Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
My dear man and I sat in the shadows of a sidewalk cafe in Viñales, Cuba. The glossy table top reflected the bustle of activity on the street just a few feet away.
We sipped our coffee and watched the world go by. The marvelous diversity of “traffic” delighted us. Even in a similarly-sized small town in the U.S., we wouldn’t be treated to this glorious, wide-ranging assortment of passers-by.
People, horses, oxen, and dogs.
Cars, trucks, bicycles, scooters, motorcycles, and tractors.
Cargo carts, carriages, and wheelbarrows.
Some talked on cell phones. Some chatted with companions. Some carried ristras of onions. One woman carried new kitchen sink still wrapped in plastic.
We sat quietly, taking in an ordinary day in a small Cuban town. Most of the people going about their day didn’t give us much notice. We were the background.
That was fine with us. We wanted to blend in—as much as is possible as outsiders—to get a picture of real Cubans going about their day. People living their lives without the baggage that comes with tending to us as visitors that weighed on most of our interactions.
On this morning in our Cuban travels, I threw myself into exploring the scenes with my infrared camera. I love the effect it has on the colors and textures of images.
I like monochrome images in general for their ability to strip away the distraction of color and highlight form, lines, and texture. Infrared gives those images a little punch though, especially in foliage. It’s fun shooting.
I reveled in mixing the exercises of people-watching and street photography on this slow morning of our travels. Our time in the background at this street side cafe was one of our favorite experiences in Cuba. That’s saying a lot given how many rich and rewarding experiences we had there.
Cheers, friends. See you next week.
Bluesky Art Show
This post is inspired by the Bluesky Art Show, a challenge to share artwork surrounding a weekly theme each Saturday.
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