Cuba photo tour 2016

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CUBA PHOTO TOUR 2016 with Jim Zuckerman

WELCOME! Get ready for an exciting adventure in history, culture, wonderful interactions with people, and great photography. On this photo tour, expect to take awesome pictures of fascinating subjects, from colonial architecture to portraits, and from beautiful interiors to seascapes as well as landscapes and towns at twilight plus the most amazing dance show you’ve ever seen! And . . . this is an educational experience in what Communism does to a society. It’s truly fascinating.

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS Dr. Ed Cohen, Marco Island, Florida Wayne and Judy Guenther Springfield, Virginia Beverly Copen Sedona, Arizona Kathy Albert Scottsdale, Arizona

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As soon as you have your flight details to Miami, please send a copy of that to Jim by email at this address: photos@jimzuckerman. com.

Upon arrival in Miami, make your way to the Hilton Airport Hotel (305 262-1000) located 3.5 miles from the airport. There is a free hotel shuttle. After check in, call Jim on his cell phone (615 414-7644) to let him know you’ve arrived. Or, ask reception at the hotel to ring his room.

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ITINERARY Day 1, Mon. November 14. Arrive in Miami before 5:30pm and take the free shuttle to the Hilton Hotel 3 1/2 miles from the airport.

At 7:30pm Jim will give an orientation and answer questions about the tour in the lobby of the hotel, and he will find out what people most want to learn so he can help you get the most out of the trip. At this time, he will discuss important photographic considerations that will help you get the best pictures possible. Overnight Hilton Miami Airport Hotel.

Day 2, Tue. November 15. We transfer to the airport for our early morning chartered flight to Cuba. We need to check in 3 or 4 hours prior to departure. Upon arrival, we meet our local guide, have lunch, and check into our hotel in Old Havana. In the evening, we will enjoy one of the most spectacular stage shows ever at the Tropicana which was established in 1939 and which served as inspiration for the flamboyant shows in Las Vegas. This is a nostalgic leftover from the pre-revolutionary period. Overnight Inglaterra Hotel. (B, L, D) Day 3, Wed. November 16. After breakfast we will drive to Cojimar and La Vigia to visit Hemingway’s house, now a museum. We’ll photograph the picturesque town of Cojimar, looking for architectural details, old cars, and people. We will then leave Havana (we return for more photography in this dynamic city in two days) for the drive to Trinidad, the UNESCO world heritage site. We stop for a quick lunch and continue to the private houses in which we will be staying. This will give you an intimate look at Cuban culture and life. Twilight and night photography is on the agenda for this evening. Overnight in private homes. (B, L, D) 4

ITINERARY, continued Day 4, Thur. November 17. After an early morning photo session walking through Trinidad, and after breakfast, we go by van to the Valley of the Sugarmills with many stops on the way to see the enchanting scenery. We visit the Manaca Iznaga tower from where the sugar mill owners could view their slaves working in the fields. After lunch, we return to Trinidad to catch the evening sunset along the narrow cobblestoned streets and the multi-colored houses. Overnight in Private homes. (B, L, D) Day 5, Fri. November 18. We get an early start after breakfast and head to Cienfuegos, a beautiful harbor city with great architecture and lovely streets. We spend the morning exploring the tropical setting, the colonial architecture, and always on the lookout for great cars. We have lunch at the yacht club, and later in the day return to Havana. Overnight Panorama Hotel, Miramar. (B, L, D) Day 6, Sat. November 19. In Old Havana we will explore the cobblestoned streets, the colonial architecture in various states of decay, and look for old cars, photogenic faces, and graphic details that can produce fine art images. The locals readily pose for the camera. In the late afternoon, we have a photo session with classic American cars and a model (or two) where we can choose an iconic location that says ‘Cuba.’ Dinner will be at a privately owned paladar where you can engage with the owner and discuss how the law about private enterprises has allowed him to earn real money. Overnight Panorama Hotel, Miramar. (B, L, D) 5

ITINERARY, continued Day 7, Sun. November 20. This morning we drive to a dance studio to photograph the students perform a unique style of Cuban music and dance, and then we visit the new section of Havana to see the mansions along the famous 5th Avenue. We also visit the incredible home of famous Cuban artist Jose Fuster where we can photograph his Dali-esque mosaic fantasies. It’s fascinating and there is a lot of photographic potential. After lunch, we tour to the Colon Cemetery, one of the largest cemeteries in the world.

