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Cuban workshops give professional photography – and life – experience

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The vibrant culture, warm people and faded beauty of its baroque architecture make Havana an ideal place to practice photography.

Twelve students and two teachers in the Photography Program at Dawson College and a clothing stylist from Montreal travelled to Cuba last month to participate in workshops on travel and fashion photography.

Beautiful journey

The photos created on this Dawson trip take viewers on a beautiful journey to another time and place before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our students had an amazing learning experience during the weeklong immersive workshops,” said Laurel Breidon, who led the fashion photography workshop and serves as Chair of the Photography Department and Coordinator of the Photography Program.

More than a tourist

David Hopkins, who led the travel photography workshop, said that the trip experience is close to the life of a professional photographer. “Students also gain life experience,” David said. “For many, it is the first time they are in another country as more than a tourist. They are meeting and working with local people and gaining different cultural insights.”

The six students in the fashion photography workshop worked with a local producer, models and a creative team on photoshoots on the streets of Old Havana and at a mansion called the Josie Alonso House, where famous photographer Annie Leibowitz has also worked. The fashion workshop students participated in lighting demonstrations before each of their own shoots.

The other six students in the travel photography workshop spent two days with local guides and visited the family of one of the guides on their farm a few hours away from the capital city.

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Vintage cars and a ballerina

“We worked mostly in Havana, particularly in Central Havana, a rundown, yet charming, residential area near the Malecón (a famous 8-km seaside promenade),” said David. Highlights include riding in and shooting vintage cars for a few hours one morning and capturing a ballerina performing in the street.

“One of the days we went to the Vinales Valley, a world heritage site and a region known for producing premium tobacco. Havana can be crowded and tense,” said David. “It was very special to go into the countryside. The guide told us that Vinales is one of only three places in the world with this unique kind of limestone rock formation.”

The Photography Program has been planning these workshops in Cuba about every two years. The workshops are an optional extracurricular activity that add value to the experience of the program.

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Last Modified: April 21, 2020