say the face) and pan the camera left or right as they are passing.  For cars or moto-bikes you will need to increase the speed more, depending on how fast they are going.

This is a technique and not every photo will come out perfect.  For every 20 photos I took I got 1 good one.  So play around and see what you get.  Get out of your programed settings on your camera and try manual mode for once!

This is the last of my 3 part series of Cuban cars from the 50′s.  The above picture is one of my favorites because it shows not only the car but also conveys a timeless picture.  I thought about turning this picture into a black and white because you wouldn’t have been able to tell if it was 1960 or present day.  This was the feeling I had the whole time when I was in Cuba.

To see the other posts, click on a link below:

• Cuban Cars From the 50′s: Part I
• Cuban Cars From the 50′s: Part II