Cuba

Cuba presents many interesting and unique opportunities for a photographer. The U.S. embargo and subsequent Soviet period of influence that ruined the country economically has created a culture lost in time. Not only are the cars from a by-gone era, surprisingly a majority of the population relies on horse and ox. Nature has not been ravaged by industrialization and there are no multinational or big-box stores to homogenize the cities or landscape. It is a country exploding with color however I chose to present this body of work in black and white tones. The gritty textures of Havana, the people, retro cars and culture seem to predate color film. Black and white photography strips away distractions and bites deep into the unadorned subject matter. Additionally I altered the images to reflect the surreal quality of my experience there.