My main photography interests have been nature and wildlife. These pursuits involve no interaction with people as subject matter. I do not have to be concerned with whether or not that elk or mountain wants its photo taken.

The other genre of photography that I engage in is that of travel photography. Thus I most often make photos of foreign landscapes, buildings, and street scenes. I have usually shied away from photographing people. Often it is the fear of rejection. Those few times that I have made candids, these have often been surreptitiously with a long focal length lens. But those few people pictures have many times been my favourites.

This fear changed with my recent visit to Havana. Most people here were very friendly and open to being photographed. Most of these images were made with a short focal length lens, in the 24mm to 75mm range. Those few times that I was rebuffed did not deter me from trying another person.

Havana 1 This lady was aware that I was photographing her. She seemed quite content with that, continuing to pose.

Havana 2 My colleague and I stopped this lady on the street and asked permission (in sign language) to make her photo. We were initially attracted by her colouful umbrella. She was overjoyed that we wanted to photograph her.

Havana definitely helped make me more comfortable with photographing the local residents.

Gracias, senoras!