Photography in Cuba

[disco]

I will be visiting Cuba in Jan, and I was wondering if anyone had any experiences shooting in Cuba? I am looking for;

Must See Places
Places off the beaten path
Tips in dealing with locals

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Cheers,

disco

[harrypalmer044]

Hi Disco,
been to Cuba 5 times now and have fallen in love with the place. A lot depends on what area's your thinking of visiting? I stopped up in the North East of the island at a beautiful resort and spent most of my time either photographing the stunning white beaches and shoreline or travelling up into the highlands and capturing the wilder part of Cuba. I can promise you it's a stunning country, the people are warm and friendly and you will be very safe there. Couple of things I would say are.
1. The locals are really poor and have to work hard for the little they get, if you want to take their photos I always offered to give them a little something afterwards as a thank you,
2. If you don't already speak Spanish then just a few words learnt makes a huge difference to getting what you want
3. Drink only bottled water unless you want to spend a lot of time in your hotel room.
4. Remember Cuba is over a 1000 miles long so you need to decide before hand where you want to visit, most folks go for Havana but I really liked Santiago De Cuba which is the second largest city in Cuba and is in the south east of the island. It's also where the revolution started so full of historic sites and buildings.

if you pm me and let me know where your stopping and visiting I can give you a better idea of the things to see ok.
Have a great time.
David

p.s "Welcome" to a great site and a fantastic community, I hope you enjoy your time here and look forward to seeing your images when you get back.

[Morgan33]

Someone responded to my question asking about photography classes or tours to Havana with a link to havanaworkshops.com. My understanding is that to travel legally from US to Cuba you have to be part of a cultural exchange tour.

[Biomech]

The people in Cuba are awesome and really friendly, it's a great place and not the crappy dictatorship some places make it out to be.

Nearly everyone will let you take a pic, best to ask anyway, show them after and tell them its good. I don't give people money on holiday, I think it's a bit insulting, but if they are selling something I'll buy what they have, fruit, frog on a stick etc :P

[metallion58]

One key phrase is:
"Hola. Una cerveza por favor." (Hello. Can I have a beer, please?)
After a few of those, you'll need to ask where the toilet is.
I don't know that phrase...
You're on your own!

Originally Posted by metallion58

One key phrase is:
"Hola. Una cerveza por favor." (Hello. Can I have a beer, please?)
After a few of those, you'll need to ask where the toilet is.
I don't know that phrase...
You're on your own!

Donde es da el banyo (phonetic, but close enough).

[Mike367]

Originally Posted by maxharvard

Donde es da el banyo (phonetic, but close enough).

Donde esta el banyo?

In Spanish, there would also be an upside down question mark at the beginning of the sentence.

Doesn't help if you can't understand the answer....

When I lived in Miami, and had at least a modicum of proficiency in Spanish from high school, (which is no longer the case) I could still not understand the Cuban speech like I could Mexican speech, because they (Cubans) have a weird accent.

[Biomech]

Personally I just say "Donde esta el [simulate urinating]" :P

Or, top tip for travel, Learn "Where is" and then take loads of photos on your phone... "Donde esta [show photo of toilet]" :P

[JFSanders]

Simplest way is to say as the locals would. Donde' banyo? Say it with a questioning look on your face. By your accent and dress they will know you are not local and in need of help. If they ask say you are Canadian and they will treat you very well. Don't say you are British as they will think you are cheap. Tip but be discreet about it. Candy is great for the little ones especially in the country areas. Do not be flashy or pushy it will make your stay miserable. Make a Cuban friend and you have a friend for life. The people are magnifico, the dictatorship is sucio el palabra.

Jim

[Biomech]

When I was there the Cubans always complained that the canadians never shut up and asked too many questions :P