The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Jan 2016 back issue
by Alex Harris
I traveled to Cuba to make landscapes, and discovered José Martí.
Maybe this was only luck, providing a gringo photographer with a
unifying Cuban theme for three idiosyncratic bodies of work. But if
this was luck, it was an odd blessing for an author trying to publish
in the United States, choosing a hero that few in this country know or
care about. And if I assume that finding Martí was an act of chance,
I’d also have to believe that most of the things that have occurred to
me amount to a series of accidents that just happen to add up to my
life.
I don’t doubt that luck is involved in practically everything we do. But
I’m also convinced that we can edit and shape our lives much in the
way that I have made and chosen my Cuba photographs, by holding
on to what seem the most valuable moments, and building on these,
one day or one photograph at a time. Time will tell if my photographs
of Cuba have significance beyond the pleasure I had in making them,
implications for those still squinting at Cuba through an old iron
curtain, relevance perhaps even for Cubans enduring difficult times on the island, waiting for real change in their lives.
La Flora Park, Calle 9 and 6, Miramar.
Sol and Cuba, Old Havana.
Calle Primera between C and D, Vedado.
The beach at Miramar.
Ruins of the Troya Hotel, Vedado.
El Cristo de Casablana, Havana.
Calle Fomento, Luyano, Havana.
Lazo de la Vega.
Small appliance repair shop, Havana.
Calle Zapotes and Flores, Santos Suarez.
Marianao.
Woman at the playground.
Reclining Woman.
Mother and daughter.
Woman and rooster.
Sisters.
