Cuban history in bricks and mortar..

Penultimate post on Cuba, I'm certainly going to miss looking at the blue skies in these photos compared with the constant grey sky and rain we've been experiencing for how long now!? Anyway, still this one and one other to go to help keep SAD away! Buildings were so ornate, yet so run down in some places, and everything had a lot of character. 

This is the Hotel Nacionale in Havana, as you can see, not run down like the photo before. This hotel was built by the Mafia and is an amazing building inside and out with beautiful gardens. A definite must if you find yourself in Havana.

This is the old wall that surrounded Havana. The wall was knocked down to enlarge the city but parts still remain such as this one and denote 'Old Havana'. 

Portraits!

I'll be honest, I am not massively confident with portraits. Give me a point and shoot camera at a party and I'll happily snap away but I suppose much like people being put off by seeing an SLR thrust upon them, I am equally put off at the doing the thrusting of said SLR! I'm much more comfortable in my own little bubble, doing my own little thing! Anyway, you never get anywhere if you don't take yourself out of your comfort zone. As my mum says, face the fear and do it anyway!





 Here are some attempts at me doing portraits about a year ago, be warned, they are not at all good! I always felt like I didn't know how to direct my subjects or get the angles I wanted but have been practising and have learnt a lot so I think you'll be able to see the improvement with my most recent shots!

And here are some of my more recent shots. Would love to hear your thoughts!

Night life around London

Went out a few weeks ago with my photo buddy Keith around London to catch it at night. It was pretty cold and very wet but it was fun and actually the wet added to the feel of the night because the lights all reflected in the puddles and raindrops. Here's a few that made the final cut! 

Can't get enough of the Cemetery!

I hope this post finds you well and not experiencing a bad case of the January blues! Hopefully some sunshine in these pictures will brighten up your day a bit. And guess what? I have been back to a cemetery to take them. ;-) I just love going to a cemetery and taking shots, I'm sorry but I do! There are some beautiful graves and some also beautifully cared for plus you get lots of greenery and pretty plants. And when the sun is shining it can look truly magical. That's what I think anyway.

This is my fave image from this shoot and you wouldn't even know it was taken in graveyard would you? I just love the reflection in the puddle, who cares how dirty that water is?!

I Literally just turned 180 degrees to get these two shots and look at the difference in terms of light and general appearance?! Could have been in two completely different locations. Amazing what a simple change of direction can do...

Another trip to the Cemetery!

I know this isn't the most Christmassy blogpost given the time of year... But, maybe it is? For some people Christmas is about churches and these were taken in the grounds of the church so that counts, doesn't it?!

This photo is the real reason I went back to the cemetery!

More Street Photography

This is the last set of images (I think!) from my Street Art workshop in East London. I did take A LOT of photos that day and there are only a handful left from the final cut but I really enjoyed doing this mini project. Not only did I go and see some of my (fairly) local surroundings but it's definitely given me a lot of food for thought for future projects. Hope you enjoy the last in this set!

 

This one above is probably one of my favourites out of this set. I know it doesn't actually contain any street art but I love anything to do with reflections. And I like how I have only got their faces in the shot through the reflection in the puddle. Just me maybe but I like it!

And I really like this one too because even now when I look at it, the art on the wall is just kind of jumping out from the wall. Brilliant art work in my opinion. I just took the photo!