Street Photography in Cuba Through a Wedding Photographer’s Lens

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My name is Ross Harvey, and I’m an international destination wedding photographer based in the UK. I just back from two weeks shooting street photography in Cuba, and it was a wonderful experience that I’d like to share with you.

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I traveled with the same group of photographer friends that I visited Myanmar/Burma with last year. We worked hard and played hard; shooting at sunrise and sunset, and enjoying lunch, cards and cocktails during lunch and the evening.

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Adventures such as these are the kind that are written permanently into memory; the laughter, the friendship, the people and the miles (upon miles) walked.

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I made no plans each day, no set destinations or ideas as to what to shoot. I kept an open mind (and heart) and wandered the streets, following excitement and intuition. An incredibly liberating experience.

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All my photographs are spontaneous, contain no Photoshop manipulation (whatsoever), and have only minimal editing (a slight contrast boost).

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The set contains a mix of themes: juxtaposition, human nature, humour, abstract, weirdness/interesting and layering. Everything was shot with one camera and lens, my Nikon D750 and 35mm f/1.8.

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I invite you to look deeply into each photograph, there are usually multiple layers and/or hidden surprises.

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The final shot of the set is especially memorable. I was watching/shooting some kids jumping into the water (from very high up!), laughing with them when one of them asked to hold my camera and started to impersonate myself, shooting his friends and saying ‘Gracias! Ola! Ola!’ (my limited Spanish!). He captured the moment I pulled my iPhone out to grab a quick selfie to remember the experience by.

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These photos showed Cuba as I saw and photographed it before Obama visited. You can find a larger set of photos from my journey here.


About the author: Ross Harvey is an international award winning destination wedding photographer (covering the UK, Europe and the world). You can find more of his work in his street portfolio, in his wedding portfolio, and on Facebook. This article was also published here.

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