Hey Steve,
Hola from Cuba. I’m hoping that you might be interested in sharing a few snaps on your awesome sight with your readers. I’ve only been here a few days and I have to say that this place is a blast for photos. Especially for people and street shots. And my travel camera of choice here is the Fuji X-E1 with the 35 / 1.4 on it. These were all shot with that set up. For back up, I also carry a Sony RX100 in my back pocket (based on your review). It also performs very well. These are jpegs just slightly processed with iPhoto. Yesterday a German tourist hauling 2 Canon 5D’s with huge lenses on them said to; ‘yah, vat is dis kamera?’ Then I picked up one of his cameras in one hand and my little Fuji in the other and did the weight comparison thing. Then he looked at me and said; ‘yah, but vee are professionals yah!’ Well I’m not breaking my back lugging all that stuff around let alone impose those massive machines in people’s faces. I’m very happy with the results I’m getting.
I hope you actually get these Steve, because like all the old cars down here, internet is also back in the stone age.
In Cuba it’s all about the music, and trying to earn a few bucks to survive.
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This fellow was just sitting on a street corner doing his thing and he was amazing……
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‘I want this one.’ Things are beginning to open up a little more here, thus more junk to buy. But, get this. I saw one shop selling a tube of toothpaste for $8 U.S. Wish the U.S. would lighten up on that whole embargo thing. After all, everything nowadays has a little (or a lot) of China in it!
I’m from Vancouver, Canada btw. No travel restrictions. I have a few links here if anyone is interested. Travel blogs & travel slideshows.
I grew up in an oppressive communist country, and personally wouldn’t support the similarly oppressive Cuban regime by traveling there. That said, this is a photography blog, and your X-E1 photos from Cuba are gorgeous. Thanks for sharing them with us!
Hi Mark,
I appreciate your concerns here but by actually going there I was able to help a lot of people personally. For example, I met some really talented young photographers there & I was so impressed by one guys works that I actually left him my new XE-1 with the 28mm lens. This is something he’ll never be able to get there. And the people are awesome!
“let alone impose those massive machines in people’s faces”
The very point.
Splendid colors in Daniel’s candid shots.
X-E1 pictures like Daniel’s I’ve seen posted in Steve’s fantastic blog and in other blogs, as well as the recent reviews about this camera have sealed the deal for me.
Today my camera bag is getting a little bigger. My new fujifilm X-E1 arrives with the 18-55mm zoom lens. Took me a couple of years to decide which direction I wanted to go with an alternative camera system. I have no complains with my Nikon system. Just wanted to challenge myself to produce a more exciting photography and I have a feeling that the X-E1 will kick me into a higher gear. Can’t wait to give it a go.
Love your shots, Daniel! Lovely colors, too!
Cool candids, and I’m loving the Fuji colours..
Daniel: I hope you’re still in Cuba. Please try getting some golden hour shots in the early evening. Find streets that run east-west so as to capture the saturated light, and skip dinner until darkness sets! 🙂
I’m just wondering what the German tourist’s 5D photos looked like.
I agree, U.S. has to get over cuba. I’m canadian to and one day I hope to go there! Beautiful Pictures by the way.
Yes, you can really SEE the music! And it was good to know there’s another user of the humble iPhoto out there. I like it when the camera does its job and PP is just a little touch here and there.
yah, youhr piktures are veery goohd , yah i (h)!!!!! liked theeem sooo(h) much, yah !!! 😉
beautiful indeed , photography (at least for me) is all about having fun and feeling good ,let the pros do theirs any way (if they can hold their pro cameras for about 30 min(s) up) and good luck with X-E1 and 35mm f1.4 its a really good combo 🙂 😀 😉
One day the USA will finally allow us to travel and trade with Cuba. We already trade with every other country in the world, including China the largest ex-communist country. The Fuji color is very good and enjoy these shots. I’d like to shoot all the old 50s autos that there still driving there.
You can go to cuba, just travel via mexico or canada first. When I upgraded to my X100, that is something that i really noticed. Especially the fuji greens.
What? You cannot travel to Cuba?
Nice pictures.
China, an “ex-Communist” country? Really? When since?
Umm.. Yeah, China is still communist.
There is no restriction preventing you from going to Cuba. All you have to do is connect through another country. Actually you can go direct out of Miami but you do need special permission.
It has to do with US history with the Cuban missle crisis and cia attempts at assasinating Castro ans such…the us fat cats don’t like the Castro government, especially the ones in the cia back then. And seeing as how the folks who ran the cia have died I’m sure the like minded plugs they’ve hired have the same mindset today. The apple never falls far from the tree and sometimes if you get tired of having apples you need to cut the whole tree down and plant another. Until then, the same old same old.
Its the color from the Fuji that is simply remarkable. And your composition and subjects are very enjoyable. Does anything in this range match the color of the Fuji?