Return to the hotel in the afternoon and enjoy some leisure time. You might want to stroll down to the Malecon (the seafront) to shoot sunset on the lighthouse as well as capture portraits in the beautiful low angled light. Overnight Panorama Hotel, Miramar.

(B, L, D) Day 8, Mon. November 21. This morning we transfer to the airport for our return flight to Miami and to make our connection home, satisfied in knowing that our photographic experience in Cuba has been amazing and that our pictures are fantastic. (B)

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CURRENCY and CREDIT CARDS Cuba has two currencies. The Cuban Convertible Peso, or CUC, and the Cuban National Peso, which is the currency of the average Cuban. Tourists deal only in CUCs which are based on the US dollar.

Travelers to Cuba with American dollars are assessed a 10% penalty, thus $100 is 90 CUC plus a bank fee, so $100 US dollars nets 87 CUC. Cuba accepts Euros and British pounds, also, and there is no penalty applied to those currencies. The only time you may want some Cuban National Pesos is if on the road you wish to buy some fruit. There are 24 Cuban Pesos in 1 CUC. The average Cuban earns 400 Pesos a month, roughly $17.

Credit cards issued by U.S. banks are not accepted in Cuba. UK credit cards are accepted. ATM machines are unreliable and won’t work with American cards. Cash is the preferred money. You should bring several hundred dollars in case you want to purchase souvenirs, food, articles of clothing, etc. Jim always brings $1000 to $2000 in case of any possible emergencies. Bring clean, untattered and unblemished notes in variousi denominations.

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WEATHER/CLOTHING The weather in Cuba in November will be warm. Expect temperatures in the low 80’s Fahrenheit. Wear summer clothes and bring breathable lightweight and comfortable walking shoes and/or sandals. It is possible it could rain as well since Cuba is a tropical country, so a light rain jacket and a small, travel umbrella is a good idea, too.

You should also bring a hat to protect your face from the sun. Insect repellant should be packed in case you need it, and sun block is important especially if you are light skinned and burn easily.

Cuba is an informal country. Shorts, jeans, and t-shirts are perfectly acceptable. Dinner dress is also very informal.

Men definitely do not need a tie, but for the Tropicana show long pants are required.

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A NOTE ON THE MEAL SCHEDULE

Jim tries to make the three daily meals coincide with the normal times most people eat. However, sometimes due to photographic opportunities, travel times between locations, and other factors meals might be delayed or even earlier than one expects. Please be flexible and understanding about this. Most serious photographers will trade regularity of meals with great photo opportunities. If you have low blood suger and need to eat often, plan for this and carry snacks with you at all times. It’s best to bring them from home.

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RECOMMENDED CAMERA EQUIPMENT • Camera body and ideally one as a backup • Medium telephoto lens in the 70200mm or 80-300mm range • Wide angle lens such as a 1424mm (or a 14mm fixed lens), a 16-35mm, or a 10-22mm for a cropped sensor camera • A middle range lens such as a 24-105mm • Tripod • Portable hard drive or laptop to back up your pictures • At least 120 gigs of flash cards • Extra camera battery • Flash • Charging unit, connecting cables, power cords, etc. for all your devices. Check and double check this because one missing cord can ruin your day • Microfiber cloth for cleaning your lenses (this is imprtant due to the possibility of rain drops on the front glass element of your lenses) • Sensor cleaning item such as a hand blower.

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ELECTRICITY & INTERNET Cuba uses the same electrical plugs as the U.S., both 2 and 3 prong. Less commonly, there are also plugs that use the two round prong European plug seen at right. Bring both types of adapters/plugs.

