61
B+Wfood is still the norm. On the surface, Cuba
looks broken, desperate and dirty. I’ve
met numerous people who’ve holidayed
there and hated every minute because they
couldn’t see beyond that grimy veneer and
were expecting something more ‘Caribbean’.
But it’s the very fact that Cuba isn’t like
Barbados that makes it such a wonderful
country to explore and, despite its economic
and political problems, if you scratch the
surface you’ll find a culture that’s warm,
welcoming and passionate. Cuban people
are also among the friendliest I’ve ever met.T
he images here were mostly shot
during a trip to Cuba in March 2014- you can see the full portfolio on
my website (leefrost.co.uk). From the
very start of this trip I found myself shooting
pictures that I knew would be converted
to black & white. Cuba is a colourful place
and the weather is very favourable most of
the year so it’s easy to take lots of tourist
brochure photographs with polarised blue
skies. But that’s not the real Cuba. The real
Cuba is darker, grittier, moodier and that’s
what I wanted to capture. I could pre-visualise
the final images as I was shooting them and
that proved to be a great help when it came
to choosing subject, angles and light.
I like contrasty black & white and
shooting contre jour is a sure fire way to
achieve that. Low light is also much more
atmospheric than bright sunlight so I made
a point of shooting at dawn and dusk or
indoors in limited available light, increasing
the ISO as much as I needed to in order to
keep camera shake at bay.
Of course, the Raw file captured by the
camera is no more than a digital negative
for black & white photographers – it’s what
you do with it that makes the difference
and determines the final look.
Once home, I converted the chosen
images from colour to black & white using
Silver Efex Pro. I adjusted contrast and
structure to taste, then used the Darken
Edges tool to tone down the outer edges of
each shot as required. It was this particular
edit that helped me establish the feel I had
in mind. Finally, I added a soft warm tone
to each image using Copper Toner with
the strength reduced to around 20%.
Once I was happy with the look and feel of
the first image I was then able to repeat it on
all the others. When images are made to work
as part of a set, it’s important that they all look
like they belong and applying the same post-
production techniques ensures that.
Do the images fulfill their purpose? For me,IN THE BAG
Equipment choice is of secondary
importance to immersing yourself in
a place. You could achieve great things
with just one camera and one lens – in
fact, the simpler your camera kit, the
more mobile you become and the fewer
decisions you have to make.
That said, I do like to keep my creative
options open so it’s rare that I hit the
streets without a reasonably sized kit.
That usually consists of one DSLR body
(a Canon EOS 5D MkIII) with 16-35mm,
24-70mm and 70-300mm lenses, plus
a 50mm prime lens and a set of neutral
density hard-edged grad filters.
I also carry spare batteries and plenty
of memory cards – it’s surprising how
quickly those cards fill-up when the
creative juices are flowing!yes they do. I’ve been to Cuba a dozen times
in as many years and shot tens of thousands
of images, but it’s only on this most recent
trip that I felt like I had finally created a set of
images that get under its skin and capture
a real sense of place. For me anyway!HAVANA, CUBA When you are wandering the streets
with a camera, always be ready to take advantage
of chance opportunities
Canon EOS 5D MkIII with 24-70mm lens, ISO 800, 1/200sec at f/856-61_LEE_FROST_171 ER/MB.indd 6156-61_LEE_FROST_171 ER/MB.indd 61 05/11/2014 10:5105/11/2014 10:51