Photography in Havana: Full Version

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Photojournalist and documentarian Steve Simon discusses his recent trips to Cuba and shooting with the new Nikon DL24-85 Digital Camera. His presentation is not only filled with beautiful imagery, but the seemingly simple insights offered by this experienced photographer will get your creative juices flowing and provide a mental road map, a series of thoughts that will help you as you photograph on the streets of Cuba—or anywhere, for that matter. Simon speaks of the premonitions necessary to capture a moment, as well the “compositional dance” he does when “working” a scene. He also elaborates on how a camera can relieve you of shyness and of wanting to create the difficult decision to edit from among several very good photos of one scene. This talk is peppered with countless insights from an experienced pro who still loves his craft.

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Great presentation! Cuba is on my photography bucket list to photograph the cars from the 50's.

As part of remaining a film shooter, I turned off image review on my DSLR. My next question is if I can get film developed and scanned in Cuba?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t give specific advice about getting your film developed in Cuba.  A friend who was recently down there photographing said he did see a drugstore that advertised photo processing services, but couldn’t remember where it was located.  I would think there should be some labs, though I would likely wait until you returned from your trip to have your photos processed.  That way you can go to a lab that you have experience with (and trust).  I also find it easier to travel with rolls of film rather than negatives/prints.  As long as the film isn’t a super high ISO, there shouldn’t be much risk with sending it through the X-ray machine at the airports.  Though, there are X-ray pouches for film if this is something you are worried about.  Sometimes, you can also ask the TSA agents to hand inspect your film instead of sending it through the scanner.