The voltage is not identical to the U.S. but it’s close. You can use any type of computer or rechargers in Cuba with no problem. 220 voltage hair dryers, though, will run very slowly and inefficiently.

We will have Internet in the two hotels in Havana, the Inglaterra and the Panorama. WiFi is in the lobby only. In Trinidad, there are hotspots available near where we are staying.

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HOTEL LIST Hotel inglaterra 416 Paseo de Marti Havana 10600, Cuba phone: +53 7 608-593 Private homes Trinidad, Cuba Havana Panorama Hotel Avenida 3ra y Calle 70 110300, Miramar, Cuba phone: +53 5 527-8110

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THE STREETS

Photographing on the streets of Havana, Trinidad, and other Cuban cities is part of the allure for a photographer. Architectual details, portraits, dancing, groups of people playing games, etc. are all fair game for your camera.

The ideal is to shoot at sunrise, sunset, or when the sky is overcast. Not every situation offers that, of course, like this portrait Jim took with a high overhead sun causing contrasty light. In this case, he had to use post-processing techniques to help mitigate the tough lighting. You can see that the light was contrasty, but it’s much better than the original capture. If you don’t know how to do this, ask him and he’ll show you on his computer.

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TRAVEL INSURANCE Jim recommends buying travel insurance to protect your investment in the photo tour.

Insurance always seems like a waste of money . . . until you need it. It protects you from cancellations, missed flights, unexpected stays in hotel rooms due to a cancelled flight, and more.

There are several insurance companies that offer this type of protection. The company that Jim has used for years is Travel Guard (travelguard.com).

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A WORD ABOUT SAFETY For tour participants who live in countries that drive on the left hand side of the road, the Cubans drive on the right, the same as in the U.S. This means everything is backwards for you compared to driving at home. This is important because when crossing the street, you automatically look to the right for oncoming traffic. In Cuba, you have to look left. There are many tragic accidents every year because people forget to do this. Therefore, when you cross the street -- any street -- look both ways TWICE. Better to be safe than sorry.

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TIPPING

THE Meals are included in this trip, but when you eat on your own, check the bill to see if 10% has been included for the tip. If not, then tip 10% to 15% according to the service.

For chamermaids, it is recommended 2 CUC/day. For the bus driver, 3 CUC per day per person is appropriate. For a local guide, 5 CUC per day per person is a good tip for good service.

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TEACHING STYLE

Jim thoroughly enjoys teaching photography and Photoshop, so don’t hesitate to ask him at any time to explain something to you. He will stop whatever he’s doing and give you the attention you need. If you want him to assess a composition while in the field, call him over to look at your LCD monitor. Or, when time permits, he will be happy to look at your pictures on a laptop or iPad to give you his thoughts about your work. At the places we visit on the tour, Jim shares with you his ideas of how to approach them photographically, but he also recognizes everyone has their own vision and he doesn’t want to impose on you his way of shooting unless you want him to do that. But if you want his guidance in subjects like composition, exposure, lens choice, ISO setting, white balance, or how to solve a problem using Photoshop, don’t hesitate to ask him. He can’t read minds and might not know if you want help in any given situation. Again, just ask.

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CONSUMER GOODS Cuba is a Communist country, and that means nobody owns anything. All the housing, office buildings, restaurants, and businesses are government owned. There are a few exceptions now (such as owning a car and a few restaurants are privatized at this time), but for the most part, this is the case. Even the dance show we see at the Tropicana is owned by the government.

That means that no one has any incentive to market new products, open a business to fulfill a need, etc. Therefore, if you forget anything such as an electrical adapter, toothpaste, anything photographic, snacks -- don’t expect to be able to buy it in Cuba. It may be very hard to find or impossible to find. This is very strange for Americans to grasp (what? no 7-11 or Walgreens around the corner?), but that’s what Communism has produced.

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Jim Zuckerman 8204 Penn Way Court Franklin, TN 37064 615 599-0600 home office 615 414-7644 cell photos@jimzuckerman.com www.jimzuckerman.com

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