[Leica] peter turnley's workshop in Cuba, march 2015

[Steve Barbour]

making images…some thoughts transmitted by Peter Turnley during his workshop in Cuba…  March 2015




1. produce the flavor of (the people and fabric of ) Cuba as it is now.

2. color or bw, one or the other. Tara used color, I used only bw, and was the only one

3. consistency of focal length, prefer one, get to know it well.

4. horizontal format encouraged, a few vertical frames but watch content

5. formatting, keep them all in the same, standard ratio

6. do not have pieces of the primary focus of the composition cut off, e.g.feet etc(see # 12 below)

7. do not shoot cliches or standard stuff, things that may be seen anywhere

8. compositition and content is key...it’s all about the feelings generated

9. ditch the long lens, and the zoom too, shoot 50mm, 35mm, or wider lens

10. move, be aggressive, go for the shot..."move like a butterfly, sting like a bee”

11. writer’s don’t talk about their word processors, they talk about their         writing,  photographers don’t need to talk about their equipment either….talk about the art and what it evokes

12. watch the edges, especially when photographing people, if you are making an image of dancers, cutting off a foot is a critical error.


We stayed at the top Havana hotel, which was very comfortable, quiet and excellent. Food overall was excellent and abundant, but one must know how, where to eat in a foreign country, as poor food was easily available.

The workshop was intensive, ie very hard work. Students numbered 16, plus Peter Turnley, two other young, excellent photographers, also a bus driver and a guide who knew the people, the geogrpaphy, history, and the social makeup of the people, who spoke excellent English. The experience was joyful, even thrilling at times.
Speaking for Tara and I...  we learned a lot, agreed with some of the above, practiced it all...  benefited from it, found it productive. It was an experience with benefits that will last a lifetime. We may do another similar workshop with him one day in Paris.

In this world of rapid changes, even in this country where time has stood still for 50 years, change is inevitable, and it could be rapid, now that the political landscape recently changed. What will happen of course is unclear, it may be good and bad…  How it will influence the Cuba we see now is anyone’s guess…so if you want to see Cuba as it is now, go now.



Steve and Tara