Cuban workshops give professional photography – and life – experience
The vibrant culture, warm people and faded beauty of its baroque architecture make Havana an ideal place to practice photography.
Twelve students and two teachers in the Photography Program at ΖίΠΗ²ΚΏͺ½± and a clothing stylist from Montreal travelled to Cuba last month to participate in workshops on travel and fashion photography.
Beautiful journey
The photos created on this ΖίΠΗ²ΚΏͺ½± trip take viewers on a beautiful journey to another time and place before the COVID-19 pandemic.
βOur students had an amazing learning experience during the weeklong immersive workshops,β said Laurel Breidon, who led the fashion photography workshop and serves as Chair of the Photography Department and Coordinator of the Photography Program.
More than a tourist
David Hopkins, who led the travel photography workshop, said that the trip experience is close to the life of a professional photographer. βStudents also gain life experience,β David said. βFor many, it is the first time they are in another country as more than a tourist. They are meeting and working with local people and gaining different cultural insights.β
The six students in the fashion photography workshop worked with a local producer, models and a creative team on photoshoots on the streets of Old Havana and at a mansion called the Josie Alonso House, where famous photographer Annie Leibowitz has also worked. The fashion workshop students participated in lighting demonstrations before each of their own shoots.
The other six students in the travel photography workshop spent two days with local guides and visited the family of one of the guides on their farm a few hours away from the capital city.
Vintage cars and a ballerina
βWe worked mostly in Havana, particularly in Central Havana, a rundown, yet charming, residential area near the MalecΓ³n (a famous 8-km seaside promenade),β said David. Highlights include riding in and shooting vintage cars for a few hours one morning and capturing a ballerina performing in the street.
βOne of the days we went to the Vinales Valley, a world heritage site and a region known for producing premium tobacco. Havana can be crowded and tense,β said David. βIt was very special to go into the countryside. The guide told us that Vinales is one of only three places in the world with this unique kind of limestone rock formation.β
The Photography Program has been planning these workshops in Cuba about every two years. The workshops are an optional extracurricular activity that add value to the experience of the program.
Note:
- There is a Photo Gallery selection of this yearβs work in Cuba by students and teachers, curated by ΖίΠΗ²ΚΏͺ½± faculty members Laurel Breidon and David Hopkins. Please note that to read the photo credits, you have to click on the photo.
- Laurel Breidon on Instagram:
- David Hopkins on Instagram:
- The Photo District News (now defunct but followed by professional photographers) published a feature article about ΖίΠΗ²ΚΏͺ½±βs workshops in Havana in 2018:
